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BIDVEST Wits have looked like a machine this season perhaps the closest coach Gavin Hunt has come to replicating the mechanical monster at SuperSport United that ground to three league titles in succession from 2008 to 2010.

And it is a machine with a sharp end a tank that rolls over obstacles and also has a pretty big cannon.

Hunt’s frontline have all chipped in with goals. It is the difference, as the halfway stage approaches, between the Clever Boys and a side currently looking formidable leading the Absa Premiership.

Winger Daine Klate has six goals, forward Sibusiso Vilakazi four, and so does upstart, tearaway 18-yearold striker Phakamani Mahlambi. In-form midfielder Jabulani Shongwe has chipped in with three, the four players contributing 17 of Wits’ 23 goals.

It is the difference between draws and wins for Wits, and in putting away teams that should be beaten, or not. The frontline provides a sting to a superbly structured team, the core of which has been built over two seasons.

We don’t have anybody prolific. But there are not many of those in the league. Everybody s chipped in. And if you want to be successful then everybody will chip in,” Hunt said. We ve got a wider range of people scoring than in the previous two seasons.

My centre-halves still don’t score enough that s something we’re working on. And that s why [centre-back] Bongani [Khumalo] has come in. He’ll certainly get us a few goals over half-a-season.”

Klate, supposedly winding down his career at 30 after adding to his three titles under Hunt at SuperSport with two more at Orlando Pirates, is in revelatory form.

He should get 10 or 12 if he’s at his best,” Hunt said. At SuperSport he was getting close to double figures, or getting double figures. The important things is I get him playing to his strengths.”

Wits scored 34 goals in both the past two seasons, a ratio of 1.13 goals per game. This season they have 23 in 13 1.76 per game.

Hunt is adamant the improvement is more down to adapting a style to the right sort of players than the right players adapting to last season’s style.

We ve completely changed the style. And you have to. You’ve got to play to what you’ve got, and your strengths,” the coach said.

We play trying to create the space, to bring the opposition onto us a bit more, so we can go in a bit more... It’s about where we want to play from. What areas and how we want to play.

Wits have added James Keene to their attack this transfer window. The big Englishman scored on debut in Sunday’s 31 win against Chippa United, but more importantly looked a clever sort of striker who can play the one- or twotouch linkman to the skilful runners around

him.