By RUSSELL BENNETT
WHILE the Berwick Miners gridiron side is constantly on the improve, coach Mel Martin is under no illusions about the significance of dominant wins over Division 2 sides.
The first division Miners destroyed the Division 2 Gippsland Gladiators 34-0 on the weekend, giving further credence to Martin’s belief that the gap between the two tiers is widening.
“It was a good win for us but playing the second division teams, the gap is widening and it’s probably not a good look for the game,” he said candidly.
“Those sides should be narrowing the gap but some games appear to be forgone conclusions.”
Martin was far from content with the Miners’ 12-0 start to their game over the Gladiators, saying the Berwick side was “flat” and lacking energy.
“But I gave the guys a bit of a rev-up at half time and they came out and did the business in the end,” he said of a game that proved to be a real tale of two distinct halves.
“We dominated the first but issues kept coming back – we couldn’t convert our scoring opportunities.
“The second half was different – we blew them away in the end.”
Martin was glowing in his praise of rookie running back Matt Longo, who ran in two touchdowns and stood out – particularly in a dominant second half.
But the Miners’ task gets much tougher this week – coming up against undefeated first division buzzsaw, the Geelong Buccaneers.
“Hopefully we’ll take the confidence from this week into that game,” Martin said.
“It’ll be a very good test, a chance to show how far we’ve come.”
The Miners are currently in fifth spot on the Division 1 ladder, just a game behind traditional rivals the Croydon Rangers.
