Miners raid in pelting rain

By Jarrod Potter
THE Berwick Miners posted their second win of the year, defeating the Northern Raiders 26-0 in atrocious conditions at Sydney Pargeter Reserve on Sunday.
On a day more suitable for ducks, the driving rain and howling winds didn’t stop Berwick from running the ball hard and catching their passes.
The Miners took their first win on Rawling Field, the brand new playing field adjacent to their old turf.
Andrew Nixon, Miners’ quarterback, threw three touchdowns, which was impressive due to the terrible visibility from heavy rain obscuring the field. Daniel Pollard rushed for a touchdown and was on the receiving end of another from Nixon.
Miners coach Mel Martin said the win came down to the insistence of the players to continue working hard to make gains – both on offence and defence.
“They (the Miners) wanted to go out and prove they know how to play (American) football,” Martin said.
“We knew the Raiders play a certain way, so we changed our defence to maximise our effectiveness against them.
”We didn’t let them earn a first down, outside of two penalties, so that’s a real positive.We were missing our speed running-back in David Handarkis, our tight end, our main receiver was on one leg, so we were missing some of the main ingredients for the team.”
Martin was quick to highlight the contributions of the Miners’ defence, who kept the Raiders scoreless and stuck without options in their half of the field.
“Daniel Pollard, he got two touchdowns and impressively played on defence most of the day,” Martin said.
“Aaron Saunders, he also had a touchdown and played very well on defence. Collectively, the whole defence did very well; I couldn’t single out a defensive player.The hardest jobs were for the safeties and corners… when the ball was thrown or their receivers were released off the line, they had enough concentration to cover it, especially Nick Pontil, who’s only 17, but his coverage skills are coming on leaps and bounds.”
The Miners have a bye this weekend before facing Croydon Rangers 2 at home on Sunday week.