By Marcus Uhe
Hallam Kalora Park has the chance to extract vengeance for last season’s heartbreaking preliminary final defeat at the hands of the Springvale South when the Bloods come to the Hawks’ nest this weekend.
The gripping contest came down to the final two overs on the sunny evening in March at Alex Nelson Reserve with the Bloods recovering from 4/52to chase the Hawks’ 160, thanks in large part to the heroics of all-rounder Blade Baxter.
Revenge wasn’t on the mid of Hawks coach Matthew Cox on the eve on the season, but it’s hard to imagine that the result and the memories aren’t the back of players’ minds somewhere.
With one of only three sides to have completed an entire game in the opening two weeks, the Bloods have blown early-season cobwebs away with bat and ball, and crucially saw the return of star batter Ryan Quirk from injury for some valuable time in the middle.
The Hawks’ quality batters didn’t look to have lost anything in their clash with Berwick last weekend but will need more contributors if they are to post a strong enough total against Springvale South.
Buckley Ridges welcome North Dandenong to Park Oval in a replay of a testy match late in the 2022/23 summer.
Two Maroons were handed one-game suspensions in the contest, one for equipment abuse and one for allegedly kicking an opponent fielding a ball near the North Dandenong batters.
Buckley Ridges won the contest but if North Dandenong are to be considered a threat to the Turf 1 title this summer, this is exactly the sort of contest they need to win, against a well-respected and quality opponent away from home.
A stumble from the Buckley Ridges batters, however, may serve as an early wake-up call for the men from Park Oval.
While the season may only be three* weeks old, St Mary’s are already desperate to notch a win.
Glimpses of talent and quality cricket has been washed-away in the face of heavy losses to Narre South and Springvale South in rounds two and three.
Playing at home for the first time this campaign will give them a slight advantage over Berwick, but the Bears will be buoyed by two excellent bowling performances led by returning skipper Jarrod Goodes.
Beaconsfield, meanwhile, will fancy its chances against Narre South at Strathaird Reserve, but will need to see off former Tiger Callan Tout.
The Tigers’ batting department has found the jump from Turf 2 to Turf 1 tougher than the bowlers and will know better than anyone the quality that Tout possesses.
