Miners’ finals hope

By Marc McGowan
THE finals equation is simple for the Berwick Miners: win their last two games and they’re in, but lose even one and they’re out.
That’s where the Miners find themselves after their heart-breaking 18-17 loss to the second-placed Croydon Rangers in Footscray last Sunday.
The Miners actually led the clash 15-0 and then 17-6, but the Rangers scored two touchdowns in the second half to come out on top of their rival.
The result left stand-in head coach Darren Shaw shattered.
“I think we’ve set the record for the amount of games (five) lost in a season by less than a touchdown,” Shaw said.
“It’s beyond frustrating – there are no words any more. I’d rather get done by 20 points every week because, to be honest, we should be in second spot.
“The only team that’s really beaten us is the top side (the Monash University Warriors), but that’s football.”
Back-up quarterback Andrew Crawford took the reins for much of the day for Berwick after debuting at the position the previous week.
Sam Walker spent some time at quarterback, but also played cornerback and wide receiver.
Crawford and Rick Brown capped a 55-yard drive with the game’s opening touchdown.
Brown also converted the extra point.
Donte Newton then ran in the Miners’ second touchdown and they were also successful on their two-point attempt to stretch their advantage to 15.
Croydon hit back with a passing touchdown of its own after some poor defensive coverage before Ross Oliver’s safety pushed the margin out again.
But the Rangers continued to press and ultimately ran over the top of Berwick despite Mark Petana’s and Brian Afoa’s strong defensive displays.
Brown, Newton and Scott Sunderland were the Miners’ offensive standouts.
Shaw is urging his players to turn up to training ahead of the club’s most important contests of the year.
“Now it comes down to the wire and it’s whether the players want it – they have to get over the hill,” he said.
The Miners lock horns with the winless Southern Seahawks at Sydney Pargeter Reserve on Saturday at 2pm before a return bout with Croydon the weekend after.