World Footy News

A very excited Lachlan Keating of the Canterbury Australian Football League and the Christchurch Bulldogs provided this story to WFN....

For the first time in history the Christchurch Bulldogs met the Eastern Blues in a grand final. The Bulldogs were premiers in 2009 and the Blues were champions from 2006 - 2008 and with both teams featuring several players with high-level experience the scene was set for a torrid battle.


Wet weather overnight had made conditions a little slippery and with a slight southerly breeze the conditions were somewhat different from recent grand finals which have been marred by gusty hot nor’westers.

The Blues won the toss and handed the wind advantage to the Bulldogs who made good use of the breeze and peppered the goals in the early stages before NPC-winning captain Todd Andrews kicked the first goal from a tight angle. The Bulldogs were a little wasteful around goal and didn’t capitalise on the glut of possession they enjoyed.

The Bulldogs were first to the ball and continually put themselves in harm’s way and were rewarded for their courage. Cracks in the Blues started to appear early in proceedings when two players started arguing and this continued throughout the match.

The Bulldogs’ late-season recruit Chris Thornton was cutting a swathe through the midfield area and the hardworking onball duo of Niki Dow and Stephan van Gruting were providing drive all over the ground.

Blues veteran forward Richard Bradley was presenting well but appeared to be still experiencing the effects of a couple of hard weeks in Amsterdam and Thailand and was well held by the Bulldogs’ first year player Robbie Lange. The Blues kicked a late goal from a 50m penalty and when the siren sounded the scoreboard read Bulldogs 2.4.16 to Blues 1.0.6.

The second quarter saw the Blues also have some difficulty converting in front of goal; NPC star Jonny Fisher was particularly wasteful, kicking 3 points whilst another set shot from directly in front by Chinnery also missed.


The Blues ill-discipline proved costly in this quarter with two players given 10 minutes in the sin-bin to cool down. Blues’ young giant Sam Dickson was throwing himself into everything, playing between ruck and centre-half forward, where we tussled with fellow youngster Matt Crighton who has onball ambitions but was needed in defence against the strong Blues forwardline.

The game continued to be played at pace and some physical clashes ensued – midfield combatants James Bowden and Stephan van Gruting clashed heads with both feeling the worse for wear as the game wore on.

The Bulldogs kicked two goals for the quarter, both to Adam White, the second one being after the half-time siren which stretched the lead to 20 points.

The ‘premiership quarter’ was exactly that for the Bulldogs as they placed one hand on the Thomas Stanley Hill Memorial Trophy as they kicked 6 goals 5 behinds to a solitary Blues behind to open up a
match-winning lead. Versatile big man Steve Howard kicked a long bomb from outside the 50m arc, Adam White kicked another two goals, and when Todd Andrews strolled into goal late in the quarter to kick his third, the game was effectively over.

The Bulldogs discipline was particularly good in this quarter with several opportunities created by fierce tackling. The Blues coaching staff were ringing the changes in an attempt to swing the momentum but were drawing blanks as it was becoming apparent that this was to be the Bulldogs’ day.

The ¾ time siren rang with the scoreboard reading Bulldogs 10.11.71 to the Blues 1.5.11.

The heat drifted out of the game early in the final stanza and the Blues kicked 3 goals to add some respectability to the scoreboard while the Bulldogs kicked 2 to ensure the margin stayed in the safe zone.

Despite the margin the majority of the Blues didn’t stop trying and some of their new players showed glimpses of what they have to offer which holds the Blues in good stead for the future.

The final siren sounded with the Bulldogs running out 52 point winners 12.12.84 to 4.8.32.

The presentations saw the Blues’ former Fitzroy player Brett Frewen deservedly handed the league best & fairest trophy before Niki Dow was awarded the medal for best on ground in the grand final. Todd Andrews accepted the Prime Minor Premiership Trophy then handed the honour of lifting the premiership cup to the Bulldogs captain Steve Langridge. Champagne flowed freely before the players, officials and supporters departed to analyse the season through the bottom of more than a few 10oz glasses.

Thanks must go to the hardworking army of CAFL volunteers, headed by Anthony ‘Guido’ Johnson and the ever-present Terry Anderson. Also special thanks to Mal Hogan and Rob Greenwood for their efforts with the whistle in what could have been a spiteful match if it wasn’t so well controlled.