By Tyler Lewis
An emotion-fuelled victory over Healesville has lifted Berwick Springs six points clear in pursuit of a maiden finals campaign.
The Titans maturely overran the Bloods after three terms of neck and neck footy.
The biggest margin at any interval was five points and the collective margin stood at just eight, before the Titans stormed home to record a 12.9 (81) to 9.12 (66) triumph.
Despite being irritated throughout the match, Titans coach Rodney Benstead admitted there was a sense of relief when the final horn blew.
“Just elation I think,” he revealed.
“I was pretty frustrated, we actually didn’t play our best footy.
“We didn’t execute really well, but when you grind out a win and get the four points, sometimes (the result) it’s a bit irrelevant and you go ‘okay we can build off this’.
“If we had have lost we would’ve been six points behind and relying on results, so now our own destiny is in our own hands.”
For a side that’s played less than 50 games together, it’s dashing final term is a testament to the groups maturity.
“That was the point actually,” Benstead said.
“I got stuck into a couple of them actually, we’re not playing smart or with the required intensity.
“Our centre-half-forward, Kayden Buselli, I got into him a bit, I didn’t think he was competing… for him to come out and kick four goals, three after half-time, it was fantastic for the club.
“It was off the back of some of our younger players that we were able to get the four points and that was the most exciting aspect of it.”
Though the Titans sit a win and a half ahead of the Bloods, the fixture this week looms important for Benstead’s men who could swiftly lose that margin.
And while the importance of backing it up is front of mind for Benstead, he is encouraging his boys to soak up wins like Saturday’s.
“I think when I first started coaching I would move quickly, probably too quickly, he said.
“I think you have to enjoy the win, review it Tuesday and do our homework to hit Seville pretty hard.
“The great thing about this competition is you play teams three times and we’re going into the third time, so we know everything about them and the boys will be primed.
“But I do think you’ve got time to enjoy the victory.
“Early on I moved on too quickly, but now I say enjoy it, footy is such a grind at this time of the year so you’ve got to come together and enjoy the moments.”
In the other two matches, Emerald defeated Yarra Glen 13.13 (91) to 12.7 (79) and Seville belted Belgrave 27.20 (182) to 8.7 (55).
