12 consecutive finals games it contested between the 1972 Preliminary until the 1994 1st Semi Final. As a result, though often competitive at times in the course of the minor rounds against the stronger teams Centrals became known as something of a choking team in the final series during the 1980s and 90s (i.e. it plays well except for when it really matters). Finals Losses Hoodoo Broken (1994) and First Grand Finals(1995 and 1996) Alan Stewart is the person most widely thought responsible for the upsurge in Centrals fortunes. Stewart only played two league matches for the Bulldogs and spent the rest of his career in the reserves, however, it was as a coach in both the youth sections and eventually the league team that he is most revered for at the club. Taking over from Neil Kerley in 1991, Stewart transformed the ethos of the club in only a matter of years. In 1994, Centrals made the SANFL Cup Grand Final (now no longer a separate competition), their first-ever Grand Final appearance, narrowly losing to Woodville-West Torrens. Later in the same year, Centrals defeated Norwood in the 1994 First Semi Final by 4 points, breaking a sequence of 4 Final losses to the Redlegs, and giving the club its first win in any final since beating the same team in the 1972 First Semi-Final. With the finals hoodoo finally broken after 22 seasons, Centrals finished Minor Premiers for the 2nd time in 1995 (16 wins 1 draw and 5 losses), but lost to Port Adelaide in the 2nd Semi-Final by just 2pts (after trailing by 27 pts at 3 quarter time). However, the following week Centrals won their first-ever Preliminary Final this time against Norwood by 24 points to make their first League Grand Final, an event of such significance in the SANFL that the 1995 Grand Final sold out (the first time this had happened since the Adelaide Crows had entered the AFL in 1991). Central's Captain Roger Girdham won the toss and choose to kick into the wind in the 1st Quarter. Unfortunately, Centrals trailing by just 5 points (3-6 to 3–11) at half time were outplayed in the 2nd half and beaten in the 1995 Grand Final by (13.16 (94) to 6.10 (46)) in front of 45,786 fans, and Alan Stewart left the club immediately afterward, ironically taking up a recruitment position with Port Adelaide in