Drink-led recovery

By Gavin Staindl
BERWICK Miners assistant coach Darren Shaw has resorted to an unorthodox motivational technique in a bid to end the club’s 10-game winless streak.
Shaw addressed the players after Sunday’s 12-0 home loss to the Crusaders, announcing that he will pay for the players’ drinks if they can get over the Rangers to record their first win this weekend.
“If we win next week against the Rangers there will be money on the bar… if that is the type of incentive you need to win,” Shaw said.
But Miners head coach Mel Martin was more intent on focussing on the work ethic of the players.
“We’re a social bunch but we’re not that social that a drink will win us a game,” Martin said. “What does win us games is hard work; the harder you work the more you get out.”
The Miners gave up two touchdowns, both of which, in Martin’s mind, were easily preventable.
The first touchdown came in the fourth down during the Miners’ first drive.
The snap to punter Steve Baker sailed over his head and landed at their own one-yard line where it remained for the Crusader offence to score.
The Miners worked their way back into the game but dropped catches and errors by experienced players nullified any progress Berwick was making.
“We keep taking two steps forward and three steps back and recent performance suggest we’ve gone backwards,” Martin said.
With seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter the Miners again found themselves wondering just what went wrong in the special teams line-up.
Baker received the snap on the fourth down but instead of punting, he tucked the ball under the arm as if to run. When he was confronted by a Crusader, he then decided to punt only to have it smothered by an opposing player.
The Crusaders went on to score the next play, ending any chance of a revival.
“It was a bonehead play.
“That is the sort of thing that frustrates me more with guys of Baker’s experience… they shouldn’t be making those mistakes,” Martin said.
With talk of pre-season next year already underway, Martin is now focussing on instilling a winning culture at Sydney Pargeter.
“When you get used to losing, you lose the ability to win.
“They don’t understand what it takes to win, and losing becomes a habit… so that is what I will be focusing on from now,” Martin said.