RICK DREWER
GAWLER Central won its first game since round 16 last year on Saturday as it knocked off Kapunda by 38 points in Barossa, Light & Gawler A-grade football.
However, it was the Bombers who got away to a flying start, with Matt Stent getting two goals on the board inside the first 10 minutes of play.
Early, the Tigers appeared disorganised, listless and uncertain and failed to register their opening goal until the 21-minute mark, which came from Luke Edwards.
The Bombers then crash-landed, surrendering the lead after Corey Solly and Brad Mercer both goaled, to snatch a four-point lead at quarter-time.
It was an amazing turnaround as Adam Turrell and Jake Huggard had dominated play.
The Tigers had been out-muscled and out-tackled, but were ahead.
After Harry Wuttke momentarily regained the lead for Kapunda with an early second quarter goal, it appeared it had retired to the hangar, with the Tigers kicking the next six goals, while Kapunda managed just two points.
Andrew Wright, Solly, Mercer, Luke Edwards, Cam Reynolds and Brad Mitchell popped up all over the place to extend Central’s lead to 34 points at the long break.
After half-time, Kapunda was under pressure early due to its poor skills, and Kyle Wurst made it pay after he snapped a wonderful goal from a pack.
Nick Hooker then extended the lead to over eight goals.
While Joey Brown, Mark Cussadia and Brad Matters won plenty of the ball for the Bombers, they had no method when going forward.
Nick White’s tumbler to Brad Prior resulted in the Bombers’ first goal since the opening minute of the second term.
It was followed by Mercer, who after a strong mark in the goal square collected his fourth goal, while Justin Zanandrea, on the run, collected the Bombers fifth goal, moments before the three-quarter-time siren.
At the final break, Central mentor Matt Whelan demanded that his side “finish it off, move the ball quickly and make them earn it.”
The final term was a break-even affair, with the game well and truly over.
In the rooms after, Whelan was emotional following the victory.
“Finally it’s over, it’s been hard for 8 weeks, that was heaps better and we have more games to win,” he said.