LIAM PHILLIPS
GAWLER Central started its
Barossa, Light & Gawler Netball
Association Senior 1 season
on the right foot with a 55-
23 away win at Willaston.
The Tigers jumped out to a
15-8 lead at quarter time, which
became 32-13 at halftime as the
visitors played tight, defensive
netball.
Gawler Central coach Reece
Turtur said the defensive end
was a focus coming into the
year, so it was pleasing to see results
this early in the season.
“From work we’ve done in the
preseason and previous years,
we know our attacking half is
strong enough to put up a score
when given the opportunity,” he
said.
“So our aim was to set a
benchmark for our defensive efforts,
because we want to be one
of the better defensive sides in
this league and hold teams to the
lowest scores possible.
“Not only did we limit Willaston’s
scoring opportunities,
but we held them to the lowest
score of any Senior 1 team this
round, which was a big tick for
what we’re trying to do.”
While everyone played their
part, Turtur gave a special shoutout
to the efforts of Katie Ward
at wing defence.
“Katie had an outstanding
game for us,” he said.
“She combined really well
with our circle defenders to win
the ball, and stifled Willaston’s
ability to penetrate its attacking
third.
“I was also really proud of
Sharni Assender who got her
first run at Senior 1 level at goal
keeper in the second half.
“She’s a really strong rebounder
and she played like a seasoned
campaigner really – I’m looking
forward to seeing what she can
do throughout the season.”
It was a good win for the Tigers,
but Turtur said it was far
from perfect, and there is work
to do if this side wants to prove
itself as one of the premiership
favourites.
“It’s round one so there will
always be things to work on and
identify in the big picture,” he
said.
“The link between our defence
and our attack was there, but it’s
probably something we need to
continue to work on to make
sure it’s consistent through four
quarters.
“Another part of growing is
identifying variations of our
combinations, and making sure
they click as soon as we put
them out there – we don’t want
to get into a situation where our
new players haven’t gelled with
a certain combination when we
need to turn to it in a big game.”