LIAM PHILLIPS
GAWLER Central barely broke a sweat
in its Barossa, Light & Gawler Netball
Association A-grade trip to Freeling,
beating the Redlegs 64-19 to bolster its
position in second-place with a handy
percentage boost.
Tigers coach Reece Turtur said despite
entering the contest as heavy favourites,
his side was determined to not play down
to the level of its opponent.
“We were fairly explicit about how we
are building towards a full 60-minute performance,”
he said.
“We’re in the second half of the season
now, so it’s really important to build that
consistency and make sure that we’re not
having those peaks and valleys throughout
our game.
“There was also a real conscious effort
to treasure our possession and making
sure we convert turnovers into scores –
they’re habits that will hold us in good
stead.”
While everyone played their role in the
big win, Turtur gave a special mention
to Ali Schahinger in defence, as well as
youngster Zahra Schumacher.
“I thought Ali had an outstanding game
in defence for us,” he said.
“Obviously, we were turning over a
substantial amount of ball throughout the
game, but it wasn’t just her work in defence
that was impressive, it was the way
she was controlling the ball coming out of
the back half and providing our attackers
with that support they need – she was instrumental
for us.
“I also want to give a shout out to Zahra
Schumacher – she’s an up-and-coming
player that we gave an opportunity to on
the weekend.
“She’s in our Senior 2s at the moment,
but she’s still quite young coming up
from the junior grades.
“She’s been impressing me over the
past couple of rounds with her work and
skill in the twos, and I was really proud
of her efforts when she came on at goal
defence in the second half.
“Zahra has an outstanding vertical
jump – her athleticism is something you
don’t see every day – and she just takes
the game on… she’s ruthless in trying to
turn the ball over.”