By Nick Creely
SOUTH EAST FOOTBALL NETBALL LEAGUE
REVIEW – ROUND 10
Defence has been the cornerstone for Berwick’s success, it’s made them the toughest team to face for the past year.
While the Wickers still sit in third after a grinding, fiercely fought win against Cranbourne on Saturday at Edwin Flack Reserve, the very side that inflicted Narre Warren with its first loss of the season, their defence is shaping superbly once again.
In the past fortnight, the Wickers – despite the weather – have conceded just four goals against two quality opposition in the Eagles and Beaconsfield, and average just 45.6 points against per game this season, the clear standout.
In their premiership year, the Wickers averaged 44.62 points against per game in the home and away season.
After conceding the first goal of the game on Saturday after Shaun Marusic drilled it through from 50-out, Stewart Kemperman’s side conceded just 11 more points for the entire match, in a defensive masterclass reminiscent of their 2017 glory.
Kemperman lauded his side for their defensive efforts, saying it was more than just the six that make up his backline.
“Our defenders work incredibly hard, but across the ground we defended really hard, and that was back to our best in that aspect,” he said.
“Big Jo (West) did another great job on (Marc) Holt, so he’s been outstanding, and to have the likes of (Michael) Riseley, Ash Smith and Reece Piper in your back six it certainly makes it easier to coach.
“But it was a big effort defensively across the ground, not just the back six.”
In what Kemperman describes as a “tough” day to play football in another bout of wet weather football, the Wickers couldn’t hit the scoreboard in a meaningful way in the first term despite having their chances, the midfield superstars in Madi Andrews, Bryce Rutherford and Travis Tuck were certainly on top of in-form trio Ryan Jones, Shaun Marusic and Ryan Davey.
That control that was seeping into the Wickers’ game finally found some reward in the second term, with the returning James Magner nailing his set-shot early in the second to give the home side its first goal of the game, and from there, the reigning premiers were vicious, taking an eight-point half time lead.
Importantly, the big guns were firing and not allowing the Eagles to breakaway with the blistering speed and run that makes them a premiership fancy.
“There was a strong, blustery breeze, and they were able to go coast-to-coast and Marusic kicked a goal, and from there, we probably knuckled down a bit, and were able to wrestle back that momentum,” Kemperman said of the first half.
“We ended up having a couple of scoring shots, but it was in really tough conditions – we went into quarter time down, but thought we competed pretty well, and adapted well enough, we had to just take it into the next quarter and capitalize.
“We adjusted a few things up forward, and when you get those things right, it helps your structure all over the ground, and we were probably fortunate when Troy Tharle went down with an ankle, and big ruckman Michael Wenn went down, and it helped us control the midfield and ruck battle to a degree.”
There was an emotional filled melee at half time between the great rivals after Wickers’ forward Harry Money kicked into the man of the mark on the siren, sparking all players from both sides to converge into the forward pocket for a couple of minutes after what was a niggly first half.
The Wickers held firm in a splendid final half with plenty of feeling between two great sides, with the home side kicking a further six goals while restricting the Eagles to just one more through Marc Holt, who was handled superbly by star defender Jo West.
Kemperman praised his side for their fight in a win that could really kick start their premiership defence in a meaningful way.
“The conditions were quite testing with all the rain we had, and it was an enormous effort from the guys, and one in the context of the season that gives us a real boost,” he said.
While the second-placed Eagles still found plenty of winners with Glenn Osborne once again superb, and Jones, Luke Bee-Hugo and Zak Roscoe fighting hard, Kemperman praised his three big stars for their output throughout the match, with Andrews in particularly playing a sublime midfielder’s game.
“Madi (Andrews) was terrific, and Bryce (Rutherford) and Tucky (Travis Tuck) were terrific as well, and to have those guys find form and find plenty of the footy provides a headache for the opposition, and that’s a big asset for us to have,” he said.
Interestingly, no goals were scored on the Berwick College end of the ground, with Kemperman saying it was “extremely hard to score from that end all day”.
As the Wickers begin to close in on second position, placing pressure on Cranbourne ahead of their clash with a struggling Officer on Saturday, Kemperman is bullish about his side in the second half of the home and away season.
“We’re getting there, personnel wise we’re getting close to our best team on the park,” he said.
“We had (Brody) Connelly and (Riley) Heddles miss on the weekend, but we had (Andrew) Morozoff back in his first game since the Round 2 match against Narre Warren which is a positive for him, and Jordy Andrews played his first game too.
“We’re getting close to getting our better players back on the park, we just need to hope we can get a good string of games with them all out on the park, but we haven’t been able to do that yet.”
The Wickers will tackle the Kangaroos at Starling Road on Saturday, while the Eagles will enjoy a week off after already completing their Round 11 game earlier this season.
Berwick 8.7 (55)
Cranbourne 2.5 (17)
