Glenelg’s Andrew Bradley to finally play in the major round
Football life has not been easy for Andrew Bradley. But finally the breaks have fallen his way and he will play in the SANFL major round for Glenelg.
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Former Glenelg captain Andrew Bradley jokes he has not left the house this week in the lead up to the second semi-final against Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Sunday.
The tireless worker has yet to play in a final for the Tigers after missing the major rounds in 2010 and 2011 because of injury.
And until finishing on top of the ladder this season, the Tigers had not extended their season beyond the minor round since the 31-point loss to South Adelaide in the elimination final in 2011.
Bradley broke his ankle early in the 2011 season and returned to action for the final two rounds. However, he was hit by stress fractures in the left heel and forced out of the finals.
The previous year, a broken leg cost him any chance of playing in the finals when the Tigers were beaten by Norwood in the qualifying final and by Woodville-West Torrens in the first semi-final.
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“I thought I was on track to play in the finals in 2011 and came back and played,” Bradley said. “But I got the stress fractures and was out for two months.
“I’m just looking forward to finally playing in a final and can’t wait for Sunday, it has been a long time coming.”
Captain Chris Curran, onballer Matthew Snook and utility Brad Agnew are the only current players who fronted in the 2011 final under caretaker coach Kris Massie, who had replaced the sacked Mark Mickan mid-season.
The Tigers line-up also included Lachie Neale, who picked up 25 possessions in a preview of what was to come in the AFL after being drafted that year, and Ben Kennedy, who was just 17 at the time.
Max Proud and Carl Nicholson had played senior football that year, but were overlooked for the final. They will be crucial to the Tigers’ plans this week.
It was just the third league game for Snook and he was flattened by a stray elbow in the third quarter and had to get treatment on the bench.
“You take a bit for granted back then, the club was in a pretty good position,” Snook said. “It has been a lot of hard work, but worth it and I’m keen to get stuck in this week.”
Since their most recent final, the Tigers have had four coaches. Mark Stone was appointed last year to replace Matthew Lokan, who will coach Port Adelaide on Sunday.
Bradley admits football life had been difficult, describing it as a rollercoaster ride between the change of coaches and the massive turnover of players.
“There were times when you feel we are not too far away and on the edge of finals,” he said. “And times when you feel you are further away than you would like to be”
2011 SANFL ELIMINATION FINAL
GLENELG
B: Paul Adlington, Sam Rudolph, Chris Curran
HB: Ben Mules, James Sellar, Sam Shaw
C: Alex Grima, Matthew Snook, Jordan McMahon
HF: Lewis Hender, Daniel Kirk, Byron Murphy
F: Ty Allen, Ruory Kirkby, Lachlan Neale
1R: Trevor Cranston, Ben Kane, Kane Tenace
Int: Chris Kane, Ben Kennedy, Brad Agnew
SCOREBOARD
SOUTH ADELAIDE 5.4 8.7 11.13 14.17 (101)
GLENELG 2.4 6.6 8.7 10.10 (70)
BEST — South: South: Liddle, Horne, Cross, Carey, Macleod,
Murphy, Stribling. Glenelg: Adlington, Neale, B. Kane, Shaw,
McMahon.
SCORERS — South: Wundke 3.2, Horne 3.0, Macleod
2.1, Ainger 2.0, Daniel 1.3, Stribling 1.2, Rolfe, McKay 1.1, Cockshell
0.2, Liddle 0.1, rushed 0.3. Glenelg: B. Kane 2.2, Grima, Tenace
2.0, Kirkby 1.2, Allen 1.1, Murphy, Kennedy 1.0, Neale, Hender,
Kirk 0.1, rushed 0.2.
INJURIES — South: Thewlis (AC joint). Glenelg: Kirk (cheekbone).
UMPIRES — C. Rowston, T. Dey, L. Haussen.