Dylan Arvela
Men
Latrobe Valley and Traralgon and District’s disappointing men’s GCL seasons came to an end on Sunday losing away to Warragul and Leongatha respectively.
Latrobe Valley batted first on the Hallora Recreation Reserve wicket with the home side restricting the visitors to 122.
Warragul chased the total down inside 37 overs with Leigh Diston top scoring with 32.
The result saw Latrobe Valley finish bottom of the table, behind Traralgon with inferior percentage.
Traralgon were asked to bowl first at Leongatha Recreation Reserve and Chris Lehner’s charges managed bowl its opponents out for 89.
Mitchell Clark top scored with 20 off 27 while Luke Henderson ripped out 4/8 off eight overs.
Traralgon, still mathematically in contention for the final, failed to capitalise on its strong efforts with the ball with the side bowled out for 64.
Brett Chapman (16) and Lee Stockdale (11) were the only batsmen to breach double figures while Tim Wightman proved decisive with 6/12.
The final match of the round saw Sale-Maffra smash Bairnsdale to secure top spot.
Sale-Maffra will take on Leongatha in the final at Yinnar Recreation Reserve on Sunday.
Men’s GCL ladder: Sale-Maffra 24, Leongatha and District 21, Bairnsdale 15, Warragul and District 12, Traralgon and District 9, Latrobe Valley 9.
Women
The women’s GCL season wrapped up on Sunday with Latrobe going down to Warragul at Maryvale Recreation Reserve.
Warragul scored 9/178 with Grace Lewis and Paula Borsato hitting 22 and 21 respectively.
Zoe Long was the best of the bowlers, taking 2/19 while skipper Bridie Kimpton and Taylah Kilpatrick also bagged two wickets.
The Sharks were solid in reply but finished the innings at 7/150 with Kimpton hitting an unbeaten 51 while Riley Reid knocked out 30.
The defeat for Latrobe sees the side finish second-last with one win for the season.
Bairnsdale RSL overcame Sale-Maffra in a close contest to secure top spot with the competition’s top two sides to meet again in the final at Morwell’s Northern Reserve on Sunday.
Centrals had a bye which left the Traralgon-based side at the foot of the table.
Women’s GCL ladder: Bairnsdale RSL 24, Sale-Maffra 18, Warragul Hotshots 12, Latrobe 6, Centrals 0.
Under-13s development league
Round 2 of the saw a handful of strong individual performances from Latrobe Valley and the Traralgon Tornadoes.
The Tornadoes ventured to Bairnsdale with the side asked to bowl first.
Traralgon bowled the hosts out for 118 through 37 overs with Zachary Bastin, Joel Thomson, Logan Fernance and Liam Bermingham all taking two wickets each.
In reply, the Tornadoes struggled to get any momentum going despite Jimmy Brand scoring 16 in the middle order, with the side all out for 73.
Latrobe Valley hosted Sale at Northern Reserve.
The Valley bowled first with the visitors putting on 7/136 with Sam Anderson knocking out 38 off 68.
Max Woodall was the best with the ball, taking 2/24 while Jacob Bloomfield picked up 2/28.
Latrobe Valley made a good fist of chasing down the victory target, finishing with 9/120 through 40 overs.
After missing out in Round 1, Flynn Schill played a superb innings, crafting 43 off 73 balls while Harry Tatterson took 2/10 for the Sharks.
The third match of the round saw Warragul go two from two with a win over Leongatha.
The next round is on Sunday, February 16 with Traralgon meeting Latrobe Valley at Apex Park.
