By Marc McGowan
THE Berwick Miners made a disappointing start to the Gridiron Victoria season with an 8-6 defeat at the hands of the Western Crusaders at Sydney Pargeter Reserve on Sunday.
The match began in almost perfect fashion for the Miners when quarterback Sam Walker connected with Kabir Malimar on the second drive of the day.
But that was to be Berwick’s sole trip to the end zone for the afternoon.
Both teams’ defences ruled and Walker was unable to spark his offence into action.
The Miners’ rusty performance still appeared to be enough until a defensive lapse with just five minutes on the clock allowed the Crusaders to tie the scores.
The visitors went ahead when they completed the two-point conversion before holding on for the opening-round victory.
Berwick’s cause was not helped when Dan Smith (right ankle) joined fellow starting corner Steve Baker (groin) on the sidelines in the third quarter.
Miners coach Mel Martin believes the loss of his two defensive mainstays was pivotal in the result, but conceded his players’ poor execution was the real reason behind their defeat.
“I had hopes of it being a good day, but we just couldn’t put two plays together,” he said.
“It is frustrating, but I’m still pretty positive. I’m sure the side will take out what they did wrong on how they performed on Sunday.
“Rust was certainly a factor, particularly with some of our returners, and we also had disrupted pre-seasons for a couple of our guys.
“But, realistically, we didn’t execute the way we know we can and have and, in our game, execution is everything – if you don’t execute there’s nothing you can do about it.”
Martin praised his defence and in particular Donte Newton, Brian Afoa, Baker and teenager Nick Vlad.
The Miners take on the reigning champions, the Monash University Warriors, in Geelong from 2pm on Sunday.
Martin is confident his side can produce a much-improved display against the Warriors.
“We know we have the talent – there are no two ways about that. It’s just getting it all welded into place,” he said.
“The guys have responded to the team building we’ve put in place and they’re a much, much tighter unit than previous years.
“Now they have to leave it on the park and just perform.”
