AARON DEGREEF

AN inaccurate Gawler Central clawed its way to a 17-point victory over South Gawler in the Barossa, Light & Gawler reserves football elimination final on Sunday.
Plenty of fans rocked up to see the cross-town rivals do battle, and both sides  looked keen to put on a show.
South capitalised on the scoreboard first with Brayden Cook opening the Lions’ account.
Both sides continued to battle in the guts until Central’s Paul Bova bombed one home from outside 50 – a perfect barrel that sailed over the heads of the South defenders.
The Tigers led by three points at quarter-time, having kicked 1.5 to 1.2.
The second quarter was a lot higher scoring than the previous as Bova quickly converted a setshot.
However, South’s David Aldred fired up, demoralising his defender on multiple occasions and converting every single time to add three goals.
But, in a similar fashion, Bova snagged another major in retaliation.
To finish off the first half in style, Cook received a handball and converted on the siren, ensuring South trailed by only one point at half-time.
Early in the third quarter, it seemed the Tigers wanted it slightly more.
Matthew Taylor-McDonald snagged a very easy open snap, while Adam Byster seemed to be all over the place and helped set up more goals for Bova.
After tempers flared and a few ripped shirts, Matthew Foldesdy helped keep South’s spirit alive by sneaking a neat kick home.
The Tigers led by 10 points at the final change, but it was a tight last term.
Central began piling on the forward pressure, stringing together a great chain of kicks that culminated with Billy Symons sniping a goal.
Byster then put his foot down, covering a great distance and plucking a strong overhead mark, which would lead to another major.
Although Aldred continued to be dominant up forward, the intense pressure of the Tigers broke open the game, allowing Corey Nesbitt to top it off with a  lassy
finish.
The Tigers will now face Tanunda on Sunday in the first semi-final.