By RUSSELL BENNETT
BERWICK Miners club legend Mark Petana will enter rarefied air this weekend as just the sixth person in the history of the Gridiron Victoria competition to play 200 games.
Petana – a linebacker – is also the Miners’ club president this year, as well as being its linebacker coach.
His milestone game is made all the more remarkable given that a typical Gridiron Victoria season comprises of only about a dozen games.
“Mark embodies what every coach wants from a player,” said Miners head coach and Gridiron Victoria state director of coaching, Mel Martin.
“He’s courageous, provides great leadership, and has great ability.
“He’s fierce on the field, but a true gentleman off it.”
Martin has had a long association with the Miners and this year resumed his role as club head coach – a position that Petana, himself, held last season.
Martin is a legend in Victorian gridiron, and when he talks glowingly about someone’s contribution to the sport his words tend to carry more weight.
“He was a good enough player to go anywhere, but he’s a Miner for life,” he said of Petana.
“He was one of the best players in the league at his position. Once he gets on that field, he unleashes.
“He plays every down as if it’s his first.”
Martin remembers when Petana first arrived at the club.
“He just had the body, the strength and the speed to play the game,” he said.
Now the president of the club, Petana lives and breathes the Miners.
“After his family and his work, it’s the Miners. It’s as simple as that,” Martin said.
The head coach said the draw of the club had long been its culture.
“It creates a real brotherhood,” he said.
“I know a lot of clubs say that, but the Miners live it.
“Guys just stick to the club. They rarely even think about going anywhere else.”
The Miners, currently sixth on the Division 1 ladder with two wins and four losses, will be moving heaven and earth to win their clash this week with the Western Crusaders – a team they defeated 13-12 in week two of the season.
The Endeavour Hills-based side has since suffered from a horrific run of injuries, but Martin said his team “still could have done a little better”.
“Two of the games we lost we allowed stupid plays to occur because we just weren’t concentrating,” he said.
“Losing our quarterback for virtually the whole season has caused serious complications – because our backup is also our number one wide receiver – but this week we’ll have our best available team on the park.
“It’s a must-win game for us,” Martin said.
“We’ve got the tiebreaker on them (the Crusaders) but they’re beating the teams we should have beaten ourselves.
“We’ve got to take our opportunities – the finals are staring us in the face if we do.”
Martin said the key to beating the Crusaders was finding a way to stop their major defensive playmaker, and playing a patient offensive game of their own.
Petana is just the second player in Miners club history – behind only Dale Warren (on 222) – to reach the 200-game mark.
Berwick will take on the Western Crusaders this Sunday from 1.30pm at Henry Turner Reserve in Footscray.
