By DAVID NAGEL
SOUTH EAST FOOTBALL NETBALL LEAGUE REVIEW – ROUND 10
Berwick 17.13 (115) ROC 12.9 (81
BERWICK led by just five points at three-quarter time against ROC when an ex-official summed up the feeling as the players and crowd gathered to listen to the last instructions from coach Rhys Nisbet.
“I’ve seen it all before… we’ll lose this.”
In the brittle past he may have been right, but the Wickers survived a scare on Saturday booting seven goals to two in the final quarter to score a 34-point win over the Kangaroos at Edwin Flack Reserve.
Let’s give the Kangaroos some credit here, they were admirable with their ability to stick with the Wickers after Matt Ford (calf) and Luke Smaluch (leg) went down with game-ending injuries in the first quarter.
And after conceding an early goal in the final term, which stretched the deficit out to 12, the Kangaroos lifted again, but slaughtered some hard-earned opportunities that could have made all the difference in the end.
Chris Potalej, Ben Tivendale, Dale Williamson and Matthew Clarke all failed to convert kickable opportunities while a crucial missed mark in the centre of the ground from Tommy Marks resulted in a goal to the Wickers which started their last-quarter roll.
The margin seems great in the end, but at the clock tower in the Melbourne Cup (10 minutes into the final quarter) these two were still going stride for stride.
Berwick’s class shined through in the end, Ben Kearns and James Phillips running riot as the home side kicked five goals in an exhilarating final 15 minutes of play.
The Wickers can thank their defence for keeping the Kangas at bay on the weekend.
Youngsters Ryan Hillard, Jo West and Lucas Jellyman-Turner were superb down back all day while Michael Johnson and Michael Riseley did some important things when the Kangas came charging in the third term.
Potalej, who finished the day with five, inspired a late burst by the visitors in the third, booting two goals of his own to cut the margin to single figures at the final break.
Potalej capitalised on the great work of Dylan Chapman in the ruck who is developing a sixth-sense with clearance-king Chris Larosa that will need to watched closely by opposition midfielders for the remainder of the season.
Tivendale had plenty of the ball out wide for the Kangaroos while Nathan Brewster and James Sloothaak continued their fine seasons down back.
Berwick just had that touch of class that made the difference in the end.
Kearns was magical in the last quarter, silky-skilled on his way to four goals for the day, a total matched by Tim Gunn who continues to emerge as a powerful key-forward.
First-gamer Luke Nelson kicked three, while Andrew Morozoff threw his weight around when things got interesting in the final quarter.
In the end, the Wickers got home… but they were far from impressive.
