Kuwarna went down to Sturt in their Round Seven SANFL match by 61 points at Unley Oval on Saturday.
The Club was unable to match the Double Blues, falling 15.12 (102) vs 6.5 (41).
Here are the five key takeaways from the match.
Pedlar returns unscathed
Kuwarna AFL-listed forward/midfielder Luke Pedlar made his return to competitive footy after recovering from a shoulder injury.
Despite spending much of the game in the forward line, Pedlar ran through the middle late in the game and Kuwarna SANFL Senior Coach Michael Godden said he was pleased Pedlar was able to get through the game unscathed.
“We just needed to make sure Luke got through a game, it was about Luke getting through with that shoulder,” Godden said.
“He’s pulled up okay which is pleasing because he has a game under his belt now.”
Pedlar finished with 12 disposals, three tackles and three marks.
Gallagher contributes up forward
Forward Karl Gallagher made the most of his opportunities in front of the big sticks, finishing the afternoon with two goals.
Gallagher did not need much time or space to create chances, impressing Godden.
“An Irishmen playing his first year of footy, it is easy for us to just say adapt, but it’s not that easy to do,” Godden said.
“I thought that he was good, he showed some nice signs and for how hard it was for those guys up forward I thought he contributed well to the team.”
Curtin solid in one-on-one contests
Defender Dan Curtin had plenty of positive moments against the Double Blues, with it another chance for him to learn, according to Godden.
Leading an undersized defense, Curtin was able to hold up well, rarely being beat in one-on-one contests.
“Dan like every young player does a lot of really good things and then has things he has to work on,” Godden said.
“He’s a young player still learning and today was another chance for him to do that.”
Curtin finished with 13 disposals, three marks, two tackles and three rebound-50s.
Bond battles hard
Defender Hugh Bond was given the task of limiting the impact of Sturt small forward Joshua Hone.
And Godden said Bond approached the challenge well.
“Bondy always works hard,” Godden said.
“He is a really diligent defender for us and it was hard for those backs today, they (Sturt) had a lot of supply.”
Bond finished with 10 disposals, five marks - one contested.
Burton impresses in Kuwarna League debut
SANFL Development Player Steve Burton had an impressive first League outing for Kuwarna, showing his ability to impact as an on-baller.
Burton applied the pressure around the contest, laying a team-high 11 tackles to cap a strong first game in the tri colours.
“That’s all we can ask from those Development Players, they come in and it's quite difficult because we are often depleted,” Godden said.
“I thought Steve just continued to play his role inside, he knew what he had to do and did the best of his ability.”
Burton finished with 13 disposals, two marks, four clearances and two inside 50s.
The Club's SANFL side plays West Adelaide at Richmond Oval next Saturday afternoon with the first bounce at 2:10pm.
SCOREBOARD
KUWARNA 2.0 3.2 4.4 6.5 (41)
STURT 3.4 6.8 9.9 15.12 (102)
GOALS
Kuwarna: Gallagher, Clifford 2, Davies, Edwards.
Sturt: Hone 6, Anderson 2, Carey, Lewis, Snelling, McFadyen, Fahey-Sparks, Thiele, Illman
BEST
Kuwarna: Hamill, McHenry, Boyle, Strachan, O’Leary.
