By RUSSELL BENNETT
LET’S cut straight to the chase – the Pakenham Silverbacks will this Sunday play the biggest game in their history and they need your support.
They’ll face off against the Bendigo Dragons from 1.30pm this Sunday on Rawling Field at Sydney Pargeter Reserve in Endeavour Hills.
The winner earns the right to battle it out for the Gridiron Victoria Division 2 championship at the Latrobe City Sports and Entertainment Stadium, in Morwell, on 15 August.
“There’s a fair bit of excitement around the club – we’ve got a lot of belief we can knock them off,” said Kane Latham, one of the Silverbacks’ inaugural players, about this Sunday’s game.
The Dragons finished on top of the Division 2 standings with nine wins from their 10 games – including 42-0 and 22-0 wins over the Silverbacks in their two encounters.
But Latham and his Pakenham team-mates have the belief that they can cause something special.
He said their training had been reflective of their belief in each other, and of their cause and he praised coach Paul Tindall, who only started at the club this season.
“Getting everyone on board and on the same page at a gridiron club can be a difficult job, but he’s done it really well,” Latham said.
Latham’s Silverbacks team-mate, and club founder and president Richie Howlett said of the game this week: “Making the finals this year really validates all the hard work put in by the players, coaches and committee.
“Being our closest game to Pakenham this year, we’re really looking forward to the sideline support from family, friends and local fans to give us the edge in what’s going to be a tough game.”
