By David Nagel
THE subterfuge surrounding this week’s South East Football Netball League grand final has gone to a whole new level, with Berwick co-captain Madi Andrews suffering a left-knee injury during Saturday’s preliminary final win against Beaconsfield.
The Wickers strolled through to a rematch of last year’s season decider against Cranbourne with a 21.17 (143) to 10.10 (70) victory, but it’s the injury to the reigning Norm Walker Medallist that captured all of the second-half attention.
Andrews fell awkwardly, twisting his left leg at the 13-minute mark of the third term, immediately clutching at his knee and not returning for the remainder of the match. Andrews had ice applied to the joint before trainers tested the lower outside section of the knee. He then had a compression bandage fitted as he watched on from the sidelines.
In a positive sign for the Wickers, Andrews walked unaided from Holm Park Reserve but was limping noticeably.
Andrews’ injury adds further intrigue to a grand final build up already dominated by the broken lower left-leg of Cranbourne captain Marc Holt. The Cranbourne champion was also walking unaided at Holm Park Reserve on Saturday, but is almost certain to run out of time to lead the Eagles into their sixth grand final on the trot.
The Wickers would take a “come back when it’s right approach” to Andrews injury during the home-and-away season, but now have some big decisions to make if the gun midfielder is not 100-percent fit to play.
Youngster Nick Hillard also sustained a right-shoulder injury during the clash, raising question marks about his ability to back up.
Berwick overcame a tough and intense start from the Eagles, who say goodbye to coach Clint Evans who leaves the top job after four years at the helm. Beaconsfield’s pressure was enormous in the first term but, slowly but surely; the Wickers regained the momentum before racing away for an impressive win.
Berwick led by a straight kick at quarter time, 14 points at the main break, before a 6.9 to 1.3 third term put the issue beyond doubt.
Mark Weekes was outstanding up forward, kicking five, while Luke Nelson and Mitch Johnson joined Weekes on that figure after two each in a bruise-free final term. Ben Kearns added four, while the toughness of Michael Harold and Jayden Goumas in the clinches played a key part in the victory.
Berwick coach Rhys Nisbet was proud of his team’s performance.
“Yeah definitely, that was a super win, really, really proud of them, they’ve worked extremely hard and we’ve done what we wanted to do and that’s give ourselves the chance to win another flag,” Nisbet said before praising his opponent from Saturday, his great mate Evans.
“He’s done a super job with Beaconsfield,” he said.
“Obviously the 2014 flag is the thing he’s going to hang his hat on, but I think he’ll rate this year just as highly. At the start of the year he didn’t know how he’d go, they lost a lot of depth, and for him to get to a preliminary final with a club that had its reserves on the bottom of the ladder, that’s an unbelievable effort.”
Evans himself had a clear message for his players as he addressed them after the game.
“Just to be really happy with what they’ve done, it’s a fantastic effort to come from fifth, and I look at it as nearly as big as winning the flag,” Evans said.
“We had no twos, no depth, it was a huge effort to play in a prelim, I just told them to be really proud of what they’ve achieved and hopefully they all stick around and achieve something even bigger next year.”
Beau Dowler capped off an outstanding season with three goals for the Eagles, while Kieran Roberts, Scott Meyer and Michael Misso were all brave in defeat.
In the reserves, Cranbourne advanced to the grand final with a 10-point victory over Pakenham while Berwick will take on Beaconsfield in the under-19 decider after an impressive six-goal victory over Narre Warren.
