Grand final back at Berwick

By Paul Pickering
BERWICK has won back the right to host the Casey Cardinia league grand final.
The finals venues were decided at last week’s MPNFL board meeting, with Berwick’s Edwin Flack Reserve preferred to Pakenham’s Toomuc Reserve as the stage for the 2010 deciders on Saturday 18 September.
Pakenham will still host three of the six finals games, including the preliminary final on Sunday 12 September, with matches to be split between the venues on the first two weekends of the finals series.
MPNFL operations manager Ian Benson said the league was delighted with last year’s grand final showcase at Pakenham, but decided to move it back to Berwick on a “rotation” basis.
Edwin Flack Reserve last hosted the grand finals in 2008, but that day was marred by an ugly brawl in the crowd.
But Benson said the league had no hesitation in returning to the venue.
“The management of the finals has moved on a bit over the last couple of years, so hopefully we’ve got it right,” he said.
“The finals at Berwick were better managed last year – they had three finals there and they were all incident free – and I’m sure that will continue this year.”