SOUTH Gawler made a statement with its Barossa Light & Gawler Football Association senior colts win over local rivals Gawler Central, with the 18.18 (126) to 3.5 (23) final score leaving the Lions in first place with one round remaining.
Thomas Clements all but wrapped up the goal kicking crown as his eight majors extended his season tally to 30 – 16 clear of Willaston’s Joshua Schmidt (14) in second place.
The Tigers played a great first half for a side 1-6 on the season, only trailing 22-42 at the main break, before scoring just one point in the second half as South Gawler piled on 12 goals.
Nuriootpa entered its game against Tanunda needing a win to consolidate its top-three position, with a Magpie victory drawing the sides level on points, but the Tigers made no doubt about it by running away 7.12 (54) to 1.6 (12) winners.
Will Schluter-Prouse was the game’s only multiple goal kicker with two majors, and with teammate and best-on-ground Oscar Graetz, the pair helped the Tigers turn it up after finishing the first quarter up 0.4 (4) to 0.3 (3).
Nuri took advantage of the scoring end, kicking all seven of its goals in the second and fourth quarters with the breeze.
Angaston was given a scare when it visited the winless Kapunda as the Bombers headed into halftime trailing by just six points 3.3 (21) to 4.3 (27).
Kapunda refused to lie down, but the Panthers managed to just extend their lead by a goal in each of the remaining two quarters to down the Bombers 7.4 (46) to 10.7 (67) behind Corbin Schubert (three goals) and Alistair Linke (two goals).
Barossa District kept its season alive for another week with a 7.15 (57) to 5.3 (33) win at Freeling, with Nathan Dyer bagging three goals for the Bulldogs.
The result sets up a last round in which Barossa District will need to beat Nuriootpa by at least five goals to steal its third-place position and sneak into finals, but a narrow Bulldog win would set the table for Angaston to snatch the last finals spot with an upset win against flag-favourites South Gawler.
Junior colts
The three-team finals are set in the junior colts, as Barossa District wrapped up the minor premiership with a resounding 30.9 (189) to 0.0 win at Freeling early on Saturday morning.
Will O’Brien led the way with six goals, while seven of his teammates had at least two.
In a finals preview, Tanunda held off the fast-finishing Nuriootpa to escape with a 4.6 (30) to 4.4 (28) win.
The Magpies led 24-7 at halftime, and registered just one scoring shot through the entire second half – the sides will play again in the first round of the finals in two weeks to decide who faces the Bulldogs for the flag.
Gawler Central has a chance to finish ‘best of the rest’ next week with a win set to see the side finish in fourth after a 10.9 (69) to 5.2 (32) win at South Gawler.
Caleb Burrows was best-on-ground for the Tigers, while Mitchell Tidswell contributed three valuable goals.
Kapunda nabbed a good 7.6 (48) to 4.7 (31) win against Angaston when the two mid-table sides met.
Bombers Jack Sleep (two goals, best-on-ground) and Elliot Zivic (two goals) provided most of the heavy lifting for the home side in the winning effort.
Under 13s
Kapunda missed out on a chance to lock itself in as the last team into the finals after a tight 5.3 (33) to 6.4 (40) loss to second-placed Angaston Blue.
The result leaves Angaston Blue and Gawler Central tied for top spot with one game to play, therefore ensuring their place in the finals, while Freeling is the only team still with a chance to take Kapunda’s third postseason spot.
On Saturday the Redlegs blew a golden opportunity to leapfrog the Bombers, but went down convincingly 2.3 (15) to 4.10 (34) to Barossa District.
Gawler Central’s perfect season came to an end after an unlikely upset at the hands of South Gawler by a margin of 3.4 (22) to 6.6 (42).
A mid-table 4.4 (28) to 2.4 (16) for Tanunda over Nuriootpa rounded out the week’s action, moving the Magpies up to fifth on the ladder, but too far back to threaten the top-three.