Print this pageIt was never going to be a glamorous game to watch. Yet when Central District needed a win to build its confidence coming into the finals, it manufactured one. In a very slow and scrappy game that never lifted above mediocrity, the Bulldogs managed to blow away home side West Adelaide by 70 points.
But it was more a show of solidarity by the Elizabeth team than a gutsy effort, proving there is still a long way to go for the red, blue and white to be seen on-field on the first Sunday of October.
Bulldogs coach Roy Laird said many of the successful passages of play were laborious. Other points in the game were cringeworthy, with players missing targets and kicking backward unnecessarily.
But the Dogs snared the two points and, comfortably in third position with the finals double-chance secured, exposed some crucial areas to be improved on come a fortnight's time.
"We worked hard, our skill level is the thing that let us down at different stages – coming out of defence mainly – and there was a period in the third quarter that was sloppy," Laird said.
"We need to continue to improve in our energy levels. We're training pretty solidly at the moment but the boys look like it's hard work at the moment instead of really enjoying themselves and showing enthusiasm."
Scott Dutschke, 21, was a shining light for the Bulldogs and provided plenty of opportunities for the forward line of Ian Callinan, Chad O'Sullivan and Jason Mackenzie. Also working hard through the midfield was Brayden O'Hara, a relatively new face to the otherwise well-established team.
Central expects to have key-position player Daniel Schell and on-baller Chris Gowans back from injury in the major round, bringing with them an important asset – finals experience. But earning a position at Adelaide Oval will be tough for any Bulldogs player. "I've always found that there are things that arise in the last dealings of the season through circumstances so there's still spots there for players to win and secure. There's a lot of encouragement for players to give it a real go," Laird said.
For the second consecutive week West Adelaide showed a steady assault on the ball but lacked the speed needed to convert opportunities into a winning score.
Excitement machine Damian Cupido switched from full back to full forward at half-time, giving fans a glimpse of what might be in 2009.
"He should always be a versatile player – he's the type of player who can go back or forward depending on the need. We identified there was a weakness in Central's defence so we had an opportunity to swap things around," Bloods coach Andrew Collins said. "But we needed a superior workrate in the last quarter and again the good teams have shown us up as to what work ethic is."
Courtesy of The Advertiser
Story by Candice Keller