By Marcus Uhe
Berwick’s breakthrough win in the Eastern Football Netball League season did result in jubilant celebrations on the final siren that you may expect from a young underdog side.
It’s been a tough year for the Wickers, forced to blood plenty of youngsters in a competition where the average age bracket far-and-away undercuts its competitors.
Tom Brennan remains of the few senior heads remaining at the club after a large exodus over the off-season, and has shouldered the captaincy duties in light of Will Arthurson’s preseason knee injury.
On the field, he’s seen the maturity and growth from the new core of the team up close and personal, a crop including Noah Cannon, Caleb Van Oostveen, Caydn Lane, Braedyn Bowden, Elijah Roewer and Jasper Sullivan.
And no better was the maturity on display than in the face of mounting Norwood pressure on Saturday afternoon.
Norwood cut the lead to 12 points midway through the term, and the good work of three-and-a-half quarters threatened to come undone for the young Wickers at home.
With an average losing margin of 62 points in 2024, Clint Evans’ side has seldom been in a winning position, and could be forgiven for losing their heads in a pressure moment.
The closest they came was a 23-point loss to South Croydon the round prior, when Berwick was within a goal in the final term before conceding four goals in five minutes, letting the opportunity slip through its fingers.
With the latest loss coming the week before the long weekend, Brennan said the loss dogged them during the week off, but will act as a turning point in the season.
“We were incredibly disappointed over the last game and you could see in the players faces how much they wanted that win,” he said.
“That sat with us over the last couple of weeks and we took it into this game.
“That’s something we’ve been coming back to in the last couple of weeks, our mindset in those critical moments during that game, what we did right, what we didn’t and when we needed to keep cool heads.
“Unfortunately we didn’t in that game at a few pivotal moments.
“It was really just focusing on what was in our control and that has been a big focus for us over the past couple of weeks.”
On multiple occasions in the fourth term, Berwick showed maturity beyond its years, understanding the game situation to a tee.
Jesse Cirulis and the midfielders capitalised on the ruck’s dominance by creating stoppage after stoppage and taking time off the clock in the process, while twice they slowly advanced the ball out the of backline with stagnant, uncontested marks that lead to its two final quarter goals, to Sam Frangalas and Majok Puok.
Even when Puok missed the potential sealer, a free kick against an opponent for apparent umpire abuse while standing the mark gifted him a second chance, one he duly converted to put the result beyond doubt.
9.10 64 to 6.10 46 read the final score, a result Brennan described as “reward for effort”, after a “challenging” beginning to the season.
“We really set ourselves for Saturday – in the first quarter we came out and had a really physical mindset which resulted in us being able to get on the outside and hit on the scoreboard as well,” Brennan said.
“Credit to Norwood, after quarter time they made some changes and got it back on their side a little bit, which we had to respond to and battle it out for the next three quarters, it felt like. “That fourth quarter we were absolutely spent having not been in that position all year.
“I think a lot of those younger players hadn’t had that experience before, but credit to their maturity, they stood up and really got us over the line in the end, which was fantastic.”
The win lifts Berwick off the bottom of the ladder on percentage, and renews the prospect of escaping relegation come the end of the season.
Brennan said the concept has seldom been discussed internally, paying tribute to the culture and vibe at the club despite its predicament.
“It’s been pretty amazing to see (that) despite not having a win it certainly hasn’t felt that way around the club,” he said.
“That’s the culture that Boof and the coaches have really driven, being one tight unit and that’s something the younger players have brought into.
“I think a lot of them have stepped up in the sense that they can see that gap, and it’s probably ahead of where they needed to be in their career, but they’ve taken it in their stride and certainly matured a lot quicker than what was expected of them.
“We’re obviously putting in a lot of work in the back half of the season to ensure we get a few wins on the board and keep growing as a team.
“We know we’re not going to win week in week out but there’s so many wins with our players coming through and the development we’re seeing all around the club, which is fantastic to see.”
