Brendan Lines

BL&GFA Football

GAWLER Central dominated Saturday’s local derby with an 89-point victory over South Gawler, a result that ensures the Tigers remain second on the Barossa, Light & Gawler Football Association table.

The Tigers’ victory heralded a 15-goal haul by key forward Brad Mercer, who showed an impressive display of goal-kicking accuracy.

Mercer and half-forward Paul Bova harassed the South Gawler defence to collectively kick 18 goals between them.
Central coach Damien Herzick laid expectation on his squad to control the game early, which it did by applying pressure to capitalise on South’s defensive mistakes.

Early goals came freely for the Tigers as young squad members, such as Kyle Wurst, stepped up the attack.

Wurst’s quick and decisive handball skills at ground level helped the Tigers find gaps in the Lions’ defence, and take a controlling 40-point lead at quarter-time.

Lions’ coach Scott Lee instructed his players to contain the opposition’s attack by restricting the
Tigers’ target forwards – a tactic that saw the Lions begin to claw their way back into the contest.

Herzick made it clear his team was to remain accountable for their efforts, and stop the Lions getting back into the game.
The Tigers regained control with some clean centre breaks by Charlie Molyneux, who sent the Tigers into attack.

Much of the Tigers’ forward thrusts focused on Mercer, who was proving nearly impossible for South’s defence to contain.
The Lions’ inability to negate Mercer troubled Scott, who said, “the main difference between them and us is they hit their targets”.

After leading by 45 points at half-time, the Tigers continued to pull away from their cross-town rivals to record, arguably, their best win for the season.

Herzick praised his team for finishing the game strongly and delivering a convincing result, before giving credit to his young players, saying “it shows they belong here”.

For the Tigers, Mercer was easily the most dominant player on the ground, Paul Bova was dangerous around goal and finished with three majors, while Molyneux was important at the stoppages.

For South, Nick White was solid through the middle, while Heath Lawry, Scott Trenorden and Matt Naumann made the most of their opportunities up forward to finish with two goals each.
The win sees the Tigers keep their second spot safe until Saturday, where they will defend it against Kapunda, while South plays host to a rested Angaston unit fresh off the bye.

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Brendan Lines

BL&GFA Football

SATURDAY’S round-11 clash between Willaston and Angaston yielded the third draw for the 2015 Barossa, Light & Gawler Football Association season.

It was a sombre result for both sides, whose efforts went unrewarded in a well-contested game.
The Panthers were ready to pounce on a top -four position and needed the victory to break the mid-table deadlock.

Before the game, coach Matt Herrmann said his team needed “to control what we can, every game is crucial from here on in”.
Emotions were running high for the Donnys, as it was ruckman Jimmy Jones’ final appearance in the red and blue, but Willaston coach Steve O’Connor focused his squad on the job at hand.
“Take on the game, be brave and leave the emotion out of it,” he said.

The Donnys were the early aggressors as they pushed forward to find Michael Hollis, who drew first blood on the scoreboard.

But Angaston’s midfield, led by John Roesler, responded by finding space and drive forward, resulting in a string of goals to Jack Miles, Josh Young and Daniel Williamson.

Donnybrook David Allocca was courageous across half-forward, his second efforts delivering the ball inside the forward 50.
Accurate around the goal front, Hollis scored a late major to keep the Donnys’ deficit to 11 points at quarter-time.

The second term saw Willaston’s young squad turn on a burst of its developing running game to score through Scott White.
However, Angaston on-baller Steve Rusca delivered the Panthers’ response, kicking two of his three goals for the match during the quarter.

A late goal on the siren by Mark Curtis kept the Donnys ahead by two points at the main break.

Both teams were equally determined to find an edge for victory, with O’Connor asking for accountability during the premiership quarter, while Herrmann again looked for his midfield to deliver long.

With a one-point difference at three-quarter-time, an early goal to Angaston was answered immediately by White for the Donnys.
Willaston, again, congested defensively, and rushed behinds, adding to the Panthers’ score, before a desperate drive forward from Donnybrook Jason Collins levelled the scores just before the siren.

The draw came at a cost for Willaston, with Keiran Sankey suffering a dislocated shoulder.

White was a key up forward for Willaston, finishing with six majors, while Hollis’ four goals were equally as important.
Rusca led the Panthers’ charge, finishing with three majors from the midfield, and was aided by impressive on-ball duo Williamson and Greg Bain.

Willaston travels to Eldred Riggs’ Reserve after the bye to take on South Gawler, while Angaston hosts Nuriootpa.

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Brendan Lines

BL&GFA Football

WET conditions did not stop Gawler Central taking out a commanding 94-point victory over Angaston in Saturday’s top-four Barossa, Light & Gawler Football Association clash at Gawler Oval.

The victory re-establishes the Tigers as one of the competition’s leading challengers for the 2015 premiership.
The Tigers’ season hit trouble in round 13 with an uncharacteristic loss to Barossa District.

However, returning from the bye, coach Damien Herzick demanded a response from his team, saying, “I’ll know if you are serious in the first five minutes”.

Central raced out of the blocks to dominate most of the play from the first bounce, applying pressure on the Panthers’ defence, but the slippery conditions saw many turnovers and both teams could not capitalise.

A goal to Brad Mercer at the 12-minute mark saw the Tigers cling to a seven-point lead at quarter-time.
Panthers’ coach Matt Herrmann was happy with the effort of his team at the one-on-one contests, saying, “we don’t give up on the contests and that is the key”.

The Tigers kept their feet in bog-like conditions and the familiar attack of Paul Bova, Mercer and Tom Dunne began to harass the goal front in the second term, piling on four unanswered goals soon after the break.

Showing more desperation at the contest, it was efforts by Ben Walter and consistent big man Chris Jamar that helped Central to dominate proceedings, and the Tigers continued to score through Sean Brading and Matt Phillips.

Panthers’ forwards Andrew Pech and Tyson Gordon finally responded on the scoreboard, but the Tigers had established a 36-point lead at the main break and gathered all the momentum.
Pleased with his team’s efforts, Herzick asked that his players not get comfortable and continue to respond, saying, “this next five minutes is just as crucial as the first five minutes”.

Respond was exactly what the Tigers did, blowing the game wide open, with early goals to Phillips and Mercer, and stretching the margin to 84 points at three-quarter-time.

With the Panthers only able to try and salvage some pride in the last quarter, the Tigers’ almost ‘Holy Trinity’ of Bova, Mercer and Dunne continued to impart their influence up forward, piling on the goals to seal the Panthers’ fate.

Mercer finished with six goals for the afternoon, with Dunne and Bova slotting four and three, respectively, while Angaston had all single goal-kickers.

The Tigers will now look to carry their momentum into Saturday’s crucial local derby against South Gawler, while Angaston has the week off with the bye.

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Brendan Lines

BL&GFA Football

Central has locked away the double chance with a dominant 68-point win over Kapunda in the Barossa, Light & Gawler Football Association clash at Gawler Oval on Saturday.

Both teams were under no illusions that victory was crucial to their prospective finals campaigns.

Central was looking to cement second place, while Kapunda needed a win to guarantee it a spot in the top four.

Not mincing his words, Tigers’ coach Damien Herzick made the situation clear to his charges, saying, “make no mistake, this is our first final”.

Bombers’ coach Michael McCarthy focused his team on delivering four solid quarters of football but, given the season’s critical stage, reminded his players to “look at the big picture”.

Central ruckman Craig Jamar led the attack with the game’s first two goals.

Kapunda mounted a response, but turnovers were costly and goals then came from Matthew Phillips, Kyle Wurst and the returning Charlie Molyneux.

The Bombers finally broke through on the scoreboard with some late goals through Daniel Johncock and Brett Baillie, but by then the Tigers had established a 26-point lead at quarter-time.

Herzick was pleased with how his side had capitalised on opposition turnovers, but demanded the Tigers not be complacent, saying he wanted “the same commitment; not just now, but for the next 30 minutes”.

The Bombers returned service to Central early in the second term, again through Johncock.

Quick to respond, Tigers Josh Edwards and Brad Mercer banged on goals to extend the lead to 56 points at half-time.

Herzick implored his squad to “keep the intensity up” at the break, while McCarthy kept a positive note and asked his team to “challenge them and take them on in every aspect of the game”.

Staring down the barrel of imminent defeat, Johncock again led the Bombers’ early charge with a goal.

But the Tigers continued to punish turnovers with consistent midfield pressure, led by Molyneux and Wurst.

Ahead by 69 points at the final change, Herzick demanded his Tigers continue to send a message to their possible finals rival with “30 minutes of relentless football”.

It was Mercer who answered the call, banging home four unanswered goals to guide Central to victory.

Mercer finished with six majors, while Johncock led the Bombers’ goal-kickers with three.

Gawler Central will look to sink Freeling’s finals aspirations this weekend, while Kapunda will fight to remain in the top four when it takes on Angaston.

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