By Paul Pickering
Swans skipper Damien Wright smashed 13 fours and a six in his 79 at Geelong on Saturday. 25046 Picture: Stewart Chambers
WINNING breeds expectation, so there’s been little of either at Casey-South Melbourne in recent years.
But if you needed any proof that the Swans are fair dinkum about the 2009-10 season, it came in the reaction to Saturday’s clash against Geelong at Kardinia Park.
They posted a competitive total of 241 and had the Cats one down at stumps on day one, but there wasn’t much backslapping going on during the trip home.
According to coach Mark Ridgway, the Swans – skittled by Geelong for just 62 in the opening round of the 2008-09 season – were far from satisfied with their day’s work.
He expected star players Damien Wright (79) and Robbie Elston (42) to capitalise on their sublime form and make a statement on the club’s behalf.
The pair came together at 3/15, with the new ball swinging around in humid conditions.
They played brilliantly to take the Swans past three figures, before Wright was caught heaving across the line in a bid to bring up the 15th boundary of his innings.
“It was a dirty slog, which isn’t good enough from a first-class player,” Ridgway said, not afraid to take one of his best mates to task.
“If Damien Wright and Robbie Elston had batted through, the way they were hitting them, we could have got 350 or 360 for the day.
“That might sound harsh, but our club needs to stamp itself on the competition and the only way we’re going to do that is if players like Damien Wright grab the competition by the scruff of the neck.”
Elston fell shortly after Wright, deceived again by promising young Cats’ leg-spinner Jeremy Hart, who went on to snare five wickets in an impressive display.
Swans Tim Dale (54) and Brett Eddy (29) put on 59 for the ninth wicket to frustrate the Cats’ attack, before Jayde Herrick claimed the late wicket of Geelong opener Matt Harrison to have the home side 1/6 at stumps.
All in all, Ridgway reckons the game is evenly poised.
“I suppose it’s a 50-50 battle at this stage,” he said, sounding more upbeat about his team’s prospects.
“The club hadn’t made more than 100 against Geelong in its past four games, so we’re doing something right.
“We’ve got the best bowling attack in Premier Cricket, with Herrick, (Matt) Hawking, Wright and (Clive) Rose, so they (the Cats) are going to have to bat their arses off next week to get those runs.”
