Our season may have finished over a month ago, but for three of the youngest players on our list, it’s only just come to an end – and with great success. Power trio Jonathan Giles, Matthew Westhoff and Ryan Williams were all part of Central District’s finals campaign, which culminated in Premiership success over Glenelg on Sunday. From a coaches’ perspective, it’s a great thrill to see these boys taste the ultimate success in the SANFL, especially after such a disappointing season for the Power.

Matthew Westhoff has come a long way this year. After being drafted with our third pick in last year’s draft, we thought he’d still be a fair way off playing AFL games. So to come out and make his AFL debut in Round 20 this year, then come back to the Bulldogs and play a vital role in their finals campaign, and to play in front of 35,000 people in a pressure game, you can definitely see how pleased we are with the experience Matty has gained this year and the steps he’s taken.

On Sunday, Matt kicked three goals, including a Motlopesque snap from deep in the pocket, dribbling it along the ground off the outside of the boot. He also took a hanger in the final quarter and looked very lively up forward. Matty missed more than two months in the middle of the season because of stress fractures in his foot, so to fight back from that, earn a league call-up, then an AFL call-up and ultimately play in a flag is a great effort from a young bloke. The future certainly looks bright for him.

Jonathan Giles is another one who had to overcome a bit of a down patch to make it to the Grand Final. He was struggling mid-season, yo-yoing between the reserves and the league side, but after a pretty blunt assessment of where he was at, he turned it around and managed to force his way into the league side for the final two games of the season, keeping his spot for the finals. He’s still finding his way at league level, but he did a great job backing up McKenzie in the ruck and certainly contributed well on the day. Gilesy knows where he’s at, and he knows where he wants to be, so we’re confident he’s gaining some great experience along the way.

Finally, Ryan Williams, who like Matt Westhoff, made his AFL debut late in the season. He’s come from playing in the reserves for most of last year, to becoming an integral part of the Bulldogs’ league team and finishing ninth in the Magarey Medal. He was at his desperate best on Sunday, diving in hard for the footy and winning plenty of the contested ball. He’ll certainly be one who will be keen to play AFL next year.

Congratulations to Matt, Jonathan and Ryan.

SANFL Grand Final
CENTRAL 3.2 5.4 12.3 17.11 (113)
GLENELG 3.1 4.6 6.7 10.11 (71)

Crowd: 34,128 at AAMI Stadium

BEST – CENTRAL: Mackenzie, Thomas, O'Hara, Callinan, J. Gowans, Sibenaler, Dutschke, C. Gowans. GLENELG: Sherwood, Fisher, Bode, Kirk.

GOALS – CENTRAL: M. Westhoff 3.0, Dutschke, Schell, O'Hara 2.0, O'Sullivan, C. Gowans 1.2, Callinan, J. Gowans, Slade 1.1, McCabe, Goodrem, Mackenzie 1.0, rushed 0.4. GLENELG: Kirk 3.2, Grima 1.2, Backwell, Panozzo, Duldig 1.1, Bode, Allen, Murphy 1.0, Holmes 0.1, rushed 0.3.

JACK OATEY MEDAL: Jason Mackenzie (Central)

UMPIRES: T. Pfeiffer, S. Hay, C. Bowen.