The Wrap Up: West v North @ AAMI Stadium

West 2.4 4.5 6.8 8.8.56
North 2.6 6.8 10.12 16.16.112

North demolish West in what was, at times, a spiteful, Preliminary Final to storm into the Grand Final from 5th spot, while Andy Collins tenure at West Adelaide comes to an end with this loss.

'Unofficial' game statistics I took today:

Good wins over evil  

considering North were down to 19 men fairly early it was a complete demolition of West, i actually thought West could win at half time because of that fact & by making the match a quicker play on at all costs type of game, which didn't really eventuate, well they got close in the first 8-10 minutes of the third & by the 16 minute mark North had kicked 2 & the game was over, i think some players will be disappointed by their actions today & you could sense that the North players didn't want to square up etc because they had next week to consider, i know he's (Johnston) had to match up on but surely it is better to put someone on him than no one when he's running around loose in defence setting up play, North are battle weary & Norwood fresh & cherry ripe but you have to be in it to win it & they are

Not too sure what to make of this result really. Didn't watch it, was doing other things as my season effectively finished about 6 - 7 weeks ago I think.

But last week Westies looked tired and flat. Was that how it looked today?

But BJ? Triumph of good over evil? Please!
As an ambivalent observer, this penchant for Collins bashing is just so over the top, it is now farcical.

Collins has taken a perennial cellar dwellar to top 3 in consecutive seasons. When Mickan achieved similar things with Glenelg, there was no such angst associated with his success. It bemuses me why Collins is so disliked.

Or is this more to do with people associated with the West Adelaide support team?

In any event, it is irrelevant now. It would seem Westies cannot afford Collins (or management thinks they can't) and North and Norwood will slug it out next week.

Like yesterday with Freo / Hawthorn. I could not tip Freo due to their inexperience in the GF cauldron.

And I cannot in a blue fit tip North. Methinks it will be Norwood by a plentiful margin next week.

Good points, Chambo. North were just too good and too quick for Westies today. The Bloods just looked tired over the past few weeks and their lack of depth was shown up today.

Good luck to North next week.

A s for Collins, I just laugh at some, not all, of his critics. He lost 9 players from last year and had to battle to recruit only 2, paying the transfer fee himself for one and relying on supporters and club individuals for the other.

On top of that, his AFL players were packed up. These players don't only add class to a team, they replace the bottom 2 or 3 players in that team.

Given West's financial and playing position, he's worked miracles. It's interesting that most of his forum critics picked West to finish low down this year. I'd ask them to revisit their selections.

The disappointing thing about today, IMO, was the poor lack of discipline which properly led to the report.

I can assure people that Collins has had nothing to do with West's financial problems and those problems are being well addressed by the Board.

Good luck to both teams next week. I'm a loyal supporter, through good and bad, so I was disappointed at how so many jumped off North only a few weeks ago and I urge them not to be just fairweather supporters whatever happens next week.

Like Chambo, I didn't watch the game either, but it seems clear that North have engineered a great buildup for the finals. They just might have enough momentum to roll Norwood, against the odds, next week. But form over the season says Norwood. Just as it did with Hawthorn yesterday. It looks like being a very interesting grand final.

I'm a very passionate West supporter and today we were beaten by a better side,
north Adelaide recruited very well and their AFL Players in Blee and Johnston were very good.

Collins has done a very good job this yr given the number of players he lost and the lack of recruiting he could do.

Very important that the club picks the right coach going forward and they have ability to recruit next yr.

It could be said Collins did a good job getting a team with no natural forwards, no pace and with only one key position player to the Prelim Final.

Unfortunatley I think Wests success reflects poorly upon the teams like the Eagles, Central and the sides outside the five that were worse then West this year.

Agree, Booney.

No pace, no natural forwards, one key position player and to add to that, no AFL listed players, almost no recruits and no money.

Fair effort.

From a personal point of view, I've now served under 8 coaches at West. All good people and good coaches, but none better than Andrew Collins.

It's been a privilege to closely share the last 6 years and I thank him for dragging our club from being a serial wooden-spooner to a contender with very few resources.

It may be from the close proximity that you have worked with Collins that has formed your opinion, but its fair to say not everyone who has ever crossed paths with him holds him such high esteem.

I can understand people questioning Collins tenure when they look at it from an "entertaining football" perspective, but I think it's unquestionable how much he has improved their onfield performance.

Also had the feeling that from around the time it was announced the club and coach were parting ways, West didn't appear to have that edge about them, that they did throughout most of 2012.

They were effectively running on the spot yesterday which holds no shame as North can run anyone off their feet - Yes even Norwood.

Booney wrote:It may be from the close proximity that you have worked with Collins that has formed your opinion, but its fair to say not everyone who has ever crossed paths with him holds him such high esteem.

That's true, Booney and I understand that I'm loyal to whoever is coaching West, so that does have to be taken into account.

Being close probably dilutes the weight of my thoughts on our game plan, compared to those looking from outside and I'm happy to accept that. On the other hand, I have seen 8 coaches at West over 25 years, so I think my thoughts on where he rates has some merit. Given that the first time I dealt with him was when he 'moved me on' as Head Trainer, as part of the cleanout when he first arrived, I think it's fair to say I didn't start as a big fan.

All I know is that a lot of his fiercest critics are also West's fiercest critics, so people can draw their own conclusions from that. I think posters on this site give a more informed point of view both ways.

Collo certainly isn't perfect, but the change he's brought to West is well acknowledged by the people there. We know the job he's done and the hurdles he's had to negotiate.

Now we move on, with a new coach, a new CEO and General Manager and a Board which is doing a great job turning our finances around, so it's exciting and challenging times for us.

I didn't get involved with Westies until I was about 40 and I treasure my time and friendships with some great coaches and assistants at Westies, from Norwood greats, Michael Taylor and Michael Aish, to the wonderful Wayne Weidemann, to Ian Borchard, Neil Kerley, Geoff Morris, Kevin Morris and Shaun Rehn.

Have I regretted moving from the outer to the 'inner'? Nope.

Does it colour my opinions? Yep. 

Despite yesterday's result, do I just love it? For a football tragic, it's living a dream, warts and all.

So to next week and I hope it's a great game and good luck to both teams. They've earned the right to be judged the two best teams this year.

With North in the GF, my thoughts also naturally go to our departed friend, Mongrel Punter, who will be shouting for his Roosters from above.

Booney wrote:It could be said Collins did a good job getting a team with no natural forwards, no pace and with only one key position player to the Prelim Final.

I think Beech and Fielke are natural forwards, but we do lack key forwards. And I think Ferguson, Tippett and probably Mangan can safely be described as key position players.