AARON DEGREEF

BAROSSA District was phenomenal as it celebrated an 85-point win over Kapunda in Barossa, Light & Gawler A-grade football on Saturday.
Both sides came crashing of the blocks after a reinvigorating rest last week – and it was man on man from the very beginning.
However, it was Barossa which gained the upper hand early on with Daniel Kickel kicking the ball off the ground to open the account.
After series of back and forth plays in the midfield, Barossa’s Darren Sharp received a pass and slotted a goal from 30m out.
This seemed to open the floodgates as player-coach Todd Miles kicked three consecutive goals, the first a soccer, the second a set shot from 50m out and another from close range.
Kapunda finally hit the scoreboard through Joey Brown kicking its only goal for the first term.
The Bulldogs were quick to cancel out Brown’s goal with Leigh Ryswyk and Jack Schuurmans scoring a goal apiece on the siren – making it 37 points the difference at the first change.
The Dogs again opened the quarter with a stellar display of pressure across the entire ground, with Sharp kicking yet another set shot.
After a lengthy deadlock, the Bulldogs veteran snatched the footy out of the air and slotted another major.
Barossa’s Jaydn Goodfellow then showed up his defender with a massive fend-off and a goal from 40m out.
Unable to stop the ferocity of the Barossa boys, the Bombers were
kept goalless for the entirety of the quarter and trailed by 68 points at
half-time.
Barossa continued to dominate all aspects of the play in the third, and
as per usual, Sharp snatched another difficult mark and slotted the goal, dead in front.
He then scored Barossa’s next major following a brilliant stab pass
from Tyson Lane.
However, a combination of luck and skill down the midfield saw Joel Foster capitalise on a turnover and score Kapunda’s second goal.
Barossa’s Ryswyk then crushed the Bombers’ resistance with a goal
of his own, bringing the three-quarter-time difference to 80 points.
The final stanza commenced with an explosion of controversy immediately after the first ball-up.
After Barossa ball magnets Ryswyk, Ethan Gant, Ben Cummings
and Giles O’Driscoll lit up the scoreboard, Barossa’s Jack
Schuurmans was shirtfronted and concussed by the man on the mark
while simultaneously giving away a 25-metre penalty.
Although Kapunda didn’t directly score from this, the situation had
shaken Barossa and allowed Brad Prior to slot a trio of goals, effectively doubling his team’s score.
The remainder of the quarter turned sour with demonstrations
of physicality from both sides and although Barossa ultimately won
the game, fans were left disgruntled with the hit on Schuurmans.