SANFL 2006 ROUND 18: STURT
v CENTRAL DISTRICT
Dark days roll on at Sturt
By STEVE BARRETT
THE assignment that confronts Brenton
Phillips' successor as Sturt mentor is a daunting one.
Despite being hamstrung by a lack of funds for recruiting, the Double
Blues have been a consistent finals participant, having missed just one major
round campaign since 1997.
Now, following successive 100-point-plus floggings at the hands of the
Eagles and, most recently, Central District at Adelaide Oval on Saturday, Sturt
finds itself in a rebuilding process that appears deeper than ever.
Delicately reconstructing a competitive unit from the ground up and
harnessing the club's burgeoning junior talent - many of whom have now had a
taste at senior level - are the tasks that face the coach-in-waiting in the
pursuit of long-term success.
Sturt more than held its own against the Bulldogs in an evenly
contested and free-flowing opening term. The lead changed hands four times
during the quarter, which ended with Central ahead by eight points.
From that point on, the Blues failed to offer even a cursory yelp, as
Central seized complete control all over the park.
The Bulldogs pillaged Sturt with back-to-back nine-goal quarters to
blow the difference out to 95 points at three-quarter-time.
The Double Blues showed more grunt and run in the final term, but were
still outscored. Captain Ben Nelson and Michael Curtis held their own in the
Blues' besieged backline, while Jade Sheedy and Power
rookie-listed Greg Bentley were far from disgraced. Full-forward Brant
Chambers' five-goal haul was a fine solo display and ruckman Simon Feast was
spirited in the ruck.
He booted the contest's first and last goal, but otherwise it was a
forgettable afternoon for Sturt.
Sturt coach Brenton Phillips' labelling of
his side's performance as weak and gutless was right on the mark.
In fact, similar phrases could be applied to describe the Blues efforts
over the past month or so.
Since the beginning of July, Sturt has found itself on the receiving
end of a number of mammoth hidings, its combined losing margin in its four
defeats against South Adelaide, Port Adelaide, the Eagles and Central in that
time, totalling 388 points.
The sole exception was the Blues' 55-point victory over bottom-placed
Win, lose or draw, a return to some competitiveness against Glenelg at
Unley this Saturday will provide some optimism for Blues supporters.
SCORES: Sturt 5.1 7.1 9.4 12.6 (78)
defeated Central District 6.3 15.6 24.9 28.14 (182).
BEST: Sturt - B. Colreavy,
J. Sheedy, G. Bentley, D. May, B. Nelson, B.
Chambers; Central District - D.
Schell, C. Gowans, J. Mackenzie, R. Cochrane, J. Westhoff, M. Slade.
GOALS: Sturt - B. Chambers 5, S. Feast
2, C. Taylor, D. Wicks, L. Button, J. Bowen, T. Hurley; Central - D. Schell 11, C. Gowans 5, J. Westhoff 3, M. Slade 2, E. Ware 2, A. Switala,
J. Gowans, J. Mackenzie, A. Hayes, C. O'Sullivan.