Grudge match turns friendly

WINNING was the only focus when two of Premier Cricket’s most bitter rivals met in Leongatha on Saturday.
Casey-South Melbourne and Hawthorn-Monash University officials – particularly former team-mates Graham Yallop and Mick Taylor – had developed a spiteful relationship through several ongoing clearance sagas this summer. The most notable was the spat over the playing rights of fast bowling star Lukas Hoogenboom that almost ended in the Supreme Court before Swans officials cleared him to the Hawks.
But Casey-South Melbourne coach Mark Ridgway said there was nothing but congeniality between the sides when they finally met on the weekend.
“There were no problems at all. The players don’t have a problem with each other and it was something we discussed in great depth last week before training,” he said. “We just wanted to win the game on the park and leave what happened in the past.”
Ridgway revealed that officials from both teams even shook hands on arrival.
“I don’t think it’s a hidden fact that we disagree with each other’s philosophies on how to run a cricket club,” Ridgway said. “But I shook Lukas Hoogenboom’s hand and there are no problems there. “
– Marc McGowan