By DAVID NAGEL
CCFL REVIEW – ROUND 11
Pakenham 10.6 (66) Berwick 6.11 (47)
THE spirit of its coach Steve O’Bryan has infiltrated Pakenham – to the point where the Lions now have genuine belief they can lock away a double-chance and become a serious player when the real stuff begins in September.
There is simply no other way of looking at things after the Lions’ courageous 19-point victory over Berwick at Edwin Flack Reserve made it eight wins from nine outings and saw a jump to third on the Casey Cardinia league ladder.
O’Bryan has instilled something, an intangible, that has his players committed to each other and working for a common goal – it was the difference between the two sides on Saturday and will be the driving force for the Lions as the season rolls on.
Remember Tooradin in 2012… it rode a similar path to a preliminary final and there’s nothing to suggest the Lions can’t at least match that output this season.
The Lions took advantage of a stiff breeze – blowing towards the netball-court end of Edwin Flack – to open up a 15-point lead at quarter time before, as expected, the Wickers bounced back to draw within two points at the main break.
Pakenham struck first in the third term, O’Bryan scoring from close range, at the six-minute mark, after Berwick skipper Madi Andrews, who was as brave as brave can be, kept his eyes on the ball but cleaned up his team-mate, Luke Sheppard, in the process.
Dom Paynter was everywhere for the Lions at the start of the third quarter, which made it all the more inconceivable that he could find a paddock up forward, to mark, and kick truly to stretch the Lions margin out to two-and-a-bit goals.
Paul Vanschilt then answered quickly for the Wickers, hard-running the key, as he shook his shadow for the day, Jack Kowarzik, with a magical running goal.
The home-side was back in the hunt but then came a goal-of-the-year contender from Daniel Fry that had ‘this is the Lions’ day’ written all over it.
Let’s see if we can do it justice.
Gathering at half-forward, 50-metres out and five metres in from the boundary, Fry twisted and turned, took a bounce, before swinging onto his trusty left foot, right on the chalk, and slotting with a bomb from 45 out.
It stopped the home-side’s momentum in an instant but, more importantly it gave the visitors a two-goal lead at the final break.
With double-chance favouritism on the line, both coaches revved up their charges for the final time.
“Contest after contest,” O’Bryan implored.
“We need voice and leadership at the stoppages because this will be a massive fight… are you blokes up for the challenge?”
Berwick coach Rhys Nisbet was equally as passionate.
“We’re off the ropes and we’re throwing bombs now and for the first time all day you can sense their legs are buckling,” he roared.
“Don’t leave anything in the tank. We need to run and run, top three’s up for grabs and we just can’t leave this ground without the four points.”
The Lions’ focus on the stoppage count paid off, seven-minutes into the final term when Russ Lehman broke free from a pack and hit Fry on the lead, lace-out with a bullet.
The big-man went back and kicked truly. Nathan Waite then answered at the 17-minute mark before Fry ran into an open goal to kick the sealer.
The Lions had many good players on the day, with Steve Morey doing a great job on Waite, Anthony Young, Dom Paynter, ruckman Kym Jones and Jarrod Tonks on fire around the ground while Fry’s four-goal performance and O’Bryan’s ability to soak up pressure as a loose man in defence in the final term were crucial to the end result.
Berwick has now lost three in a row – to Doveton, Beaconsfield and Pakenham – and with games against Narre Warren and Cranbourne on the horizon, it’s about to face a real big test of its character.
The Wickers were really playing for each other when they defeated Cranbourne in round four, but on Saturday there was a touch of selfishness and a return to the ‘leave it too few’ mentality.
Daniel Harrison was Berwick’s best, continuing his great form off half back while the kamikaze-kids, Andrews and Sheppard, worked hard to the bitter end.
