First Semi Final: Centrals v North - Sunday 23 September, 12:10pm @ AAMI Stadium

V

Sunday 23 September
AAMI Stadium
12:10pm

Broadcast: ABC1, Life FM, 5RPH, ABC Radio Adelaide, 5AA

2012 previous meetings
Round 9: Centrals 14.7.91 d North 13.7.85 (Prospect Oval)
Round 24: North 14.9.93 d Centrals 11.10.76 (Playford Alive Oval)

Centrals totally capitulated in their first minor final loss since 1998 to West in the Qualifying Final, while North escaped with a narrow win over an inaccurate Eagles in the Elimination Final. Centrals have struggled against North over the past couple of seasons (highlighted by their bad loss at home just over a week ago). Will Centrals find a way to redeem themselves, or will North end Centrals dynasty on Sunday.

the makeup of both teams will be critical, so what happens with injuries & at the tribunal will be crucial, at this stage i'd suggest North's leg speed will get them over the line

Sansbury able to play after getting off on appeal, Obst penalty reduced to one game

brodlach wrote:Sansbury able to play after getting off on appeal, Obst penalty reduced to one game

Why do we even have a tribunal? Why not just go to the appeals first?

I rest my case!

brodlach wrote:Sansbury able to play after getting off on appeal, Obst penalty reduced to one game

What a Joke

Here are the changes to the Dogs' squad for this weekend's game against North Adelaide...

INS: J.Templeton, J.Boyd, J.Sutherland, B.O'Hara

OUTS: A.Obst (susp), T.Menzel (inj) + 2 more from squad

Thanks to club sponsor SEW Eurodrive - http://www.cdfc.com.au/season-2012/fixtures-and-results/league/view/2012-09-23/86

North have added Connors and Boras to their team from last week, and not omitted anyone yet.

Tough one to call. North would have some confidence after a reasonable win last week, whilst Central could swing either way - be fired up by last weeks loss and win or dwell on last week and exit in straight sets.

I'm going to back Central by 1-12 points.

Centrals and North have played each other in finals on four previous occasions (1997, 2006, 2007, 2007) - all won by Centrals.

Can North beat Centrals in a final for the very first time?

Sure, last week was the first time West had beaten Centrals in a final.

The Roosters surprised many pundits last Sunday with their win over the Eagles, and in many ways the Roosters were probably lucky to take the win. At the end of the game they had 7 less scoring shots (so their accuracy helped), and the Eagles, either through bad kicking or Rooster pressure, sprayed their shots for goal in the last quarter and only managed 2-6. 6-2 would have seen the Roosters getting out the moth balls. However, the Roosters survived, and this week they have a chance to finish off the Dogs. They will need every bit of their enthusiasm, speed, self control and new found tackling ferocity to get over the Dogs, who will throw everything at them in a tough physical encounter. North have the personnel, and the Dogs have some important ins. Have the Dogs learned anything from their last encounter against the Roosters and their loss against the Bloods last week? Probably! Can they do anything about it? I think they will, and in a bruising encounter very familiar to them, which may not suit some of North's young guns (although none take a step back), I am giving the "kiss of life" to the Roosters by picking the Dogs, after I picked the Eagles last week. With some stronger winds predicted for Sunday, the toss may be a good one to win.

It's laughable watching it. I mean come on , what pathetic sore losers those Gowans boys are. Whinge, .whinge . How unusual when Miles got one high and a free kick was rightly given , a quick look at who it was and no punching or pinchinng this time.......he's bigger . Tough . The radio commentators weren't too impressed with how one threw the ball back forcefully to the umpire late in the game.

Was always going end in tears.

Don't know who saw the size of the margin coming, but that is the 2nd biggest loss by Central in a final. Only the Preliminary Final of 1994 was greater, 21.17 to 8.5 in favour of Port that day.

Also the first time that Central have gone out in straight sets since 1989.

North were emphatic today. All season it was thought maybe the premier would come from Norwood, Central, West, and maybe Eagles if they got their act together. But today a new contender has put their hand up with a very impressive anihilation of the Dogs.

Miles at full back was brilliant, I don't know how many marks he took but it had to be over a dozen, a top game. Alleway 7 goals, Johnston 6, North were impressive all over the ground, and enjoyable game to watch.

Low light for me, the Gowans brothers. If people are remembered for their final game, then it's apropos in their case. All day long a surfeit of 25 metre penalties, stupid free kicks, arguing with umpires and opposition players, they were disgraceful.

They weren't the only ones, several other senior players guilty of undisciplined acts. They should have been trying to set an example today rather than sooking like spoilt brats because they weren't getting everything their own way.

Sorry to harp on it, but I think it needs to be said. They've walked away from the game today and I won't miss them one little bit.

Well done North, awesome performance and a real worry for Norwood and West over the next week or two.

i think (from about 80 metres away) that one of the brothers got reported AFTER the final siren, i thought Boyd was more ill disciplined than the other two, perhaps it was the frustration of Tuesday night, North were simply fantastic today, i'll be honest i didn't think Miles was that good & today he 'arguably' he was best on ground although there were plenty of his team mates that could claim that title....of the 4 teams that played today North was the clearly superior team, Thiele's move onto the ball recently adds another dimension to it....football should be simple & North play a simple yet exciting game, they run, they move the ball quickly with by hand & foot go long to a contest if they have to...NEWSFLASH that's what all forwards would like

It's no surprise though , these two have been the same for years .They will be defended by the tired old arguement of "how many premierships they won".Yes they did but that is not the discussion. Big sooks, sore losers , cheap snipers and not tough.

waddayamean wrote:It's no surprise though , these two have been the same for years .They will be defended by the tired old arguement of "how many premierships they won".Yes they did but that is not the discussion. Big sooks, sore losers , cheap snipers and not tough.

I missed yesterday's game, but from what I heard on the radio broadcast, from the AdelaideNow reports of the game, reports from here, and from my own observations last week, I think 'sore losers' could be applied to most of the players at the moment, not just the twins.

It's one thing to be knocked out of the finals in straight sets - it's another to carry on in the manner Centrals have in the past fortnight. If the scoreboard wasn't embarrassing enough for the players, scenes like the melee last week, and reports for abusing the umpire after the final siren just makes it even more embarassing for the club.

I think there's several Centrals players that need to grow up, to be quite frank.

Kudos to the North Adelaide FC, very impressed by the way they are playing at the moment, West vs North this week should be well worth a look!

A question for Brucetiki in particular, or anyone else who'd like to comment. Retrospect is a marvellous thing, and we are all experts in retrospect, but the Central reserves are ripping it up at the moment, apparently younger quicker players who are creating problems for the opposition.

Should Central should have bitten the bullet mid season, realised they had some players who were playing on reputation alone, and replaced them with younger players?

I'm not saying they should have because I didn't see enough of Central this season to make that call, just wonder what you think?

Absolutely AH. It was quite clear that the last 3 weeks players were selected on reputation rather than form, and the results we've all seen for ourselves.

It appeared that as we got towards the finals, the attitude was, 'don't worry, we'll get Obst and Hayes back, and we'll smack everyone with our finals experience', despite the clubs ordinary form against quality sides since the Norwood debacle in early July. It was also the Norwood game where Roy Laird said that there would be some players told they won't be playing finals - ironically these players could possibly have a reseves premiership medal in 2 weeks time.

What happened after that game was the club became the equivalent of the Indian cricket team - flat track bullies, with their only wins were against non-finalist sides Sturt (twice), Glenelg, and South, but as soon as they came up against any reasonable opposition, they were smashed, and the problems clearly weren't addressed if the results of the past two games are anything to go by, as players with big repuatations were rushed into the league side clearly underprepared while players constantly doing well in the reserves were constantly overlooked. Now the big name players have been embarrassed out of the finals race with a terrible discipline and attitude, while those told they wouldn't be playing finals are in a reserves PF, and possibly a GF if they keep their good form going.

It would have been a problem for Roy Laird, who probably knew a few players were no longer up to it.

It's a case of one year too long for some, but once the decision was made, how could you tell Chris and James Gowans they'd be dropped for the finals?

Sometimes you have to back your older premiership proven players in... at the expense of some younger ones who would usually have got a gig.

This often why when great teams drop off it happens in a hurry, too many holes to fill all at once.

And that is what makes the Bulldogs last 12 years amazing, the ability to rebuild a list whilst maintaining a premiership level of play for so long has been something never previously achieved.