SANFL Grand Final preview: Mickan’s second chance

Sep 25, 2015

Eagles coach Michael Godden and Bloods mentor Mark Mickan.

It’s been 32 years since West Adelaide coach Mark Mickan missed out on playing in the 1983 SANFL Grand Final due to an untimely injury, and this weekend he has the chance to taste the glory he missed out on all those years ago.

The Bloods, who won the ’83 flag without Mickan, will be looking to end league’s second-longest premiership drought when they face minor premiers Woodville-West Torrens in this year’s edition at Adelaide Oval on Sunday.

But Mickan doesn’t buy into the underdog tag.

“(The tag) is not something we really talk about or think about,” Mickan said.

“We just know what we have to do – we have to play really well against good opposition and take our chances when they come.”

The Eagles, led by premiership-winning coach Michael Godden, are quietly confident coming into the game, having only lost twice this season – once to Port and the other to their grand final opponents.

“This year we’ve got a few younger players who have now experienced a couple of finals series, so we’re confident with this group,” Godden said.

“We hope to keep it together for a long time, (and) this is the start of the journey.”

Even with the air of confidence around the club, the Eagles players still have the hunger to take out the premiership.

Captain Patrick Giuffreda was in the side that last won the premiership in 2012, and is keen to lift the Thomas Seymour Hill Trophy again.

“Once you’ve had (a grand final win), every premiership that you don’t win seems like a failure.” Giuffreda said.

The Bloods held the Eagles to a tight scoreline in the second Semi-Final, losing by only 14 points, but turned it on against Central District to set up a rematch in this weekend’s grand final.

Bloods captain Chris Schmidt was full of praise for the dominant Eagles side, saying that his teammates are very wary of the threat that their opponents possess.

“They’ve got fantastic pressure,” he said.

“They’re always good around the ball, they’re always clean, and they’ve got really fast ball movement, so that’s definitely a challenge for us.”

Although they had the extra week between games, Woodville-West Torrens haven’t had time to rest, playing two internal practice matches against their reserve side to maintain their sharpness.

They were not easy games either, but rather “full-blown hit outs”, according to Godden.

Despite their superior record this year, the Eagles know it won’t be an easy game, with the Bloods garnering praise for their superb work ethic in the preliminary final against the Bulldogs.

Space will not be so freely given through the corridor as it was against the Bulldogs, but the underdog Bloods will not be counting themselves out of the clash.

Mickan opted for height in his Bloods side going into the last match between the two, and his team gave the Eagles a good scare in the fabled ‘premiership quarter’.

The Eagles come into the big game having lost both Angus Poole and Angus Rowntree to serious knee injuries, the latter continuing his unlucky injury record by missing a second successive Grand Final after watching from the stands in 2011 due to pneumonia.

Godden has faith in the depth of his squad, but understands the impact and contribution Rowntree makes to the team.

“You can’t replace a player like Rowntree,” Godden said.

“We don’t have exact clones of (Poole and Rowntree)… but we’ve got people who can certainly do the job.”

Ruckman Marc Borholm is a shock omission, after Godden announced he had fractured his tibia in the first quarter of the Second Semi-Final.

‘’The fact he was able to play the whole Second Semi-Final showed how courageous he is,’’ Godden said.

‘’He tried to train on Wednesday night but was just not able to go to the standard required for a Grand Final

Aaron Fielke, Logan Hill and Brad Helbig all return to Mickan’s Bloods after missing the 53-point thrashing of the Bulldogs, with Adam Hartlett and Taite Silverlock also making the cut despite being uncertain inclusions earlier in the week.

Young guns Jack Agostino and Jadyn Brind have missed the cut, with another two players to be culled from the squad before Sunday.

‘’It’s very difficult for them to miss out,’’ Mickan said.

‘’They certainly didn’t do anything wrong last week, we’ve just opted to select the experienced players who have done the job all season.’’

One thing both coaches could agree on was the hope of a great spectacle for the fans at the iconic Adelaide Oval.

“We want a big Grand Final,” Godden said.

“We want not only Eagles and Westies people, let’s get the whole lot there, let’s have a celebration of our great game… and lets hope the Eagles people cheer the loudest.”

Woodville-West Torrens

F: N. Hayes, Wundke, McGregor

HF: Schwarz, Ainger, Allmond

C: C. Hall, Lewis, Martyn

HB: Goldsworthy, Thompson, Jarrad

B: P. Raymond, Von Bertouch, Giuffreda

R: Thurlow, Petrenko, Boyd

INT: Whittlesea, Batley, Appleton, Ellis, Sinor

IN: Thurlow, Whittlesea, Appleton, Sinor, Ellis

OUT: Rowntree (knee), Poole (knee), Borholm (leg)

West Adelaide

F: Haysman, Webb, Fielke