In the knockout first-semi-final and with Gawler Central down by a point against Angaston with only minutes to play, Bova marked and calmly slotted through his second of the day from 55 metres out to give the Tigers the lead and ultimately a win.

It was a stunning semi-final with the momentum shifting continuously with the physical pressure applied by both teams intense.

Angaston’s Stewart White showed the meaning of courage in the first quarter, coming off the field with two dislocated fingers, quickly having them popped back and returning to the field attacking a marking contest with both hands.

Central’s Clint Hill kicked the first of his five goals in the opening term and proved a very dangerous weapon with his knack of slipping away from the contest into space.

The defensive units of both teams were on song.

Gawler Central put enormous defensive pressure on Matt Duldig and Andrew Pech who both suffered from a lack of freedom without the injured Kent Kingsley to provide backup.

At the other end, White, along with David Wood, Tom Ryan and Phil Bennett locked down the Tigers forwards, forcing Central to find goals via other avenues.

Bennett and Ryan went on to be the Panthers’ best players with the 17-year-old Ryan displaying pure class.

Centrals’ Kirk Heberle and Sean Brading ultimately proved the difference as the pair dominated through the middle of the ground.

“Hebs was sensational,” Dawe said. “We know Casey (Thomas) will give us a contest at centre half forward, that releases Hebs to work up and down the corridor.

“We knew we were in for a fight with Angaston and for Hill to turn it on like that definitely took some pressure off us.”

The two tall options, Heberle and Brading, played with the skill and movement of midfielders and gave the Tigers dominance in the air whenever they moved the ball up the field, causing Angaston’s structures to fall apart just enough for them to hang in the game.