By Jonty Ralphsmith
The performances of Tooradin duo Liam Simpson and Cody Mannix have been the silver-lining of an up-and-down start to the season for the Seagulls.
Question marks loomed over the Gulls entering the 2024-25 season given the absence of Brad Butler and Pete Sweeney, through injury and retirement respectively.
But strong allrounder Simpson and spinner Mannix have highlighted the strong depth that Tooradin has in the Casey Cardinia Cricket Association Premier competition.
Simpson has played multiple important cameos as a swashbuckling lower-order batter as he establishes himself in his first full season of First XI cricket.
He then contributed with the ball in the round 5 outright victory over Upper Beaconsfield, claiming a hattrick in the first innings, before opening the bowling in the second.
“He bowled just about the perfect hattrick ball, it angled in, right on the chalk and went under the bat, it was well executed by Liam,” said captain-coach Mick Sweeney.
“He’s been coming for a little while even before I got to the club they identified him as one worth investing some time into and encouraging him.
“He has a strong action but he has had back issues in the past which waylaid his bowling a couple of years ago, but he had a full year of bowling last year and performed strongly in the twos.
“As he gets bigger and stronger, he’ll develop his skills and become the best he can be at the optimal time but like a lot of young blokes he’s in a hurry which is a good thing.
“He’s got a good bit of pace on him and we use him in short and sharp spells so he can impact.
“As a batter, you wouldn’t say he’s a Greg Chappell type but they stay hit when he gets hold of them.”
The resilience of Mannix has impressed the skipper, who was a wicket-taking machine early and has continued creating chances, but been a victim of poor fielding since.
His stability has enabled Tooradin to play two spinners, which has benefitted team balance.
“He’s become a mainstay of our side pretty quickly,” Sweeney said.
“It’s pretty difficult being a young spinner and you have to have a fair bit of resilience.
“He’s gone over the fence a few times and comes back and takes a wicket.
“He has a fantastic attitude, the boys love him and he’s fit right in.
“He has a bright future for the club.”
It has been the experienced middle-order which has faltered, leading to losses against Pakenham in round 1 and Devon Meadows in round 4.
Fielding has also been an issue, with the Tooradin attack creating plenty of chances which have gone begging, underlining the absences of Pete Sweeney and Butler.
“I’ve spoken about the loss of Pete and Brad in the past and you think straight about their bowling stats and Pete’s batting but Pete was our first slipper and dropped one all year last year,” Mick Sweeney said.
“Brad is a very athletic outfielder so I think we’re missing them in the field as much as their batting and bowling so that’s one reason but we’re not going to use it as an excuse.”
Tooradin currently sit third on the table, less than a game off the ladder-leading Cardinia following an outright victory over Upper Beaconsfield, but the captain-coach is aware there’s still work to do.
Clashes with top-two sides Kooweerup and Cardinia will demonstrate how Tooradin hold up under pressure against the best sides in two-day cricket.
“It was good to be on the right end of the scoreboard however I thought against Devon Meadows fielding separated the two sides, they took their chances and bowled to plans well and we didn’t,” Sweeney said.
“Despite the scoreboard being in our favour, I thought we were still not where we wanted to be in the field against Upper Beaconsfield.
“It’s good to still be getting decent results while working through where we need to get to being.”
