Round 11 2009
From Snoutslouts
GLENELG comfortably overcame West Adelaide by 42 points to claim top spot on the SANFL table - and the club's fifth consecutive win of the season.
Defeating the Bloods at Gliderol Stadium, the Bays have well and truly bounced back from the embarrassment of their dismal loss against Central District on Anzac Day to be favourites for the flag.
Although West Adelaide established a handy 21-point lead at quarter-time, it only served to snap Glenelg out of their lethargy.
They played inspired, hard-at-the-ball footy to leave the Bloods scoreless in the second term.
Glenelg's preparation for the clash was limited as they played last Monday and now have to back up for their clash against Sturt on Friday.
Despite this, coach Mark Mickan said the players were responding well to the challenges thrown at them.
"I thought we had a really good contribution from a lot of players today and that's really important," he said. "To go through a year, you can't expect half a dozen or so players to carry the load – it's really got to come from everyone and that's been the case in the last couple of weeks."
As usual, Adam Fisher and Ty Allen led the way but were ably assisted by Josh Willoughby and Thomas Holmes through the midfield and half-forward line.
Holmes, who scored five goals, showed plenty of determination with eight tackles in addition to 20 disposals.
Although the game was rarely free-flowing, Glenelg's experience was apparent under pressure as West continued to fumble disposals and turn the ball over.
"After quarter-time I thought our discipline came back into the game, our hardness at the contest was good and we started to play with a bit more purpose," Mickan said.
"We were a bit loose in our defensive action and we were a little bit undisciplined in our structures and we probably lacked a little bit of intensity.
"But we talked about that in the break and those things were quite well adjusted after that."
For West, the lack of a formidable forward or strong full-back caused problems, as did skill errors. Coach Andrew Collins used captain Ryan Ferguson and Damian Cupido, both with AFL experience, in those roles but it was not enough.
The second quarter aside when West Adelaide wasted its advantage, the Bloods were not disgraced but are still some way off playing finals football.
"It was disappointing because (the second quarter) is what we braced ourselves for but made silly mistakes," Collins said.
"I think we're probably still 12 months and a couple of players away but I think there were some promising signs.
"We compete for longer now which is encouraging."
GLENELG 1.2, 7.8, 10.9, 16.12, 108 WEST 4.5, 4.5, 7.8, 9.8, 62
