JUSTIN: Alright, Dave, we’re back for another week of LTS, and it’s just the two of us. No Marcus and no Jonty via Zoom. With that being said, we’re really at the pointy end of things for the cricket season.
DAVE: It sure is; in Premier it’s going all the way down to the last overs to see who sneaks into the four. I’m really looking forward to Saturday.
BEST ACTION
JUSTIN: With all that in mind, what was your best action from over the weekend?
DAVE: I can’t remember the last time I had my best action being a wicketkeeper. But, on the weekend, Pakenham wicketkeeper Rob Elston was up to the stumps and had a very quick stumping to get rid of Tooradin’s captain Mick Sweeney. He had the bails off in a flash, and I don’t think Mick was too happy. His foot was right on the line or maybe just behind it but the umpire raised the finger. It just got me thinking, Rob’s in his mid-40s, he played at Casey South Melbourne in Vic Premier Cricket many years ago and he’s still probably the best gloveman in the CCCA. I just think the brilliance of his glove work over the years needs to be acknowledged; what an exquisite glove man he is. He actually got two stumpings on the weekend, but the one to get Sweeney was quick…blink and you miss it sort of stuff!
JUSTIN: Two stumpings? That’s a great effort! My best action goes to Pakky Upper skipper Brian Kulasena, who came out to bat at number three and copped a full toss from Kyle Williamson, the spinner of Nar Nar Goon. He smacked it through…here we go Dave, long on! I’m learning my cricket positions.
DAVE: Very good Justin!
JUSTIN: Down at Nar Nar Goon, the boundary is massive and it only took a couple of bounces to the fence. It was nice to see that kind of aggressive shot, even though he went out a few balls later. Just worth mentioning, I was watching PlayCricket as Oshadha Ariyadasa was inching closer to another hundred, so I ducked down to Carlisle Park during the tea break to hopefully watch him raise the bat. Unfortunately, he chopped it on not long after I got there for 90.
DAVE: The beginning of the Justin Jinx.
AFL PREDICTIONS
JUSTIN: It’s hard to believe that the AFL season starts this Thursday; it’s crept on us out of nowhere.
DAVE: I can’t believe it.
JUSTIN: Opening Round is this week, whether the game in Brisbane goes ahead or not. It’s crazy, it feels like just yesterday the Brisbane Lions were hoisting the cup. So Dave, we’re going to try our best to predict the top eight. You did claim to me you were on to Hawthorn early last year, so let’s see who you’ve got this time around.
DAVE: Hawthorn’s on my watch list again, I’ve got them in my eight, but I don’t think they’re going to propel to the top of the ladder like a lot of people are thinking. So, I’ve got a very heavily interstate focused top four this year. I think Sydney, even though their last game of footy was a disaster in the grand final, but they’ve just got class. They’ve got three or four just absolute superstars, like maybe top five players in the league. I’ve got Sydney to finish on top. I think Brisbane, I watched them on the weekend and I can’t see them slipping too far at all, they’ve got belief. They’re obviously going to miss Joe Daniher but I think they’re well placed. I’ve gone GWS third, they’ve got some stars but there are lots of others that fly under the radar. And I wouldn’t be allowed to get back into my house if Collingwood wasn’t in the top four, so I’m putting my Pies in there. That’s based on watching them the other night against Richmond; they look like they are cherry-ripe to not repeat what happened last season. They were 0-3 last season and chasing their tails all year. My bottom half of the top eight, I’m going with Freo, I really like the inclusion of Shai Bolton. Then Hawthorn, I think they’re going to be an exciting team but they’ll go through ups and downs. Geelong, never write the Cats off, they’re always a good team. Finally, I think Carlton will sneak into the eight, some people might have them higher than eighth but I think they’ll get there.
JUSTIN: No Port Adelaide?
DAVE: Doing this, you realise how hard it is. There are so many good teams you’ve got to leave out; the coaching transition thing I’m not overly excited about. What about you, mate?
JUSTIN: As much as it pains me to say, I’ve gone the Pies on top of the ladder.
DAVE: OOO, I hope you’re right!
JUSTIN: I think they’re really going to lift this season, they were the hunted last year after winning the premiership and Nick Daicos looked stellar in the preseason. Also, I think the addition of Dan Houston will be huge; he’s a fantastic player whether he’s at half-back or in the midfield. I think he’ll have a major impact. Brisbane is second for me, as you mentioned, they ooze class. They will miss Daniher but their list is still top notch. Same can be said for Sydney, who will miss Errol Gulden for a long period and that’s a massive loss, but they’ve still got talented players up and down the field. Fremantle in fourth, they’re always a tough game in the west and Bolton will be a big recruit. They were in the top four for a lot of last season before they faded late. They’ve got a young squad, with guys like Hayden Young, Caleb Serong and Josh Treacy; they’re absolutely loaded with talent.
DAVE: Serong is probably my favourite player outside of Collingwood, I just love the way he plays footy.
JUSTIN: He’s a star and alongside Andy Brayshaw, they form a formidable midfield. Fifth is the Cats, like you said, always a good team. It will be interesting to see what kind of impact Bailey Smith has in his first season there after a major knee injury. I have Carlton sixth; I’m a little higher on them this season. With Curnow, McKay and Cripps, there’s no way I could rule them out. Port Adelaide in seventh, it’ll be intriguing to see whereabouts they fit in the mix; they’ll certainly miss Zak Butters early. I think Jason Horne-Francis is going to take a massive step forward this season and he’s already shown he’s an elite player. Finally, I’ve gone Hawthorn in eighth. GWS actually miss my top eight, but I’m not so sure about why. I love the new faces for the Hawks with Tom Barrass and Josh Battle set to bolster that squad. We’ll move to some individual awards; the Brownlow this year Dave?
DAVE: It’s a clear one for me. He’s nearly won them the last two years, so I think Nick Daicos is the man. It took a pretty amazing year from Patty Cripps to knock him off last year and the year before he got injured for the last few rounds, so I think it’ll be an injustice if Daicos goes through his career and doesn’t win a Brownlow or two. I think he’ll get his first one this year. Also, I can’t see any reason why Jesse Hogan won’t repeat his Coleman Medal win. I think Hogan’s a class act, and it’s great to see he’s starting to live up to his potential. He’ll have a great year and win the Coleman.
JUSTIN: I’m in 100 percent agreement with you on the Brownlow; I think it’s Nick Daicos’ to lose. There’s a reason he’s the heavy favourite, we saw that in the preseason and we’ve seen it throughout his career. I definitely think this season ends with Charlie around Daicos’ neck. My Coleman is a bit left of field, he’s still up there but it’s Nick Larkey from North Melbourne. I’m sick of picking McKay and Curnow, I didn’t want to pick them even though they’ll both be in it, I think Hogan’s a great shout but Larkey is strong and I reckon he’ll be the main reason why North rise this year. I don’t think they’re a top eight team but they will be better.
FAVOURITE GAMES
JUSTIN: With the CCCA season ending this week, we wanted to highlight some of the things we’ve seen throughout the season, and there have been some great games across all grades. You’ve been to a lot of cricket this year Dave, so is there a particular game that sticks out to you from this season?
DAVE: There’s one game that clearly stands out, and that took place between Kooweerup and Merinda Park in round four. It was a Saturday-Sunday game, and Merinda Park, who got their first win of the season this week, made 7/409 on the Saturday. They posted on Facebook about how good it was going to be to beat Kooweerup. The Demons came out on Sunday and made 4/413 and rolled Merinda Park with overs and wickets to spare. It was amazing; Chris Bright made 205, Shiran Rathnayake made 102, so I don’t think you can go past that. 822 runs across Saturday-Sunday for 11 wickets, very batter friendly but what a game of cricket.
JUSTIN: I’ve got a couple of honourable mentions for District; the first is the matchup of Lang Lang versus Emerald in round 11. Lang Lang was 8/202 needing 205 to win. Then, Clinton Marsh took two wickets in the 38th over to give the Bombers a two-run win. Another honourable mention goes to Pakky Upper against Officer in round 12. Officer only made 181 after their 10/11 partnership made about 60 runs, and I thought they were going to get rolled, but the Bullants bowled out the Yabbies for 141. However, my winner was round 10, where Cranbourne Meadows visited Officer. This was the shocker of the season. Cranbourne Meadows aren’t the strongest team in the competition with the ball, but they were sensational with the bat on this day. They made 217 in the one day, a pretty good total at Rob Porter. Then, they put on an absolute slaughter of the Bullants line-up, bowling them out for 111. It ended as a 106-run win and at the time, Officer were unbeaten. It sent shock waves through the entire system, and it showed the Rebels have the potential to win the flag if they get their bowling firing.
SHOUTOUT TO THE GUYS NOT IN FINALS
JUSTIN: As we said, the season will come to a close for a lot of players this week. So Dave, who are some guys that have had great years that we unfortunately won’t see in the postseason?
DAVE: As it sits right now, it’s probably a 50/50 toss up whether Clyde or Pakenham make finals. If Clyde misses out, Michael Vandort, who’s an ex-Sri Lankan international, has had an outstanding year. Ankush Rana, the opening bowler for Clyde, he’s leading the competition for wickets, so if Clyde miss out, those two blokes outside the top four are the ones that need to be highlighted. Finally, Daniel McCalman from Merinda Park, he’s been the number one player for the Cobras for the last 12-15 years. There’s talk he might not play on next year, but in the game I spoke about earlier, he made 181. So, he needs an acknowledgement, particularly if he’s going to give the game away. I’m just not sure if District cricket will get his juices flowing after playing in the top flight for so long.
JUSTIN: Well done to those boys. I have to mention Oshadha Ariyadasa from Lang Lang, he made 90 and was the leading runscorer all season until Chathura Imbulagoda’s 234 on Saturday. He finishes with 630 runs for the year. He averages well over 50, paired with two tons. He’s also taken eight wickets, just a superstar of this competition. Liam Hill from Nar Nar Goon-Maryknoll made 100 last week, and he’ll bat for the final time this weekend. He’s made 347 runs with two centuries, so he gets a shout-out. Finally, I wanted to give credit to a lot of the boys at Emerald. They’ve had a valiant season, coming so close to finals, but they’ll probably miss out. Their bowling attack of Ethan Crosher, Clinton Marsh, Trent Rolfs and Jack Raukola have all taken 12 or 13 wickets, that’s all in the top 20. Also, Michael Nell has made 311 runs and Michael Hoban has made 308 runs and they’ve both had multiple 50s. Alright Dave, great chat, we’ll be back next week!
