Casey-South Melbourne – Victorian Premier Cricket mid-season review
By Nick Creely
CASEY-South Melbourne coach Brian Keogh is adamant that the club is heading in the right direction, and is buoyed by the last fortnight his group has produced.
After starting the season like a house on fire, the Swans faded off in the month of November, before producing a stunning three-game patch that sees them head into the break full of confidence and within touching distance of the top eight.
In Saturday’s thrilling victory over Monash Tigers, Casey’s improvement was evident to see, and chased down a total of 330 that previously they may not have been able to achieve.
But it wasn’t just the runs that were important, it was the manner that they chased the total down, something Keogh is proud of.
And despite external belief that the club is heading for another lowly season, Keogh believes his Swans have the capacity to shock the competition after Christmas, but concedes he didn’t expect improvement to happen so rapidly.
“There is a great spirit and comradery amongst the group – I said to the players and supporters yesterday, we are probably playing a season ahead in terms of where we thought we’d be,” he explained.
“We lost four of our best six players last year, and then Kasun at the beginning of the season, so that’s 1200 runs from the top of the order.
“They’re a young group who have belief, and more importantly there just a tight knit group – they’re genuine good mates.
“That’s what honestly makes a great club, everyone accepting and respecting one another.
“Our seconds are doing well, and our thirds and fourths are incredibly young and will come together – there’s been no real surprises but I guess the resolve of the group has been incredible, it’s been a rollercoaster – in October we played some great cricket, and then fell away a little bit in November, but we have responded.
“We had a really long conversation after the Frankston game, we were really disappointed, and now we’ve knocked off three great sides in the space of ten days – it’s really pleasing.
“I’m really excited about this current group, but more importantly, there’s a wave of young players who are going to come through – Joel Mitchell, Ashley Chandrasinghe, Cam Brown obviously, Harry Wans, Sam Jones, these types of guys are really talented and around the age of 16-17.”
And Keogh said that the off-season was critical, and that shaping the list for not just this season, but for seasons to come was vitally important.
“We did a great job in our list management at the start of the season, and made a real focus on filing some certain gaps in our list – we wanted to create competitive tension with the group but also remain loyal to our current list,” he said.
“We decided against going out and targeting big name recruits, what we actually did is recruit guys who are probably a little more mature, like Cameron Dinger, who give us depth at the club, and fill gaps.
“We are building sustained success, because we have got out list right, and have a next wave of exciting talent – we want to be a long term top six side.”
Despite the list improving as a collective, Keogh pointed out a few players who he believes are integral components to the make-up of a successful side.
“Dyl Hadfield is probably the most improved player at the club – he has gone from being in and out of the firsts, to being a bonafide all-rounder, and one of our first players picked – he had an outstanding innings against Footscray and won us the game in just 20 odd balls, but then came out against Monash and played a different role for us,” he said.
“Lamby’s (Nathan Lambden) been an enormous recruit for us in the last two years – and he loves the moment with either bat or ball – and I think Dylan is the same as that, which is really good for us.
“But also Lachie Sperling has been outstanding as a leader this year as well, and we believe an 800 run season is coming for him.
“It’s his tactical nous and ability to lead off the field as well – sure he’d be frustrated with his season to date, but I can’t question his impact and leadership on the group.”
At the half-way point of the season, elegant opener Devin Pollock leads the run tally, scoring 324 runs at 29.45, while Lachlan Sperling has 277 runs and Dylan Hadfield 271
With the ball, Nathan Lambden has taken 16 wickets at 24.38, while Brendan Rose has 13 wickets and Leigh Diston 11.
The Swans have used 16 players in their first XI to date, and have exposed such talent as Cameron Brown, Jackson Fry, Cameron Dinger, Luke Manders and Jordan Wyatt to the pinnacle of cricket in Victoria.
The Swans will return after the break to tackle Melbourne Uni on 7 January away from home.
