The mission for Berwick on Saturday was simple – defeat Norwood, and hold your place in Eastern Football Netball League’s (EFNL) Premier division for another year.
The message at the final siren was loud and clear; ‘we’re not going anywhere’, securing the four points in a 12.16 88 to 10.4 64 triumph.
How they got there, however, was nothing short of a rollercoaster.
Outgoing coach Clint Evans described it as “100 per cent” the best win he’s had in the coach’s box at Berwick, given the enormous pressure, a raucous Norwood crowd and an early deficit they faced in the final quarter.
A grand final-like atmosphere enveloped the contest, and a hot, windy day drew out the best in both sides, desperate to stay in the competition’s top flight for another season.
Norwood recalled a trio of VFL players and took a strong line up into the contest, and took a slim lead into the first break, but Berwick held its opponent scoreless through the second term to lead by three goals at the long break, having maximised the advantage presented by the wind at its back.
The Wickers were outscored in the third quarter, but Berwick never relinquished the lead, keeping its noses in front with a critical pair of majors in the third term to take advantage into the last quarter, the last under Evans’ tenure and with its future coach Andrew Williams watching intently.
The critical momentum was squandered, however, in a disastrous seven minutes that turned the contest on its head.
Three goals saw Norwood take a five-point lead, and throw the challenge right back in Berwick’s face.
The home crowd stirred to life and the task grew harder and harder for the Wickers, needing someone to step up and meet the moment.
Enter Sam Frangalas.
The dynamic teenager who got a taste of VFL action this year with Richmond was the beneficiary of a late-season positional swing into the forward line, and showed all his talent to put his side back in front.
A series of misses from Berwick built the tension, before Frangalas snapped it with a brilliant stoppage goal, gathering a ground ball and kicking truly on his right foot from a difficult angle for his preference.
Minutes later, when Jai Neal was infringed in a marking contest close to goal, Frangalas was quick on the scene, and took the advantage to kick Berwick further ahead.
Berwick entered time-on with a slender lead, and through a cramping 17-year-old Raiden Bergman, kicked 17 points clear.
Fellow teen Benzhamen Todd would put the finishing touches on the afternoon, sending the Berwick supporters behind the goals into a frenzy.
Todd, Frangalas, Bergman and Neal playing such key roles in the win personified the identity and the hunger, heart and tenacity of the club in 2024, while giving a taste of their immense talent set to lead Berwick back up the ladder.
Evans gave Williams, a close personal friend dating back to their days together at the Dandenong Stingrays a big hug on the ground after the game, before walking through a guard of honour into the changerooms.
To finish the season on such a positive note was a fitting way for Evans to bow out, and a huge tick for his efforts in leading the program through troubled times in recent years.
“We don’t have the skill of other sides and don’t have the VFL players coming in, we don’t have the 25/26 year old, ex-VFL players coming into the side, so we are reliant on kids and the guys who have been at Berwick for a few years,” he said.
“They’ve got that DNA at the moment, and that’s one thing I always say you can’t coach – that’s either in you or it’s not.
“These kids and the leaders this year, what they’ve had to go through… every year they’ve been that side that’s supposed to go back to Division 1, every year.
“We were supposed to start in Division 1 but they put us in Premier and ever since I started, our list has gone younger, younger, younger and more inexperienced and every year we’ve found a way.
“The resilience of the club shows that we’ve got some really good kids coming through, but also now, the club knows that we’re in Premier, but we just don’t want to keep paddling away, we want to try and be really competitive.”
Evans remains undecided on his coaching future for next season, but admitted it will be tough to leave a club that has been like a second home to him.
“I was on the ground, ‘Hottie’ was out there and I gave him a cuddle and said ‘it’s over to you now mate.’
“To see the smiles on the face of the committee, the players and people around us, that’s why I coach; I’ve never coached for me, I’ve coached to see what happened on Saturday.
“It was like a grand final on Saturday night back at the club and seeing everyone smile, that’s what you do and that’s what I’ll miss.”
Neal finished with five goals for Berwick and Todd three, with Tom Brennan, Caleb Van Oostveen and Jesse Cirulis among Berwick’s best.
