By Marcus Uhe
A brutal stretch in the fixture for Clint Evans’ Berwick side has presented its challenges at Edwin Flack, but the man in charge is preaching patience.
In their last five outings the Wickers have faced four sides that qualified for finals action in 2022, falling short on each occasion, while unable to score more than 50 points.
While they have been able to match the ferocity at the contest with their opponents in patches, the inability to stay competitive for four quarters has proven costly.
“We’re in games but then there’s a 15-20 minute block where, unfortunately, they kick us out of it,” Evans said.
“On the weekend that third quarter was fantastic.
“As I said to the boys, at the moment, good sides know when to turn it on and unfortunately at the moment we’re stuck in fourth (gear), and that’s just what good sides do unfortunately.
“With the young list that we’ve got at the moment, we’re finding it hard to sustain it for four quarters against these experienced sides.”
There must be a litter of black cats and open ladders around Manuka Road, with the casualty ward gaining more and more combatants every week.
No more acutely is the toll being felt than in the forward line, with Harry Money (zero), Jackson Drake (one), Jai Neal (one) and Tim Gunn (one) having played a miserly three games between them.
As a result, Berwick are struggling to put a score on the board, despite holding their own at the other end of the ground.
Charlie Muley has at times played a lone hand in the forward line, having kicked goals in all but one contest and leading the goal-kickers list on 11.
Jonty Andrew and Kyle O’Sullivan, tied on four, are the next highest.
“If you look at our side, there’s only (two) sides that have kicked over 10 goals against us,” Evans said.
“We’re putting our effort into young Muley and Braedyn Bowden who are both 20-year-old kids, and we’re playing in Premier Division of Eastern and thinking that they’re going to be our keys.
“If you put the other four in that I said, these guys would be getting the fifth or sixth best defender, but at the moment they’re getting the top two.
“They’re battling away really well at the moment but it’s been hard for them.”
The return of leaders in Travis Tuck and Tom Brennan, who only played their third and second games of the season respectively on Saturday, will provide valuable guidance and resistance for the young outfit.
“We’ve played all the top sides in a row after round three, and for the most part we’ve done pretty well, but we’re that little bit behind them,” Evans explained.
“We’ve got two games (before the long weekend) and then hopefully over the back end of the season things open up a little bit for us.”
