Game #913, Round 21, 21/8/2005
Bulldogs 12.11(83) def. Eagles 10.6(66)

The Dogs have gained top spot on percentage after a good win over the Eagles. The Eagles showed patches of form, but the Dogs appeared to have the majority of the play and threatened to break the game open throughout the day. Most of the Eagles' early moves forward were commenced or assisted by free kicks, while the Dogs relied on nothing but free-flowing footy all day long. I seriously expected the Dogs to break the Eagles down and win by 10 goals, but several missed opportunities in front of goal made the game closer than it should have been. We also let a respectable 5-goal lead dwindle to 3 goals in the last quarter when the result was beyond doubt - similar to round 16 against the Eagles.

I guess it's psychologically hard for the Eagles when they're playing at home and 80% of the crowd is Centrals supporters. But there is no question the Eagles are still scared of Centrals. Their man-on-man bumping drill before the game indicated the mindset of the Eagles: "We've got to be tough today!". It didn't work. Too many Eagles players were "hearing footsteps" all day. As a result, they were constantly dropping simple marks and fumbling the ball thinking they were about to get steamrolled. The best advice I can give the Eagles is to hire "Dr. Phil".

And now for a rant:

Two security guards were overheard saying "here comes another bus load of them", "yeah they can't afford cars out there" - referring to Centrals supporters arriving at the game.

And then behind the goals, another two security guards tried (in vain) to stop Centrals supporters from moving end-to-end at each quarter. One security guard advised he had been instructed by the club (WWTFC) to do this to "prevent Centrals supporters from confronting opposition fans". What the? Stupidity and discrimination run deep out at Woodville it seems.

This is surprising considering WWTFC has the highest proportion of mentally deranged supporters who just wander around the ground abusing the opposition. They were in fine form on Sunday too! Even that harmless (but bent) Eagles Raffle Guy hurled some abuse at Centrals fans as he passed by. Everyone just laughed at him. :)

I guess my point is, when you have unprofessional scumbags masquerading as Security guards, who verbally abuse and insult the fans and who take no action when fights do break out (as we saw at Unley), how can you hope to attract fans to the game and provided a safe environment for all? Get serious about Security at the games, SANFL. Hire a professional security firm or at least give the current crop of jokers some training and proper guidance.