By DAVID NAGEL
BERWICK’s first win in the inaugural season of the South East Football League may be its most important in years – the Wickers’ new recruits starring in a 49-point victory over Narre Warren at Edwin Flack Reserve.
The Wickers have had a tough draw, there’s no doubt about that, but losing to last year’s grand finalists Beaconsfield and Cranbourne had left them vulnerable heading into a game against the dominant team of the last decade.
But Berwick put its stamp on things early.
The Wickers controlled the contest in the first term, slotting 7.2 to 1.0 and out-pressuring a team that has made that part of the game an art-form in recent years.
The Magpies fought back, as you would expect, but the Wickers put the foot down in the second half, kicking nine goals to three to draw a huge sigh of relief from the club.
“It certainly is, it’s a big relief, and not just to win, but to do it against a quality side like Narre always makes it that little bit sweeter,” assistant-coach Jason Kelly said.
“There’s been a bit of a rivalry between the two sides over the last few years so it’s good to get the win. We’ve been building towards this so it’s great to finally get some reward for our efforts.”
Former West Coast Eagle Ash Smith played his best game for the club; dominating across half back, while five goals to Ben Kearns and a brilliant defensive display at full-back from Michael Riseley proved the Wickers’ recruiting campaign has been right on the mark.
The Wickers’ pressure was fantastic.
“Look, our main goal is to pressure the ball carrier and we’ve been doing that really well, but we’ve dropped off at times,” Kelly said.
“We did it again in the second quarter today, but we re-grouped at half-time and the boys did the right things and run the game out really well after half time.”
Mitch Johnson kicked three for the Wickers while rover Dylan Quirk was a standout for the Magpies.
Reigning-premier Beaconsfield has extended its winning streak to 13 with a stress-free 25-point victory over Doveton at Holm Park Reserve.
The margin would suggest a tight contest, but the Eagles led by 40 points at the final break before the Doves brought some respectability to the scoreboard in the final term.
A four-goal burst in seven minutes, mid-way through the second term, gave the Eagles a buffer that they never surrended.
Taylor Joyce with four goals, and Damien Johnston and Chris Worner with three, were dynamite up forward for ominous looking Eagles, who add former Hawthorn player Beau Dowler to its forward line for this week’s clash against Cranbourne.
Johnston and Lachlan Modica were best for the winners, while Mitch Viney and ruckman Russell Gabriel, who had a great battle with Scott Meyer, were best for the Doves. Ricky Hayes joined Joyce at the top of the league goal-kicking list with four goals for the visitors.
