By RUSSELL BENNETT
THE Pakenham Silverbacks have continued to take clear steps forward, despite lowering their colours to the Northern Raiders 16-7 at LE Cotchin Reserve in Reservoir on Sunday.
Pakenham scored early on a decisive run from Adam Kolinski, but the Raiders bit back hard – taking the lead by a point thanks to a successful two-point conversion.
It was a dour, defensive struggle for the remainder of the contest, with the Raiders’ line and linebackers putting on a huge display of big hitting… only to be matched by Pakenham’s defense.
Richmond Stowers was again a clear standout for the Silverbacks, along with Daniel Salvar and Mutini Nhliziyo, but the defence’s biggest shining light was once again Tommy Trimble in another man-of-the-match effort.
The raiders scored a late touchdown on the final play of the game, on a last ditch send-all blitz from the Silverbacks, but the Pakenham side has plenty to take out of the clash in what is a brutally tight second-tier of Gridiron Victoria’s men’s competition.
The Silverbacks now sit third on the Division-2 standings, trailing the second-placed Raiders on just their head-to-head points differential.
Pakenham will this Sunday take on the hometown Dragons at the Tom Flood Sports Centre in Park Road, Bendigo from 1.30pm.
For anyone interested in getting involved in the Silverbacks’ juniors set up, training is held every Wednesday from 6pm at O’Neil Road in Beaconsfield. For more information about the club, search for ‘Pakenham Silverbacks’ on Facebook or visit www.silverbacks.com.au.
