By Marcus Uhe
A dominant quarter from a former AFL player proved too much for Berwick to overcome in a 35-point loss to Doncaster East on Saturday afternoon in the Eastern Football Netball League.
Tim O’Brien kicked three goals in the vital third term and six for the afternoon as the Lions ran away 35-point winners, 13.9 87 to 8.4 52 at Edwin Flack Reserve.
Berwick trailed by just two points at half time but conceded six goals to three in the third quarter to fall 21 points behind at the final break.
And it was O’Brien that did the bulk of the damage.
The versatile key position player, who played 115 games in a decade-long career for Hawthorn and the Western Bulldogs, shook opponent Deng Andrew on the lead twice to convert set shot opportunities and got goal-side of the defender for an open goal out the back to help separate the two sides in the pivotal quarter.
With Braedyn Bowden on the sidelines with a wrist injury, the man who has stood the opposition’s best forward on most occasions this year, Clint Evans was forced to shuffle his magnets around in the hope of finding a suitable opponent.
Having kicked five of the first six goals of the term, Doncaster East surged to a 28-point lead after 19 minutes, before a pair of goals to Berwick’s Cooper Clarke late in the quarter helped to wrestle back some momentum.
Berwick started the final term with more intent, and finally prevailed following a handful of stoppages deep in the forward 50 when Tom Brennan squeezed home a goal after taking the advantage from a free kick.
With three of the last four goals, Berwick was in the hunt, now only trailing by 15 points.
The next goal was going to prove critical in deciding the outcome of the match, and it would be the Lions that struck the telling blow after 10 minutes, pushing their lead back to 23 points.
Two more goals in the next three minutes, including O’Brien’s sixth, put the contest to bed midway through the quarter, despite a valiant effort from the home side.
Clarke, Jai Neal and Majok Puok each finished with two goals for Berwick, as Blake Westra, Caleb Van Oostveen and Sam Frangalas all turned in solid performances.
Wal Wuol played his first game in Berwick colours since round four after a solid string of performances for VFL side, Northern Bullants, while Kane Hurst played his first senior game for the club as his Dandenong Stingrays had a bye in the Coates Talent League.
The Wickers have next weekend off as part of the League’s split round, and head to Balwyn Park on the 27th of July to tackle Balwyn, which has lost its last three and surrendered top spot on the table after opening the season with 10 consecutive wins.
Around Premier Division, Vermont thrashed Noble Park by 58 points and Rowville held off Balwyn, while East Ringwood claimed top spot in a tight tussle with Blackburn.
Berwick’s women, meanwhile, have all but secured a top-four birth in the Division Two Women’s competition with three games remaining, following a monster win over Chirnside Park on Saturday.
Alari Goergia Malkoun kicked eight goals and Kasey Expositio five in a 20.11 131 to 0.2 2 win, Berwick’s seventh in its last eight contests, to have them second on the ladder ahead of Waverley Blues on percentage.
Malkoun is the competition’s leading goal kicker this season, with 43 from her 11 matches, including a bag of 10 in round five against Kilsyth.
A big clash awaits on Saturday when the Wicker Women face Montrose in a battle between two top-four sides, before they tackle Waverley Blues the following week at home.
