The Tigers continued their trend of the last three weeks by playing a more determined brand of football and forced Barossa to slug it out.

The Bulldogs welcomed back playing coach Roger James after a 13-week lay off due to a serious leg injury and he slipped straight back into his role deep in the forward line with a three goal return.

He helped cover the absence of centre half forward Heath Commane who missed his first game in almost seven years to take some pressure off his injured groin.

Billy Nichols led the way for the Tigers by winning a ton of contested balls at the stoppages as his ruckman Matt Cragg-Sapsford overshadowed Bulldog captain Ross Christie in the rucks.

“Nuri really came to play,” said Barossa rover Paul Stelzer who kicked two goals.

“They beat us in the clearances which forced us to work a lot harder in other areas. They had a real hunger about their game.

“It was tough, ugly footy and even though we lost the game we can hold our heads up for the way we played,” said Shawn Gibson, Nuriootpa’s captain.

“It was a day for passionate footy and that’s what we brought to the game. Our attitude has been much better over the last month and the young guys that have come in (Shaun Heusler and Jackson Jaensch) have shown a few of the senior guys how to go about it.”

Darren Sharp proved the ‘X factor’ for Barossa, holding Nuri full forward Craig Gogoll to just a single goal in the first half before James pushed him forward after half time where he kicked a goal in the third and iced the game with three in the last.

“Sharpey finished the game off nicely for us,” James said. “We needed something up forward and as always he stepped up when it matters. Nuri really challenged us, it was a good hit out.

“I was a bit sore on Sunday after not playing for 13 weeks but I’m happy to be back after getting the all clear.”

James needs to get his team firing for a possible danger game at Dutton Park against Kapunda next week with the double chance on the line.

Kapunda are coming off a win over Willaston and are looking to make some noise as they finish off the season. Barossa District has struggled at ‘The Hangar’ in recent times.

Nuriootpa has the bye this week before playing the Bombers in the final game of the season, where a win could mean the difference between finishing fifth or sixth.