Rick Drewer

THE Gawler Central Tigers hosted the Kapunda Bombers at the Gawler Oval dog-track with the visitors needing to find something special to give themselves any chance of victory.

Adding to the Kapuna challenge was the absence of their gun, in form, key ruckman Aaron Whistler, out with a shoulder injury.
Despite the Tigers better overall skills, particularly in ball movement by both hand and foot, the Bombers started and remained competitive throughout the match.
Gawler Central showed far better efficiency and methodology when going forward with many contributors, enabling more options and many easier shots on goal.

The opening stanza was tight, tough and no place for the timid, with the first goal resulting from a high-contact free kick to Tiger Jason Blackmore, 25-metres out, straight in front, coming six minutes in.

With Adam Turrell doing a fine job in the ruck as Whistler's substitute for the Bombers, the arm-wrestle continued until Andrew Wright, also on the end of a free-kick, converted to give the Tigers their second major mid-way through the quarter.

Late goals to Charlie Molyneux and Kyle Wurst gave Central a 28-point lead at the first break, having restricted the Bombers to a two-point term.
The Tigers’ defence, led by the likes of Casey Thomas, Rob Long, Joel Oxenham, Alex Robertson and Jake Asher proved to be almost impenetrable.

However, to the credit of the much-improved Bomber outfit this season, the side continued to be competitive throughout the remaining three-quarters of the match, going down by only a couple of goals each quarter.
After quarter time, Gawler Central increased the margin by 29 points to make it 17.12 (114) to 8.9 (57) at the final siren.

While this represents a comprehensive victory to the Central Tigers, it misrepresents the closeness of the intensity of the contest.
Despite the scoreboard, this result should certainly not be viewed as a 'thrashing' for the Bombers.

The influence of Tiger ball-magnets Sean Baker and Charlie Molyneux, together with the scoring options provided by the likes of Brad Mercer, Joe Bottin, Shane Moss and Andrew Wright – throw-in Tom Phelps, for good measure, and it explains the continued unbeaten record of Gawler Central this season.
For Kapunda, Brodie Borg, Adam Turrell, Jay Meaney and Brad Valentine gave their absolute all, together with Josh Dodd, Ash Bruce and Fraser Evans having their moments.
The Bombers, to take the next step, need a couple of key forwards so that they can convert onto the scoreboard their acceptable level of ball possession.

If Whistler is back the Bombers could well and truly give Angaston a run for its money next week.