Hawks build firm base

By JARROD POTTER
THE message from Berwick Hawks coach Shaun Smith to his charges before their final game of the season is simple: Go out and earn some respect.
The Hawks have been battered with an injury list rivalling the phonebook for length – Berwick’s stocks became that low in their 113-point loss to Melbourne Uni on Sunday that it finished the match with 15 fit on the field.
Despite the scoreline, Smith thought the Hawks battled hard throughout the second half as the injuries and the Melbourne Uni goals mounted.
“The last month-and-a-half we’ve been killed with injuries and early in the game we had 19 and finished with 15,” Smith said.
“They put us away in the first half, but I was proud of the girls in the second half to play one-on-one and accountable footy.
“In the last quarter, they kicked a couple of goals as the girls were absolutely dead on their legs.”
Smith said captain Romy Timmins was a clear stand out as were Tess Butler, Cherlie Charles and Bianca Jakobsson, who performed well after going into the ruck early to replace the injured Bex Walker.
In spite of the injury woes, Smith said the club has built a strong foundation to work off next year and is set to finish the season strongly against league powerhouse VU St Albans.
“It (injury list) has gone insane, but we’re building for next year and have a very good nucleus with some really good players, and we have a few Youth Girls coming in, so we’ll be a very good side.
“This week, we really just want a bit of respect.
“We’re playing St Albans and the main thing is just not to give up and learn from it and show a bit of character as we can teach them the skills, but the character building is something you can only learn from hard knocks.”
The Berwick reserves drew with Melbourne Uni, while in the VWFL South East Division’s last home and away round, Hallam 1 defeated St John’s by 15, Cranbourne knocked off South Mornington by seven in a low-scoring affair and Hallam 2 finished their season with a 138-point loss to Chirnside Park.