Aaron Degreef
NURIOOTPA earned its third win of the season with a 32-point victory over Tanunda in the Barossa Light & Gawler A-grade on Saturday.
Although both teams were eager to be let loose, the game was delayed for an hour due to an ambulance entering the field and tending to a B-grade player.
However, after the incident, the game quickly kicked off with Jackson Docherty securing a set-shot and goal for Tanunda, after nailing a defender with a perfect holding-the-ball tackle.
The footy then entered the hands of Benjamin Schiller who swept up the crumbs and snapped the goal.
Once the play was reset in the centre, the ball quickly shot out and bounced into the Nuriootpa forward lines, where Terrence Wilfred seamlessly scooped it up and tumbled it through.
Wilfred doubled down on this effort with another goal, this time after receiving the handball and calmly snapping his second.
The Pies ended the first quarter on a high note with Samuel Dunn winning the ball and snapping it from deep within the pack.
To begin the second term, Tanunda fired up as Benjamin Biagi received the ball, dodged two defenders and curved it through for a goal, before he then seized a second opportunity and blasted it through from short range.
Mitchell Norton then provided a Nuriootpa comeback by outmuscling his defender and running into an open goal square.
After this, the game continued to roll forward with neither side being able to kick a goal, despite the physicality and relentless pressure of both teams.
However, Joshua Trembath finally ended the drought for Tanunda by securing a set shot.
The Tigers got a quick retaliatory goal with James Bentley demonstrating considerable skill by keeping his feet and kicking a magnificent banana that curved through the big sticks, but Tanunda entered the main break with the last laugh as Docherty snagged his second while the siren was sounding.
The third quarter began in a similar fashion with a near-even effort from both sides, but Tanunda was aggressive early on with Lochlan Earl and David Willmott each booting through a set shot.
This was followed up by another effort from Schiller, who grabbed the footy and bounced it over the head of his defender and through the goals.
Bentley then returned the favour with back-to-back goals in quick succession, but Tanunda still finished with a 19-point lead.
During the final stanza, the Tigers made a statement and their use of the footy was masterful.
Scott Bentley initially kicked a goal for himself from mid-range, and in his second effort, he hung back from the play, received a pass from over the top and then handed it off to his brother, James Bentley, who lazily booted his fourth.
For the next five minutes, Norton got all the action and simply grabbed everything that came his way.
He managed to kick three consecutive set-shots within a couple minutes, while Ryan Foulis continued the onslaught by dodging his defender, running his distance and punting
the goal.
For the next play, Norton quickly got free again and gave a big handball to Bentley who was alone in the goal square.
Bentley then waited for Norton to walk over, passed him the ball, and allowed his to barrel it through – not a Tanunda player in sight.
To seal the deal, James Bentley kicked his fifth after the siren and was greeted with a roar of victory from the spectators.
Nuriootpa coach Shawn Gibson reflected on the “funny” season which his side has navigated.
“It is definitely a funny year for us – people are travelling and need to work, so the team changes around every week,” he said.
“There’s a lack of consistency at training and at games, but it is what it is, the goal is just to put in 100 per cent.
“Every Nuri and Tanunda game is close regardless of where the teams are at – we definitely redeemed ourselves in the last quarter, and we just need to finish off positive with a good win next week to finish in the top four.”
Final scores saw Nuriootpa beat Tanunda 17.12 (114) to 12.10 (82).