GAWLER Central recovered from its shock loss to Nuriootpa last week, thumping Willaston by 15 goals in Barossa, Light & Gawler senior one netball on Saturday.

Central lost to Nuri by 12 goals in round 14, but upped its intensity this week against a hard-hitting Donnybrooks outfit.

Willaston was stubborn and kept pace with the Tigers until the second half, where Central took the ascendancy.

The Tigers put Donna Victory on ice after she suffered a niggle in her ankle, taking her off midway through the final stanza, but still forged ahead for a strong victory.

Central coach Reece Turtur was satisfied with his side’s return to form.

“It’s been a bit up and down, we felt we were building…we won against South and then beat Tanunda,” he said.

“To come against Nuri fighting for their spot in the four, they came out with a lot of intent and we came out a bit flat, it was a performance we were less than satisfied with and quite disappointed with.

“So, it was a game we’d rather forget, but one of the good things was the girls really stood up the following week in our training session and our match review.

“They took accountability for their role in the result.

“It was really good to see the fire in the belly from the girls and their performance.”

With the pressure heaped on his side, Turtur said the whole team responded positively.

“I think, overall, to pinpoint one (player) over another is really difficult, they each played their role,” he said.

“I thought Cathy White in goalkeeper was outstanding, her ability to read the play off Willaston and come through for some intercepts in the pockets was fantastic.

“Her combination with Ali (Schahinger) has been elite.

“Donna Victory had a solid performance, she reads the tempo of the game really well, she knows when we need to speed up and slow down…she’s a barometer for us.

“Her link between defence and attack is vital for us in setting up our plays.

“I really thought Dayna (Schmid) and Jodi (Rich-Nourse) had a great bounce back game, they were probably disappointed in their performance against Nuri.

“We’re shooting generally in the high 80s to low 90s.

“It was a much better performance from them…they were probably the standouts.”

Willaston faces Kapunda this week, while the Tigers take on Angaston.

“It’s an interesting one, we had a great win against them last time, but results from them have been a bit up and down; they had a win against Nuri a few weeks ago, which would’ve given them some confidence,” Turtur said.

“They’re still going to come out with intent, we won’t take them lightly, we still have things we need to work on and fine tune.”

Around the grounds

Elsewhere, bottom sides Tanunda and Freeling couldn’t be split as they drew 53-all.

The Redlegs won the reverse fixture from earlier in the year, placing them above the struggling Magpies on the ladder.

Tanunda is certain to end up with the wooden spoon, with South Gawler and Nuriootpa still to play.

Meanwhile, Barossa District thumped Angaston by 29 goals.

The Bulldogs have all but cemented the double chance ahead of the bye.

Finally, Kapunda extended its undefeated streak by beating Nuriootpa by 15 goals.