By Mark Gullick
BERWICK hosts Narre Warren in the qualifying final – with the winner meeting Cranbourne for a grand final berth.
The match will be played on Saturday at Edwin Flack Reserve, which is in brilliant condition.
The Wickers are peaking at the right time and will be highly confident following four straight wins, including a 134-point thumping of Pakenham and a 95-point rout of Hampton Park, both finalists.
The Magpies have stumbled in the past two weeks, with a 10-goal loss to Beaconsfield and an unimpressive seven-point defeat over Devon Meadows, the wooden spooners.
However, it would be a brave man to write-off Narre Warren’s chances, especially in the finals.
“They’ve obviously got a fantastic history over the last few years in the finals,” Berwick coach Dean Rice said.
“They’ll be pretty confident and pretty proud and it’s going to be a fairly hard battle for us. They beat us pretty easy last time.”
During the year, the teams split their matches with Berwick winning by four goals in round one, before Narre Warren reversed the result in round 12, winning by 27 points.
Berwick should take a near-full strength team into the match.
“Everyone pulled through pretty well,” Rice said.
“We had a couple of injury concerns with Brad Fowler, who’s probably been our best player all year. He hasn’t played much in the past two weeks, or has Ahmet Zijai off the back-flank. He did a hamstring a week ago. We’ll get Brad back, but not Ahmet.”
Narre Warren coach Chris Toner is keen to put last weekend behind him and focus on the final.
“I’m looking forward to it; I’m sure it will be a good game,” he said.
“The last time we played (Berwick), from our perspective, it was probably the game of the season. We played very well against a very good opposition and we were fortunate to come out in front. This weekend, the weather’s going to be good, terrific crowds and finals atmosphere.”
While Narre Warren’s top-three position has been secure for the past month, Toner believes the motivation of his players has waned, but he expects they will be switched-on come game time.
“I think we’re ready to go,” he said. “Berwick will be pretty buoyant after winning the way they did and they’ll take some real confidence going into finals.”
The Magpies’ only injury concern is ruckman Matt Olney, who should return to the line-up.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:HAMPTON PARK v
PAKENHAM
NEITHER Hampton Park nor Pakenham is taking strong form into the cut-throat final at Pakenham on Sunday in the elimination final.
The Redbacks were demolished by Berwick (95 points), while the Lions finally snapped a three-match losing streak with a scratchy 25-point win over Keysborough.
By virtue of the finals fixture, Pakenham will host the match and the expansive spaces of Toomuc Reserve has troubled Hampton Park this year.
“We’ll be up against it, we’ll be underdogs, which the players don’t mind, so we’ll go out and have a crack and see what happens,” Hampton Park coach Clint Evans said.
“We’ve got to get our hands on the ball more and play the way we want to play. If we can do that, we’re a chance.”
Evans believes the clash will reveal the true character of his players. “We’ll see what sort of blokes they are,” he said. “They’ll come back up or they’ll go down all together like a sinking ship.”
One key Redback who will be absent is the unavailable ruckman Steve Watson.
“He just gives us that bit extra in the middle,” Evans said. “He gets his hands on the ball first, he’s nice and tough and he goes down the backline and takes pack marks. He’s one bloke we can’t afford to miss, but we’ll have to do it without him this week.”
Hampton Park was trounced by Pakenham in their only meeting this season, in round 10. “(Pakenham) were the same as Berwick,” Evans said. “Both got on top of us and kept going. Berwick beat us at our own game; they got the ball first and put pressure on us. When teams do that, we do struggle because we’re not overly quick.”
Pakenham coach Michael Holland believes his team is different from that early-season clash.
“We’ve got a long way to go,” he said. “Our confidence isn’t where it needs to be, but in saying that, we haven’t lost faith as a coaching staff. We still think we can test a few sides and if we play to our abilities, we can give a really good showing.
“Hampton Park have got some very good players, especially forwards, and we’ve got to try and stop the supply to them. We’ve got to try and get on top through the middle of the ground and we need our prime movers getting their hands on the ball.”
Holland’s team has vastly changed since the club’s 2009 premiership with a half-dozen younger players.
“It’s an exciting time at any football club and the career of a player,” he said.
“A lot of my footballers haven’t experienced finals. As much as it can be daunting, you’ve got to go out there and enjoy it, and whatever happens, as long as they go out there and give it 100 per cent.
“From a coaching point of view, that’s all we can ask.
“A young player really starts his career during the finals because he shows he can play at senior level. The whole league is different: the atmosphere and the weather’s starting to get a bit warmer; training nights are more exciting. As much as most blokes are carrying little niggles, it’s more of a mental thing and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
Hampton Park’s defence needs to regain its frugal edge and contain Adam Cook, resting ruckman Kym Jones, and running goalkickers Luke Walker, Russell Lehman and Beau Wheeler, while Nathan Lieshout might be employed in the forward half to provide another avenue.
The midfield battle of Pakenham’s Walker, Lehman and Dean Blake against Hampton Park’s Jack Besley, Leigh Morse and Jackson Dalton will be important, while Kain Baskaya will play in defence and rotate through the centre.
Kerem Baskaya holds the key to the Redbacks’ scoring prowess.
Finals tips:
Seniors: Berwick, Hampton Park.
Reserves: Cranbourne, Pakenham.
Under 18s: Berwick, ROC.
