Great Flinders football
MICHAEL Curtis led Tumby Bay to a comprehensive 84-point win over Eyre United in wet and windy conditions in their Anzac Day clash at Tumby Bay on Saturday.
Tumby Bay won the toss and kicked with the advantage of a strong southerly breeze in driving rain.
The Blues dominated possession from the start but were finding it difficult to convert that advantage on the scoreboard as they struggled to master the conditions.
Chris Prime was the first to find his range and kicked the only two goals for the quarter as Tumby wasted opportunities to kick 2-9. However, they did hold Eyre United scoreless.
Damien Evans and Brad Foster were revelling in the tough conditions, laying numerous tackles and racking up plenty of possessions with hard attack on the football for Eyre United.
Prime opened the scoring in the second quarter with a kick off the ground to give Tumby a valuable goal into the breeze.
In a surprise move Damien Clark was thrown into the ruck by Tumby coach Richard Horgan. Clark has proved in the last week he can take out some very solid opposition and this maybe earned him a shot up against Eyre United strongman Luke Tonkin.
Roland Chard then slotted home another goal for Tumby into the breeze as the Blues looked to be playing a more systematic and disciplined brand of football against the wind.
Young Tom Kelly was having a purple patch up forward for Tumby, grabbing everything in sight, setting up attack, and kicking a goal himself as he made it look easy in the difficult wet and windy conditions.
Martin Baillie then led strongly, marked and goaled to bring up the first major for the Saints.
Michael Curtis looked a class above the rest with his fierce attack on the football and clean ball handling, and when he dribbled through Tumby's fourth goal for the quarter into the breeze the task was looking very difficult for Eyre United.
Christopher Dunn was the leading light for the Saints with his good attack on the football and accurate disposal. Jordan Telfer also looked dangerous up forward for Eyre United but could not find the goals.
Tumby had extended their lead to 37 points at half-time after a fantastic quarter into the breeze.
Prime started the third quarter as he had the first two, kicking the opening goal. Michael Curtis then kicked two more and set up Chris Prime for another as Tumby Bay extended their lead to 64 points at three-quarter-time.
The final quarter started with two more Prime goals as he out-muscled his Saints opponents.
Mathew Schramm then finally gave the Saints faithful something to cheer about when he slotted home his first A-grade goal.
Loose checking from Eyre United then allowed Paul Jefferson, who had spent his day feeding the ball out from the bottom of the packs, to slip forward unattended and goal before Prime added his eighth and the last goal of the day for Tumby Bay.
Tumby Bay would have been pleased with the drive Tom Neindorf provided off half-back and through the middle. Craig Curtis also read the game beautifully to get numerous intercepts and set up plenty attack for the Blues.
Eyre United are struggling at present but youngsters like Matthew Schramm, Jon Coleman and Drew Liddicoat all showed glimpses of class and if they can accelerate their development and get them demonstrating that class more consistently they will be competitive this season.
Michael Curtis was clearly best-on-ground and was awarded the Anzac Day medal. His attack on the football, his disposal and his tackling are all outstanding, as his leadership on the field. He also kicked three goals and looked very dangerous when resting in a forward pocket. This might be a tactic we see more of from Tumby this year.
Chris Prime also had a fantastic game kicking eight in tough conditions.
Times Scribe award voting: Michael Curtis (Tumby Bay) three votes, Chris Prime (Tumby Bay) two votes and Craig Curtis (Tumby Bay) one vote.
n by Andrew Stanley
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