By Marcus Uhe
A calamitous close to the third quarter saw Berwick fritter away the chance of a major upset over Vermont in the Eastern Football Netball League on Saturday afternoon.
Having levelled proceedings at 39 apiece in the third quarter thanks to Sam Frangalas’ sharp work at a forward 50 stoppage, the wheels completely fell off in the term’s final 10 minutes as they retreated to the huddle at the final break down by 31 points.
It was a brutal display from last season’s runner up, who flexed their extra gear that the young Wickers simply don’t possess at this point in their development.
It would prove to be the decisive period in the contest, as the Eagles held on for a 20-point win despite a goalless final term, downing Berwick 10.17 77 to 9.3 57.
The chaos begun with a fumble deep in defence from Caleb van Oostveen.
Hemmed in his defensive goalsquare, he dropped a mark from a simple kick from Deng Andrew across goal that subjected him to swarming Vermont forward pressure.
His attempted rebound 50 missed the target, and the Eagles swooped on the opportunity to move seven points clear, before Jordan Roberts was outmarked at the next forward 50 entry and the margin quickly grew to 13.
A Berwick turnover at half back saw Vermont extract maximum value the other way in the 23rd minute, before captain Ashton Williamson had the unfortunate double of putting teammate Kane Hurst under pressure with a kick deep in defence and being out-marked 10 seconds later at the top of his opposition goalsquare.
27 minutes into the quarter they could be forgiven for switching off, but Vermont had one final thrust and nailed a ground-level goal from nowhere with the second-last kick of the term.
Heads slumped as Berwick trudged to the huddle, having succumb to manic intensity that they will no-doubt hope to emulate in future years.
Elijah Roewer nailed two goals and unselfishly assisted Daniel Pinter with another to cut the lead to just 20 deep in the final quarter, ensuring the disappointing result was not further compounded by a percentage blow.
Frangalas and Pinter joined Roewer with a pair of goals, with Hurst, Andrew, Roberts, Josh Parker and Caydn Lane among the Wickers’ better performers.
Around Premier division, East Ringwood has one hand on the minor premiership, two games clear atop the table with two rounds to play following a 74-point win over Norwood, while Noble Park upset Blackburn by 19 points.
Rowville, meanwhile, bounced back from consecutive defeats to thrash Doncaster East by 130 points.
