2016 SANFL Grand Final - Sunday Sep 25 (Adelaide Oval)

[LPH]

Is there a shot of Kurt Slaven???

That is Gold HZ ... another quote to use for his reign. Almost as good as "You'll be back".

[therisingblues]

Beer number two coming up.
Sturt will know all about Adelaide Reserves effort and why. I doubt anyone at Sturt will not know how tough the job ahead will be.
Eagles are the best team in the comp this year and will be too strong for Sturt. The game will mean more to them than it did to Sturt's last opponents
Torrens by 20-25 points

YOU BEAUTY!!!
Love your work JTC and beer number two it is! You can drink it anyway you like as long as it ends up inside your guts!!!
How am I supposed to get the bloody thing to you? You live in the land of ice and snow IIRC?

Keep them warm TRB.

I'll collect them next time I'm in town

They're in the oven as we speak.

[holden78]

The go again and don't change much mantra made infamous by Sir Ron Fuller is to admired, but if Godden can't be stronger
and see the weak players that are slow front runners ,need to go , then he needs to move to the appropriate club!

[human_torpedo]

The go again and don't change much mantra made infamous by Sir Ron Fuller is to admired, but if Godden can't be stronger
and see the weak players that are slow front runners ,need to go , then he needs to move to the appropriate club!

Give me Ron Fuller and Micky Godden's knowledge and understanding of the game over your complete and utter rubbish any day of the week..

Much rather dust off halfwit supporters like you than our coach. And I am as aware as the next bloke that we need every supporter we can get!

[LPH]

To be fair, 3 of 10 Grand Finals isn't what can be suggested as a good record.
Both Coaches have won 1 of 3, including 2 loses back-to-back.
I think a supporter is entitled to question if 'lessons have been learned', don't you?
Not that I care, anymore.

[therisingblues]

Mind you, the Eagles had the misfortune of being many times, the next best team during Central's big party in the first decade of this century. History tells us none of the other sides could've done better, they'd have been in the grand finals instead of the Eagles if that was the case.
I think Mattner possibly kept an ace up his sleeve, just for the Eagles as it became apparent they'd be the likely team to beat in September.

[goddy11]

To be fair, 3 of 10 Grand Finals isn't what can be suggested as a good record.
Both Coaches have won 1 of 3, including 2 loses back-to-back.
I think a supporter is entitled to question if 'lessons have been learned', don't you?
Not that I care, anymore.

LPH Fuller was 1 of 4 but who is counting. I don't think the Eags were ever favorites in any of the games.

[Mr Fuller]

To be fair, 3 of 10 Grand Finals isn't what can be suggested as a good record.
Both Coaches have won 1 of 3, including 2 loses back-to-back.
I think a supporter is entitled to question if 'lessons have been learned', don't you?
Not that I care, anymore.

LPH Fuller was 1 of 4 but who is counting. I don't think the Eags were ever favorites in any of the games.

I reckon in 2000 we might have been slight favourites but I remember thinking at the time that for this to occur the weather conditions had to be pretty well perfect because we had a tallish forward line and it would be difficult to take grabs if the conditions were wet and blustery. As it turned out, the conditions were much more suited to the dogs and they went ahead and beat us by about 4 goals.

Someone on this thread posted an earlier comment which I found interesting - along the lines that we were too big and slow whilst Sturt were much quicker and ran us off our feet.

This is the exact opposite to our teams that went up against the dogs in the early 2000s where we were very small and quick, but quite weak (think players like holland, Pearce, Dylan, Ugrinic etc whereas the Dogs had big tough bodies that absolutely monstered us.

It shows that the game style of teams has definitely changed.

[LPH]

I recall the same things were said last season when West beat them: "Too slow, overpaid imports, etc."
Slow learners or just lazy?

[RB]

To be fair, 3 of 10 Grand Finals isn't what can be suggested as a good record.
Both Coaches have won 1 of 3, including 2 loses back-to-back.
I think a supporter is entitled to question if 'lessons have been learned', don't you?
Not that I care, anymore.

LPH Fuller was 1 of 4 but who is counting. I don't think the Eags were ever favorites in any of the games.

I reckon in 2000 we might have been slight favourites

Fuller wasn't the coach in 2000.

I think it's a fair point to make that the Centrals teams of the early 2000s that beat the Eagles were much stronger sides than the 2015 Bloods and the 2016 Blues.

[heater31]

Fuller wasn't the coach in 2000.

I think it's a fair point to make that the Centrals teams of the early 2000s that beat the Eagles were much stronger sides than the 2015 Bloods and the 2016 Blues.

To be fair there was 2 less AFL sides draining available talent to recruit/retain......

Also think Godden has done remarkably well to get this side to where it is after an Elimination Final Loss in 2014

[Wedgie]

Eagles were odds on favs in 1994 after being minor premiers and knocking off Port by 73 points in the 2ND semi.

[amber_fluid]

Eagles were odds on favs in 1994 after being minor premiers and knocking off Port by 73 points in the 2ND semi.

And had the game in the bag at half time in the GF.
Then Scotty Hodges went 'Bang' in the last quarter.

Still one of my favourite GF's.

[LPH]

I think you'll find it was 1/4 time.
Andrew McLeod was pretty good too, I recall.

[amber_fluid]

I think you'll find it was 1/4 time.
Andrew McLeod was pretty good too, I recall.

Yeah Eagles still led af half time but they blew many chances in the first quarter and should have led by more.

[robranisgod]

Eagles were odds on favs in 1994 after being minor premiers and knocking off Port by 73 points in the 2ND semi.

And had the game in the bag at half time in the GF.
Then Scotty Hodges went 'Bang' in the last quarter.

Still one of my favourite GF's.

Also didn't Timmy Ginever go "bang" late in the first quarter when Port were about 6 goals down. It was the tried and true tactic of starting a blue to stop your opponent's momentum. It certainly worked that day.

[Eagles Nest]

To be fair, 3 of 10 Grand Finals isn't what can be suggested as a good record.
Both Coaches have won 1 of 3, including 2 loses back-to-back.
I think a supporter is entitled to question if 'lessons have been learned', don't you?
Not that I care, anymore.

If you don't care - why are you commenting then?

[therisingblues]

To be fair, 3 of 10 Grand Finals isn't what can be suggested as a good record.
Both Coaches have won 1 of 3, including 2 loses back-to-back.
I think a supporter is entitled to question if 'lessons have been learned', don't you?
Not that I care, anymore.

If you don't care - why are you commenting then?

It's possible to discuss things without an emotional attachment.

[LPH]

To be fair, 3 of 10 Grand Finals isn't what can be suggested as a good record.
Both Coaches have won 1 of 3, including 2 loses back-to-back.
I think a supporter is entitled to question if 'lessons have been learned', don't you?
Not that I care, anymore.

If you don't care - why are you commenting then?

Am I not allowed to have a view point?
Is your name Kurt Slaven?

[therisingblues]

Had my first partial replay of the grand final last night. Unfortunately life doesn't get any less busy because your team has won a Premiership, just the labours are borne with a grin now.

After 45 years on this Earth I witnessed my first Sturt premiership live. The last one I was in Japan. The two before that were communicated to me in a little rhyme which mentions the words "dirt" and "rub", which I took to mean that we were very good. But with the limited amount of success in my lifetime, and the experiences of 1983, and 1998 being my only other Sturt Grand Final experiences, I was very cautious about daring to feel or appear optimistic in any way. I know that Premierships are very dear things, and you cannot take them for granted.

The Eagles failed to take their opportunities in the first quarter. We had a couple of easy misses also, one went out on the full and another chance was just overcooked, but the Eagles definitely had the chance to skip away to a lead like they have in all other meetings this year.

Apart from that first stanza, Sturt had the ascendency, but only just. We showed we were able to score back to back goals during the second quarter, a feat which the Eagles were unable to perform all game. It wasn't until the final quarter when we scored three in a row that the game was truly beyond doubt, but we had some big signs that perhaps we were doing enough of the right things before then to bring home the flag.

Stephens took a number of saving, freak marks, and the smothering and one percenters by Sturt were excellent. In particular, an intercept by Leinert on the members wing in the third prevented a promising forward thrust by the Eagles.

Our kicking of set shots was very good. Early on, the players held their nerve when there were genuine chances, this was more obvious during time on in the third. What a period of the game that was! Jarrod Leinert's conversion from that position on the ground was phenomenal. You could not hit more middle with an atomic ruler that he did with that shot, a real crowd lifter, and I think a few of us Strutties were daring to believe at that stage. Then just a couple of minutes later; Kory Beard has done the old classic, shot after the three quarter time siren in a tight game! It wasn't the best looking kick that has gone through for a goal, but through it went to take us into the final break 14 points up.

The Kirkwood goal has since been overshadowed by the grief it caused Godden, but what a sensational piece of work by the champion. What a bloody gun he is! All game he showed fantastic anticipation of where players were moving to, and would deliver accordingly, that goal in the final quarter evidenced the same instinct, the dummy was effortlessly sold, and it looked like it was never going to be anything but a goal from the moment he received the pill. Very fitting that he should get at least one to his name after all the work he'd done setting up others.

I absolutely loved the moment John Greenslade charged to the 50 from the wing, taking a couple of bounces, and goaled on the run. My view was very distant from the Riverbank stand, but it was clear what was happening, you could see the paddock which had appeared in front of him as he took the handball from Hone, and I knew he had the pace and the kick to execute. It was probably then that I began to openly discuss "the Premiership" with those around me. Until then I was still cautious.

For the Eagles I have to say that Wundke is a champion. Whenever he was one out with his direct opponent, or sometimes he battled two, his skill, experience, size and strength was too much. On the replay I saw a couple of occasions where there were about three Sturt defenders forcing a stalemate against him on his own. I believe he kicked 5 goals out of the Eagles 7. Very early on he had me worried, and I knew we had to stop him somehow. I guess our good work further up the field meant that he had limited opportunities, and the delivery wasn't always as he'd have liked it. But when it did come his way, he usually took possession and his 5 goals 1 evidenced that he wasn't wasting chances.

Just picked up my Premiership T-shirts today from Nelson sports wear and was fortunate enough to have a chat with the great man himself. How great it is to have such characters as Nelson, Bagshaw, Graham, Motley and Davies about the place at Sturt, still exerting their influence, and bringing with them such a powerful winning culture.

GO YOU MIGHTY BLUES!!!!!!