Wickers, Narre square up again

By Mark Gullick
BERWICK faces Narre Warren for the second time in three weeks in Sunday’s preliminary final.
Like the first final, the venue will play an interesting role in the result.
Berwick defeated Narre Warren at home in that final, but the coming match will be played at Pakenham’s Toomuc Reserve, a venue that the Wickers have struggled with over the previous few seasons.
Berwick coach Dean Rice will be hoping that his players can shake off the Cranbourne defeat and replicate similar form as displayed against Narre Warren.
“We played well that day,” he said. “We match up pretty well with Narre and if we play at our best and everyone’s doing their part, then we’re always a chance to win games.
“They would be a bit buoyant and confident after winning.
“They’re not going to be the same team we played last week. They’ll be pretty confident coming out and we’ll have to be at our best to try and get over the top of them.”
Berwick was trounced by 112 points by Cranbourne in the second semi-final.
The Eagles smothered and harassed the Wickers in a relentless, intense four-quarter display that confirmed them as premiership favourites.
By quarter-time, Cranbourne had answered every query going into the match; it’s long lay-off, it’s poor recent record at the venue but, most significantly, it had seemingly shaken the nerves that plagued last year’s finals campaign.
Cranbourne kicked seven of the nine first-quarter goals and cruised to victory over the next three terms.
The match was halted late in the second term after Berwick’s Chris McKay was injured in a marking contest.
The youngster bravely flew for the ball and crashed heavily into the turf and it took 10 minutes to remove him from the field.
“We were never in the game,” Berwick coach Dean Rice said. “They pretty much won every position on the ground.
“They came ready to play and they were keen to atone for what happened last year and we just couldn’t match their intensity.”
Berwick’s best performer was David Van Diemen who was spirited against Holt and, despite conceding numerous goals, he contested doggedly all day.
Young gun Kristian Meredith worked hard, captain Jason Kelly played well in defence, and Andrew Tuck collected many possessions.
Vergim Faik was Berwick’s sole multiple goalkicker, with three majors from limited opportunities.
Meanwhile, Narre Warren outlasted a determined Pakenham by 10 points at a windy and rain swept Toomuc Reserve on Sunday.
The traditional rivals went toe-to-toe in an enthralling contest, which was characterised by continual niggles.
From the opening bounce, it was obvious that the teams didn’t get along, and this was reflected by the players jostling each other at every opportunity.
Unlike last weekend, Magpies captain Michael Collins won the toss.
He pointed his team towards the northern end, which had a significant breeze blowing towards it.
The Magpies jumped off the blocks with five goals to lead by 29 points at the first change.
Pakenham fought back into the contest during the middle quarters, and trailed by 20 points at the final break.
Narre Warren conceded the two goals, but a late Jackson Parker goal sealed the win.
The Magpies were led by determined captain Michael Collins, defender Clay Peresso and midfielders Parker, Josh Tongga and Chris Collins.