Lions roar

By Mark Gullick
PAKENHAM flexed its muscle in the second half to storm to an 80-point demolition of Berwick in the elimination final at Major Recreation Reserve.
The Wickers were helpless as the Lions piled on 15 goals to three after the main break.
Few people at the match would have predicted the final outcome after seeing the tight first-half.
Berwick came quickly out of the gate in the opening term with the first three goals, two of those from Billy Carlyle.
Pakenham’s Jake Delphine settled his side with a goal, but Berwick kicked the next two.
Delphine again broke loose and kicked the next two goals to leave his side just nine points in arrears at the first change.
Berwick – mainly through the work of Nathan Page and Andrew Tuck – outworked Pakenham in the opening term, but conceded too many goals.
The Wickers made another strong start in the second term with goals to Nathan Waite and Carlyle.
But again Pakenham fought back, with goals to Paul Gramc and Beau Wheeler.
When Chris Kent intercepted an errant Berwick handball and kicked a goal, Pakenham trailed by just one point.
A further Lions’ behind tied the score at half-time.
Pakenham scored the first goal of the third term, again from a poor Berwick disposal, before Berwick hit back with a major.
From that point, the game changed drastically.
The Lions dominated the midfield and kicked goals, eight of them in a row, to finish off the quarter.
It was breathtaking football; Pakenham seemingly kicked a goal from every forward entry. They won every contest around the ground and used precise skills to move the ball rapidly.
Berwick coach Glenn Dale was furious at three quarter-time, telling his players they had embarrassed themselves and needed to show some spirit.
But despite his pleas, Pakenham continued its dominance in the final quarter with six goals to two.
Pakenham coach Ryan Cassidy was happy with the win.
“Berwick has been pretty good starters most of the year,” he said. “We concentrated on that, but we still started poorly. We just knew we hadn’t played our best footy. All we had to do was get back to the simple things; contested footy and tackling.
“We had to get more run and carry from the back-half and win the footy in the middle.”
Pakenham has shown similar form during the year, but rarely over an entire match. It’s frustrating at times,” Cassidy said.
“Our best is really, really good, but we do fall away, like that first quarter. If we can produce for three or four quarters, which we’ve done throughout the year, we can push a lot of sides.”
Pakenham captain Jared Goldsack was superb; completely controlling the match in the back-half.
He received excellent support from rising star Chris Cardona and brilliant veteran Nathan Brown.