Miners caught short on help

By Gavin Staindl
A LACK of Miners led to a last quarter cave-in during Berwick’s 20-6 loss to the Warriors at Monash University on Sunday.
When Miners coach Mel Martin arrived at the gridiron ground to find a squad of only 20 players, he knew instantly that his team was headed for trouble.
A spirited first half had the undermanned underdogs sitting in front 0-6 but the lead fell away after two critical errors in the final half prevented Berwick’s first win of the season.
Quarterback Andrew Nixon threw an interception in the red zone late in the third quarter and the full force of the mistake was felt when the Warriors progressed down the field to score a touchdown.
The Miners had an earlier chance to deny the home side of the touchdown in the fourth quarter but a defensive fumble gifted the Warriors the lead for the first time.
With play winding down and the outcome determined the Warriors scored their third touchdown on the final play to blow the score out to 20-6.
Averaging between 25-30 players throughout this season, the Miners had only 20 for last week’s match, a total that meant certain players were playing in the defence as well as offence
“To be brutally honest, I arrived at the ground and with the little numbers we had I wondered how far the Warriors were going to crush us,” Martin said.
“We had 20 guys who had to play both ways (in defence and offence) and we paid for that towards the end of the game,” Martin said.
Cornerbacks Steve Baker and Vince Tran missed this week while middle linebackers Sam Wilson and Ben Harmon were also notable exclusions from the defence.
But the high number of absentees paved the way for cornerback James Southerland and wide receiver Jesse Sporton to make their mark.
“We used a third string corner (James Southerland) as our main cornerback and MVP for the day Jesse Sporton caught five balls, including some really good catches.
“Our receiving core is one of the best in the league and the whole team is as close-knit as they have been all year,” Martin said.
Sporton caught for 134 yards, the most for any Miners receiver on the day.
Quarterback Nixon was also impressive. He threw for 240 yards for one touchdown at a completion of 60 per cent, the first time this season he has thrown at 60 per cent or above.