Staff Writers
CRICKET
TDCA THE Traralgon District Cricket Association returns this weekend after a longer than usual Christmas break. There are nine rounds remaining before finals, and every match will have huge ramifications for every team, so its crucial all clubs hit the ground running this first weekend back. All clubs will have taken stock over the break and reflected on what’s gone right and wrong so far this season, so why not have a look at the mid-season report cards of all TDCA clubs right now. Ex Students (ladder positions: A Grade 2nd; B Grade 1st; C Grade 1st) THE Sharks are again showing just how strong their club is, as they currently lead the overall club championship at the halfway point of the season. A good mixture of experience and youth is being showcased across all grades, and even though it’s starting to look like there is a period of transition coming for Ex Students, there hasn’t been a dip in standard, with their A Grade having only lost one match for the season while B and C Grade are in the same boat. The Good: Lee Stockdale has gotten himself into ripping form before he heads off to the Australian Country Cricket Championships, and if he carries this form through to March the Sharks will be firm favourites again to take home the premiership shield. Jimmy Pryde has lead from the front all season and Matt Dyke is having a fantastic season as well with the bat averaging 45.2 as an opening batsman, while the more games the club can get into future stars such as Nathan Thomson and Zachary Bastin all the while giving them overs to bat and bowl, the better. The Bad: It’s hard to find a fault in the club or in fact any of their teams at the moment, and if there are any, winning certainly covers over the cracks well. The facility upgrades at Traralgon Showgrounds will be a welcome sight when they finally get the tick of approval, but the ground and wicket have been playing quite well this season, and it has been a reliable venue when weather has impacted games, so again it’s hard to find a fault at Ex Students. Overall: A+ The season is shaping nicely for Ex Students with all three grades set to feature in finals again this year. With plenty of depth and a ruthless attitude combined with plenty of good wins already on the board, the Sharks are in prime position and as a club, they are certainly the best performed so far in 2022/23. Glengarry (A Grade 1st; B Grade 5th; C Grade 3rd) THE Magpies are flying high this season in A Grade, having not lost a match so far. Some dominating performances as a team and then some brilliant individual efforts have them firm favourites for the A Grade premiership. The club’s B Grade has had some mixed results but have shown they are capable of big scores, and will continue to push for a finals position, while Ash Hodson is blooding some young players in C Grade, winning more games already this season than they did last season. The Good: As previously mentioned, A Grade is flying and Nat Freitag will have his team primed for March. The team is chock full of stars and seems to be settled, but pressure is coming from the lower grades for spots such as Chris Dunn who notched up a massive 154 in B Grade against Imperials, so the A Grader’s wont be able to take their spot for granted at all. Cam Graham and Nathan Allen lead the club for wickets, but the best thing skipper Freitag is doing for Glengarry this season is giving Gareth Waack-Hawkins the responsibility of taking the new ball, which is not only fast-tracking his development as a young bowler, but it’s proven to be a masterstroke as he currently averages 15.83 and is repaying the faith being shown. The Bad: The only worry for Glengarry in A Grade at the moment will be whether they can continue their fantastic form throughout the whole season or have they peaked too early? Knowing the class of the playing group it won’t be an issue and this is only mentioned due to needing something to write in this space. Their home ground and wicket continued to be washed out early in the season when the weather was poor, but shouldn’t be a concern now as the weather improves although it didn’t take much to have a bad affect on the ground, so hopefully it’s clear skies from now on. Overall: A+ Glengarry are the team to beat in A Grade this season. Their lower grades, who have struggled the last couple of seasons, have improved massively and look set to feature in C Grade finals come March while B Grade will push for a spot all season. Gormandale (A Grade 7th; B Grade 7th) IT’S been a tough season for the Tigers, who haven’t won a match yet in A or B Grade. The club was rocked a week before the season started when vice president and opening bowler Dylan Freitag walked out on the club, and missing early matches due to weather certainly didn’t help as they played only two matches in the first seven rounds. Still, players who work hard get rewarded for effort, and at the moment Gormandale just aren’t putting the effort in off field to turn their season around. The Good: What’s been good at Gormandale is the focus on youth, as players such as Tom Gafa, Hayden Richards, Campbell Peavey, Ethan Jarvis and Tyler Reynolds, who are all 18 or under, are all stringing together A Grade matches, which will be crucial for the club moving forward. The young players need to take their opportunities and produce a bit more, but they all have a crack and have shown a bit this season so hopefully for the Tigers they continue to improve. The Bad: They haven’t won a game for the season which is obviously not great. The club’s senior players aren’t playing smart cricket and even though they have shown glimpses of what can be, they still aren’t putting in enough effort and playing a team game which sometimes means grinding out a 20 or parking the ego when things get tough and the opposition are on a bit of a roll. Overall: D- The Tigers are at a risk of failing this season, however, this is exactly what happened to them last season as A Grade didn’t win a match until after Christmas, then got on a run to only miss out on finals by one point. This is a club that can turn things around. Gormandale have the personnel to push the best teams in the competition, but if they don’t work hard to achieve these wins it’s going to be a tough finish to the season. Imperials (A Grade 5th; B Grade 4th; C Grade 4th) IMPERIALS continue to fight and scrap in every match and have developed a hard working brand under leadership duo Ryan Morley and Lee Farley. There is plenty of potential at the club and although the B Grade team currently sit fourth on the ladder, they are certainly in contention for the flag this season, while in A and C Grade, if a couple more games go their way they could also feature in finals this season. The Good: Ryan Morley has been dominant this season and currently leads the league in runs and average which is a superb effort for an opening batsman. This may also be bad for the club because any Premier Cricket Club looking for their next recruit should be getting in touch as the Melbourne-based Morley has proven he can make runs in all conditions against quality opposition so the call may come this year. Yes he needs support, but if he can finish his season the way it started, Brett Chapman’s runs record of 659 for the club might be at risk of being beaten. The Bad: The club’s selections seem to be the hardest thing to combat at the moment, with players not being available each week. Imperials have used 24 players already in A and B Grade this season, with players frequently jumping between all three grades. It may be a master stroke come finals time, with B Grade then having lots of players to pick from if A Grade don’t make it, but if Morley can lock down that core group of players from five to six in A Grade to a committed eight-nine his job will become much more easier as a leader. Overall: B Off field the club is flying and on field they have a genuine shot at playing finals in at least two grades. The ground has finally dried out which was a major concern before the Christmas break, and if the curators can continue to produce wickets where scores of 250-plus are being made and chased down instead of wickets which have no grass and stay low, then the club’s finish to the season has all the potential in the world. Rovers (A Grade 6th; B Grade 6th; C Grade 5th) THIS was supposed to be the season that boys became men and the Rovers Cricket Club made an impact in the TDCA A Grade finals, but unfortunately it hasn’t happened. Rovers have more coaches and support staff than any other club in the TDCA, but it may be a case of ‘too many cooks spoil the broth’ as the focus of some of the best players at the club isn’t on improving and winning games but more about individual achievements. Rovers have played more games than any other team this season, due to Duncan Cameron Park being the best playing surface/wicket combination in Gippsland, but they haven’t been able to make the most of it and have not lived up to the preseason hype yet. The Good: Ewan Williams is having a very good season with the bat and Simon Duff is having a good season with the ball, and if they continue they should win a few more games and challenge some of the better teams in the competition. The Bad: Rovers have bowled 181 extras so far this season, with 128 of those extras being wides. That’s an incredible 22.6 extras averaged a match, which means if club’s bat their total overs against Rovers they will get at least 20 free runs to go to their score. On a batting friendly surface like DCP, Rovers just can’t afford to give up so many runs as they are only making it harder on themselves every match. Overall: C- Rovers have all the talent in the world and should be a formidable force in the TDCA, but at the moment they aren’t. This can get turned around but only if the club all pull one way and focus on cricket rather than letting themselves get distracted. If the bowling tightens up and starts of 15 get converted to big scores, Rovers can push for finals in all three grades so watch this space. Toongabbie (A Grade 4th; B Grade 2nd; C Grade 6th) THE Rams have been affected by rain more than any other club so far this season, with their ground being waterlogged and unfit for play for most of the campaign so far. The wicket however has been magnificent and they’ve been able to make the most of it already for a few games, having good wins over Gormandale and Imperials at home. Toongabbie’s B Grade is flying along and although C Grade are sitting on the bottom, they’re only a game and a half outside the top four so things are going well at Toongabbie in 2022/23 to date. The Good: The Rams know they are a team that lifts in the finals, so they won’t be bothered about sitting fourth in A Grade at the moment because they can match it with anyone on their day. Kev Stoddart and Rob Wheildon are in good form with the bat and Keenan Hughes has taken four-wicket hauls in his last two matches, so if this form continues they’ll be a lock for a finals berth. The Bad: An injury-hampered Tom Shippen and players such as Jason Veneman and Sam Moran not always being available may hurt the A Grade team in some games, but so far it hasn’t. It gives more opportunity to some fringe players for sure, but if they aren’t able to get their full team on the park leading into finals it may hurt their chances, as some teams outside the top four will be waiting for them to slip up. Overall: B The Rams are tracking nicely and should feature in the finals in both A and B Grade unless something disastrous happens. They won’t need to change much up after Christmas (apart from maybe not sending Glengarry into bat if they win the toss next time they play them) and if everyone hits form at the right time in both A and B Grade, who knows what could happen. Yarram & District (A Grade 3rd; B Grade 3rd; C Grade 2nd) YARRAM are young, fit and hungry who don’t back down to anyone in any grade. The Pelicans boast a very complete pace bowling attack, and are devastating with the bat if they get themselves in, which is why they are the most talked about team in the TDCA. The Good: A huge turf bench awaits the first round back after Christmas, and in the middle of that bench is a beautiful looking wicket. This now means the Yarram District A Grade team are nomads no more, and will be able to play home games in Yarram on turf which is magnificent not just for the Pelicans but for the entire TDCA. The Bad: It’s tough to single out a young player, but Matthew Garland has struggled against the new ball this season, only scoring double figures once while opening in A Grade. The good thing for the young gun is that he is being backed in by his captain, and although he’s had a lean season so far a big score isn’t far away now that the Christmas break has finished and the wickets flatten out. Overall: A This is the best run club in the competition, and it’s transferring over to on-field success. The Pelicans will be aiming to remedy their disappointment in losing the C Grade Premiership last season and also losing the B Grade semi-final, while in A Grade, they will take any challenge head-on.
