Miners quarterback Sam Walker threw two touchdowns and ran another two in himself against the Nunawading Warriors at Springfield Reserve in Croydon on Sunday.By Marc McGowan
THE Berwick Miners logged their third and most impressive victory of the Gridiron Victoria season on Sunday when they defeated local rivals the Nunawading Warriors 26-20 in a thrilling contest at Springfield Reserve in Croydon.
It was the Miners’ first success over the Warriors since 2003 and follows on from their impressive, if unsuccessful, performances against the Western Crusaders and Croydon Rangers.
Disappointingly for Berwick, the previous round’s abandonment against the lowly Southern Seahawks has been ruled a draw by the league after it was previously decided to play a rematch this weekend.
It leaves the Miners with three wins, four losses and a draw in 2007.
In a high-intensity first half on Sunday, Berwick was first to put points on the board following a 40-yard strike by quarterback Sam Walker to Cameron Neale, who was making his return after a bout of glandular fever.
Wide receiver Jamie Stafford scored the Miners’ second touchdown with a brilliant reception, and a two-yard scramble by Walker after Neale caught a monster pass completed Berwick’s opening-half exploits.
Nunawading was just as potent in producing three end zone visits of its own and carried a 20-18 advantage into the long break.
The second half provided a direct contrast to the first two quarters’ offensive explosions as both teams’ defences stepped up.
Miners strongmen Rob Zimmerman, Dante Newton and Mark Petana led from the front, with the latter causing a vital turnover on a Warriors fourth down to steal possession for Berwick.
A huge run by Miners captain Shahid Malimar and another catch to Stafford put Berwick in attacking territory once again, and Walker ran in his second touchdown of the day to hand his side the lead.
Stafford then capped his great display by gloving the two-point conversion.
The Warriors tried valiantly to make up the six-point deficit, but the closest they got was when they managed to score before the play was called back due to a holding penalty on their offensive line.
Separate late drives by Nunawading were ended by interceptions to Newton and Neale as the Miners just managed to hold on.
Berwick head coach Dale Warren was ecstatic with the result.
“We’re evolving and that was definitely our best performance of the season by far,” he said.
“We need to keep winning because if you don’t win you don’t move forward.”
There is a competition bye this weekend before the Miners take on the Bay City Buccaneers on Sunday, 22 July at Henry Turner Reserve in Footscray at 2pm.
