By Marcus Uhe
Two goalless quarters and heavy talent disparity was too much for Berwick to overcome in Saturday’s Eastern Football Netball League contest against Balwyn on Saturday afternoon.
With former North Melbourne players Kayne Turner and Josh Walker in the Tigers’ side, Balwyn came close to breaching its maximum player points allotment, using 44 of a possible 46 compared to Berwick’s 28, with two senior debutants and another in his first contest at senior level.
But having lost its last three, the Brenton Sanderson-coached Balwyn outfit had a point to prove, and needed the four points to get its season back on the tracks, having won its first 10.
They did so by holding the Wickers scoreless in the opening term and to a single point in the third, running away with a 72-point win, 14.11 95 to 3.5 23.
In the quarters where Berwick struggled the most, Balwyn kicked five goals of their own, before saving their heaviest-scoring quarter for last in the final term when they added five to boost their all-important percentage.
Despite the vast disparity in senior talent and ladder positions, the resilient and determined Berwick outfit kept Balwyn to a score just one goal more than their average.
James Carver marked his senior debut with a major, with Caydn Lane and Daniel Pinter both joining him on the score sheet.
Having played second last week, Berwick’s assignment only gets tougher on Saturday when ladder-leading East Ringwood comes to Edwin Flack Reserve in a twilight fixture.
East Ringwood won by 68 points in the two side’s previous contest back in May, and will have a strong desire to maintain top spot on the ladder, given Balwyn’s superior percentage.
Critically for Berwick, their challenger for relegation in Norwood heads to Noble Park to tackle the Bulls, a side they defeated back in round six.
Should Norwood scoop the points, Berwick will fall to the foot of the table and in prime position to be playing their football in Division One in 2025.
Elsewhere in Premier Division, Rowville suffered a shock loss to the vastly-improved South Croydon by 18 points, and Vermont kicked seven fourth-quarter goals to Doncaster East’s three to overrun the Lions by 13 points.
Berwick’s women suffered a similar fate to its men, going down to fellow top four outfit Waverley Blues by 52 points.
Berwick did not manage a goal until the final term, and it was their only major of the game, in a 8.10 58 to 1.0 6 loss.
Berwick’s women will face Blackburn in its final round of the home-and-away season before entering the finals campaign.
