Dandenong’s emerging talents and competitiveness throughout a long and gruelling Victorian Premier Cricket season has captain Brett Forsyth convinced that the club is “on the right path”, despite not qualifying for finals once again this summer.
The Panthers finished the competition in 12th place with five wins to their name, improving from just two wins the year before.
Forsyth’s side flew out of the blocks with two wins from their opening three contests thanks to a pair of monster run-chases but faded as the season continued, winning just two games following the mid-season Christmas break.
But it’s the margins of defeat that showed promise and dedication to the cause, something that pleased the veteran skipper.
Volatile T20 contests yielded the heaviest defeats, of seven wickets and 40 runs, while the worst margin in a two-day game, five wickets against Geelong, came against a side that only missed the top four in Premier Cricket on percentage.
It’s a sign of growth but something not to be satisfied with, in the eyes of the captain.
“As captain, and Tom (Donnell) as coach, we were really proud of the way that we played and our competitiveness, skills and ability to take it up to the opposition when we needed to and hold the fort if the opposition got a run-on,” Forsyth said.
“There’s been a number of really close games of cricket where it could have gone either way.
“In one or two we’ve had draws in red-ball cricket, a couple where we missed out by a wicket, things like that.
“For us, it’s not about trying to compete and be happy with that, and being competitive but losing.
“That’s certainly not what we’re about; we’re aiming to win every game.”
A number of players, including Dhanusha Gamage, Noah Hurley and Vishwa Ramkumar, were embarking on a maiden season at First XI level, and stood up to the rigours with plenty asked of them.
Gamage cracked two unbeaten hundreds in his first two games at the level, finishing with 516 runs at 57, joining Joshua Slater (515) and Forsyth (781) in passing the 500-run mark.
Hurley, meanwhile, led the attack all season to finish with 25 wickets at 21.8, while Ramkumar represented Victoria Metro at the Under 19 National Championships late last year.
In Hurley, Forsyth can see shades of some storied names at Shepley Oval that went on to bigger and better things.
“He hits the deck really hard, he’s really competitive and reminds me of a few fast bowlers that we’ve had at the club, in Darren Pattinson, Peter Siddle and James Pattinson, and a few others,” he said.
“For someone who’s 20 to take 25 wickets in a team that doesn’t make the finals, I think he’s going to be a great player moving forward.
“We’ve got some really promising players that are coming through and will be the lifeblood of the club moving forward.
“If all the boys do the work and continue to improve their game, then I’m sure we’ll try to get from five wins to seven/eight/nine and be in contention for finals.”
Forsyth’s 781 runs, featuring four hundreds and one half-century, were only bettered by Melbourne’s Blake Thomson for total runs scored, putting him in firmly contention for the Jack Ryder Medal as the competition’s best player.
He credits the support of Donnell, his former opening batter and now senior coach, for much of his success this season.
“Tom has allowed me to go out and play and he’s been pretty happy for me to succeed or fail, and play a little bit more positively, which has been really nice at times,” he said.
“There hasn’t been too many ramifications for poor performances or shots, it’s been a really calm environment which has been really great.
“I think they (the coaching panel) have done a fantastic job with a somewhat-young group, in trying to lift the standards, communication in all areas, really.
“It’s been a really enjoyable place to play cricket this season, and it was last season, it was just a little bit tougher at times.”
