No way to kiss your sister

By Gavin Staindl
BERWICK Miners coach Mel Martin used an old American expression to sum up his side’s 14-14 draw – and first point – against the Crusaders at the weekend.
“I look at a draw as kissing your own sister,” Martin said.
“The draw can sometimes be seen as a loss but considering where we came from this year I can understand why it could be seen as a win.”
The Miners entered last week’s game at Footscray winless from five rounds but by half-time they were looking to break the drought.
The visitors led 14-0 at the main break but a long bomb with three minutes remaining in the last quarter gave the Crusaders a share of the lead and robbed the Miners of their first win.
“It is pretty hard to take,” Martin said.
“We should have won the game. We led at half-time and it was only silly errors in the third quarter that allowed them to take control,” Martin said.
After touchdowns by fill-in running back Andrew Jarvis and receiver Sam Walker put the visitors up 14-0, the momentum took a swing for the worse when midway through the third quarter Miners’ quarterback Andrew Nixon was sacked for a safety.
“Until then we had dominated but after they scored the two points … that was the game turner,” Martin said.
Holding a six-point lead, the defence that in Martin’s terms had been “extraordinary” all game, made its biggest mistake of the day by failing to stop Crusader wide receiver Tyson Garnham from latching on to a long bomb.
The Australian representative caught the pass with three minutes remaining in the last quarter and the ensuing touchdown levelled the scores at 14-14.
The scramble for possession in the final minutes resulted in numerous unsuccessful “hail Marys” and botched attempts to get within field goal range.
But despite the result, Martin is content in knowing for the first time this season his offence and defence were able to combine for a well-rounded performance.
“Andrew Nixon performed a lot better and took command of the frontline … he threw for 160 yards and Ben Lamb had five receptions for 70-plus yards.
“Andrew Jarvis stepped up as starting running back and ran for 60 yards and he was ably supported by Andrew Crawford and Daniel Pollard who was on the pitch a lot as fullback and middle linebacker.
“You can see the great improvement in the defence. The Crusaders had a lot of potent weapons and three of our four backfield positions are taken up by rookies, but they did a great job in holding out Garnham and Brett Wicks.
“To only allow 14 points is a good effort and sadly the tying touchdown came off a long pass to Garnham but that was their only big mistake of the day,” Martin said.
The Miners will return to their home ground at Endeavour Hills for the first time this month and will face off against the in-form Rangers for the first time since their opening game.
Martin will use the match to gauge his side’s six-week improvement after the Miners were trounced 39-0 last time the two sides met.