Brendan Lines

GAWLER Central has taken two wins from two games after a 77-point home dismantling of Willaston in Saturday’s Barossa Light & Gawler A-grade football.
The Tigers’ dream start to 2020 is a reminder of the Tigers of old, as key forward Brad Mercer wound back the clock bagging seven goals – his most in a game since coming back to the club in 2019.
Centrals senior coach Matt Whelan says hard work by the Tigers is paying off after spending two seasons in the wilderness.
“We’re happy where we’ve come from in the last couple of years to be in a position where we’ve won our first two,” he said.
“Beating a good team in the mix, as well in Nuriootpa, we’ve set ourselves up in a very good spot.
“We’re trying to win every opportunity we can get, we’re not playing around… some teams are claiming they haven’t prepared, but we’re playing to win.
“We’ve had a couple of rough years so we’ve got to be getting some success.”
Gawler Central could not put a foot wrong in its attacking fifty, scoring off clean entries and stoppages at-will.
The Tigers’ top goal scorers in Mercer (seven goals), Shane Moss (five goals) and Charlie Molyneux (three goals) all had their first majors on the scoreboard within the opening 12 minutes of the first.
Defender Michael Clinch was amongst the Donnys’ best, with his 16 possessions helping to stop the score from blowing out even further.
Willaston’s midfielders did what they could to scrounge the ball forward, but Centrals’ back six, lead by Daniel Stanley, nullified Donnybrook key forward Michael Howson (two goals), as the visitors remained goalless in the first.
Willaston finally broke through after the short break, scoring the first major of the second quarter through Zach Hentschke (three goals), and a single major to Brodie Cormack.
Just when things looked to be on the up for the Donnys, midfielder Lee Sutton was sidelined after a heavy impact to his left shoulder and took no further part in the game.
More goals came from Mercer and Moss, with Sean Baker (one goal) drifting forward to convert after a creative tap-on from Thomas Phelps, as the Tigers ran away to a comfortable 44-point lead at half-time.
The Donnys matched the Tigers for opportunities at goals in the third despite limited inside-fifty entries, showing better structure and a willingness to go forward after what must’ve been some stern words in the visiting changerooms.
Despite a spirited showing in the second half, the Donnys’ reward for effort wasn’t enough to oppose the Tigers, who piled on a six-goal final quarter to complete the 77-point drubbing.