Cricket Far North: ‘Clear pathway to develop their game’: Inside the Rovers talent factory

Rovers success isn’t just about the numbers, it’s about their unique approach to nurturing talent, blending youth with experience and fostering a culture of camaraderie and commitment.

Rovers Collage. First Grade. Cricket Far North. Credit: Gyan-Reece Rocha

The blockbuster CFN T20A grand final between powerhouses Rovers and Mulgrave looks set to go ahead Thursday night at Griffiths Park.

The top two sides on the leaderboard in the CFN first grade competition possess an astounding amount of talented cricketers.

In particular, Rovers Cricket Club stands tall as a shining example with their second and third grade sides also top two. Their success isn’t just about the numbers, it’s about their unique approach to nurturing talent, blending youth with experience and fostering a culture of camaraderie and commitment. Experience performers Marcus Berryman, Andrew Phelps, Joshua Chadwick, Brenton Edwards Ryan Terry, Aaron Lock and Bobby Brix are combining with a dangerous core of Henry King, 17, Thomas King, 15, Kael Newcombe, 17, Harry Halpin and 17, Seth McGinty, 17 to spearhead their strong 2023/24 campaign.

Joshua Chadwick of the Rovers bowls in Saturdays match against Atherton at Griffith Park. Picture Emily Barker.

Rovers president John Margiotta said he tries to keep the coaches across the club teaching the same philosophy.

“First and foremost, we try and keep friendship unit together and keep them playing the sport as long as we can,” Margiotta said.

“From there, you’ve got to balance the players being dominant and being challenged.

“A player who’s dominating their own age group needs to be tested a little bit in seniors.

“It’s a lot to do with the knowledge our coaches as former players are imparting on these kids.

“We’ve had some incredible coaches and advisers over the years, Andrew Phelps currently coaches, Josh McGinty, Mike Stoodley, Pete Ferguson, Simon North, life member Errol Harris.”

Brothers Henry King and Tommy King walk from the crease at the end of the over in the Cricket Far North first grade 40 overmatch between the Cairns Rovers and Norths, held at Griffiths Park, Manunda. Picture: Brendan Radke

Their mentorship, combined with newly introduced structured training sessions by Phelps, has been instrumental in unlocking the potential of Rovers’ players.

“The structure we were looking for was to identify what players actually needed specifically,” he said.

“Building that culture, that bond, developing a bowling plan and a batting plan. We target a certain score every game, we aim to restrict opposition (to a certain score). This will be where our wickets are coming from.

“It’s creating that direction and keeping everyone on the same page and believing and buying into it.”

Rovers' Andrew Phelps bats in the Cricket Far North 40 overs match between the Cairns Rovers and Norths, held at Griffiths Park, Manunda. Picture: Brendan Radke

Rovers coach and premier batsmen Andrew Phelps said it comes down to commitment and building a culture.

“The culture we’ve got, everyone’s on the same page to get down to training and improve their game,” Phelps said.

“Batting against and alongside quality players keeps you super competitive to get among the runs.

“Having a great committee structure, we made a focus of being competitive across all four grades and giving those juniors coming through a really clear pathway to develop their game.

“I focus on getting them to believe and back their own abilities once they take it from the training fields out into a game.”

Rovers' Seth McGinty bats in the Cricket Far North 40 overs match between the Cairns Rovers and Norths, held at Griffiths Park, Manunda. Picture: Brendan Radke

Moreover, Rovers’ commitment to developing all-rounders has been pivotal in their success. Their first-grade side uses eight different bowlers in most games while possessing the deepest batting brigade.

Rovers operate their second grade side as a true competition side to put pressure on the first grade players to hold their spots.

Margiotta said there’s a number of players in second grade who could potentially slot into the first grade team.

He also listed Archie Ferguson, Ian De Lange, Will Palmer, Cooper Gabell and Brodie North as serious talents for the future.

“We’ve been striving for that level of depth for a number of years,” Margiotta said.

“We don’t focus on winning, our focus is to make sure that as many juniors in he lower levels are having a fair go at each game.

“Everyone pays the same amount of registration and they come to play cricket. We can’t just prioritise the better players. If players don’t come back next season then we can’t put a team on the park with four people.”

CFN T20A grand final Mulgrave v Rovers Thursday 6.30pm at Griffiths Park.

Originally published as Cricket Far North: ‘Clear pathway to develop their game’: Inside the Rovers talent factory