By Marcus Uhe
HSD
LAST SEASON: Third
COMING: Jawed Hussaini (Narre South), Sakuntha Liyanage
GOING: –
STAYING: Thisuraka Akmeemana, Brent Patterson, Ryan Patterson, Mackenzie Gardner, Triyan de Silva, Jett Kearney, Craig Hookey
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Jawed Hussaini, Ryan Patterson, Triyan de Silva
Will this summer finally be the season of HSD?
They seem to have all bases covered, and have been there or thereabouts in recent years, without breaking through for premiership success.
The last two summers saw them fall short in semi finals, while 2021/22 was as close as they got to going up, falling an agonising four runs short of Parkmore on grand final day.
With Dandenong West continuing its rise up the ranks, HSD will fight it out with Parkmore as the team to beat in Turf 2.
They have the reigning Gartside Medal winner in Triyan De Silva, who was also the best bowler in the competition with 43 wickets at 14, three of last season’s top six run scorers, in he, Mackenzie Gardner and Brent Patterson.
They addressed the vacancy of a front line spinner by bringing Sri Lankan left-armer Sakuntha Liyanage to the snake pit, who can take bowling pressure off the remainder of the attack and mimick the success that Peter Sweeney had at Cranbourne, while nearly all of the squad from last summer has returned for another season at Reedy Reserve.
Little stands in way road to being a contender yet again this season, but whether they can combat a perceived mental demon, only time will tell.
“For three years now we’ve felt like we’ve been in a good position to move our way up to Turf 1, but unfortunately it hasn’t panned out that way,” coach Craig Hookey said.
“The first year we thought we would just make finals, so to get into the grand final in the first year was a real pleasing thing.
“The two seasons after that have been disappointing towards the end.
“Do I think it’s a hoodoo? Sure everyone wants to win but at the end of the day I don’t think it’s something people will be thinking about (or) stressing.
“In the last two seasons that we’ve had, we come in with expectations that we’re playing in a grand final.
“Obviously when you get to the grand final, anything can happen on the day but we expect to get to the last game of the year every year that we play.”
