The West End Slowdown[1] was an annual charity Australian rules football match run by the Little Heroes Foundation,[2] formerly named the McGuinness-McDermott Foundation, to raise funds to improve oncology treatment for South Australian children.
The match is held at the end of the regular AFL season, with teams drawn mostly from retired AFL and SANFL players, augmented with a sprinkling of celebrities who over the years have included former World number 1 tennis player Lleyton Hewitt, singer Guy Sebastian and Australian media personality and actor Andrew Daddo.
Regular players/coaches in the Slowdown over the years have been the likes of inaugural Crows and Power coaches Graham Cornes and John Cahill, 1997 Coleman Medallist Tony Modra, Magarey Medallists Tony McGuinness (co-founder of the MM-Foundation), Greg Anderson, Andrew Jarman, Scott Hodges and Grantley Fielke, Brownlow Medallists Gavin Wanganeen and Mark Ricciuto as well as various Crows and Port premiership players as well as co-founder of the McGuinness-McDermott Foundation and inaugural Adelaide Crows club captain Chris McDermott.
South Australia mounted a comeback and with only 20 seconds left in the game, former North Adelaide, Hawthorn and Adelaide Crows premiership player Darren Jarman kicked a goal to give the Croweaters the victory by a single point.
Some games such as Slowdown VI in 2005, saw a crowd of around 25,000, with the entry fee being only a gold coin donation (A$1 or $2) with all gate takings going to the Little Heroes Foundation.