Richmond Oval

I felt like I was stepping back in time this afternoon.

Heading to the football, I walked through suburban streets, with fans streaming toward the ground carrying flags and wrapped in club colors.

On arrival at the ground I found a space on the terrace and took in the view while savoring the smell of steak sandwiches and meat pies.

The crowd roared when the home team scored a goal and heckled opposition supporters who complained about the umpiring.

It might have been Princes Park or the Western Oval for a Fitzroy game in the 1980s or 90s, but it wasn’t.

Instead, I was at Richmond Oval, known as City Mazda Stadium, for the SANFL match between home team West Adelaide and the Woodville-West Torrens Eagles.

I might well have been a West Torrens supporter if the clubs hadn’t amalgamated or if games were still played at Thebarton.

As it stands, I’m slightly closer to Richmond (pictured) than Thebarton, but it’s little more than 1km to both grounds. I’ve decided though to follow the Bloods (West Adelaide).

There was a bigger crowd today than in the picture from Austadiums and the atmosphere was terrific.

The biggest crowd at the ground was 15,742 in 1969 for West Adelaide v Glenelg.

SANFL crowds have dropped away since the Crows and Port Adelaide joined the AFL, but it’s still the highest standard competition outside the AFL and the best attended.

For the record, West Adelaide won.