GCA Round 2 wrap: Marshall Bears break 995-day winless drought as Modewarre wins thriller
After 33 games without a win, Marshall Bears have broken their drought in emphatic fashion. Plus, a skipper has led his side to a thrilling win. See how the GCA2, 3 and 4 action unfolded here.
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The monkey is finally off the back for the Marshall Bears.
The Bears broke an agonising 995-day, 34 game winless streak in emphatic fashion, claiming a 179-run victory over Corio to start the GCA3 season.
Wins don’t get much sweeter than this emotional drought-breaking triumph – their first since January 22, 2022.
The club was devastatingly close in the final round of last season, having Geelong West 9-84 chasing 140 at the end of day one. .
Such is there luck, the following Saturday was cruelly called off due to rain, leaving them one lousy wicket away.
“That was horrible,” Bears captain Jake Hilton said.
“For the weather to take it away, it was sort of like, ‘we’re going to have to wait another six months’.”
Marshall Bears were relegated from GCA2 at the end of last season and in their first opportunity to claim a win in 2024/25 – following a washout in their season-opener last week – they did it.
“It was good to get the money off the back that’s for sure,” Hilton said.
“I think it meant a lot to the group but I think it meant a lot more to the blokes who were putting in the effort behind the scenes.
“It was pretty emotional, I didn’t know how to react. It was one of those ones where we hadn’t known the feeling for a while. Everyone was ecstatic.
“The first person I gave a hug to was the president and he was emotional and it was a great arvo and a great night.”
As you’d expect, the celebrations went well into the night – with Jack Burns backing up his 28 runs with best on ground honours back at the club.
“It was all hours of the morning,” Hilton chuckled.
“There was a bit of carry-on as you could imagine, my voice is still no good. It was just to get all the boys in a room together and share a beer and just celebrate that first one.
Hilton praised the performances of off-season recruits Phillip Lang (25), Mike Norris (33) and Brad Greenwood (3/16), with Lang and Norris giving the Bears a strong foundation with the bat at Greenwood wreaking havoc with the ball.
But Hilton was particularly thankful for the resilient Bears on and off the field who have stuck fat with the club through the tough times.
“They are the pinnacle of the club, they could have easily turned their nose away from the club or done other things but it just shows you the guys we have got behind the scenes, they are just awesome people and it just puts us in the right place going forward,” Hilton said.
He said their relegation should prove to be a blessing, helping instil belief in the club, but he hopes that they can return to GCA2 in time.
“We are such a young side, it is good to try and get that winning feeling back again and playing some cricket where we are competitive in all games and try to win most of them,” Hilton said.
“I think we have come down with the right mentality that, ‘we have come down to division three, but let’s come down and get that winning feeling and go back up in a year or so.”
GCA3: SKIPPER THE HERO AS WARRIORS WIN THRILLER
Meanwhile, Modewarre captain Brandon Ross proved to be the hero as the Warriors pinched a two-run win in a seesawing thriller against Bannockburn.
The Warriors were in disarray at 7/61 before Ross combined with Jackson O’Hanlon for a vital partnership of 65 for the eighth wicket, seeing them reach a competitive total of 148.
Bannockburn was in control at 2-60 but collapsed to 8-108 as Nat Matthews (3/21) and Rob Procter (3/17) had the Bulls on the ropes.
But Bulls import Ben Roberts put Bannockburn back in the box seat with a critical lower order knock of 29, with a boundary from number eleven Finn Peel putting them three runs away from victory with a wicket in hand.
However, there was yet another twist in the tale.
Ross came back on to claim the crucial wicket of Roberts, redeeming a dropped catch off his own bowling at the death to deliver his side the win.
“Thankfully Rossy came to the rescue and come up clutch and their import guided one to gully and it was a nice catch by Darcy French,” Modewarre vice-president and player Brendan Wemyss said.
“It was tense, but obviously from our point of view the scenes on the other side of it were pretty good. The boys were pretty ecstatic and you’re thinking with two runs to with, with their batsman – their in batsman on strike, you’re thinking they’ve probably got the upper hand there.
“If you’re a betting man they’re probably $1.30 to win the game, so for us to execute and Rossy to get another wicket and Darcy to take a nice catch was fitting.
“For our young group they went off for a run and a few cuddles here and there it was good, it was nice to see. Just show the boys that hopefully they are heading in the right direction and good for team morale.
“Hopefully a step in the right direction and for us those are the games that, especially for us, those, that we’ve got to win. Those teams that are going to be around the mid-table that are fighting for wins and more importantly, club championship points.”
GCA2: TORQUAY FLEX MUSCLES
An all-round bowling display saw Torquay roll Geelong West for just 88 as the Tigers won by 105 runs at home.
Only two Rams batters made double figures as Ash Russell (3/18) Tom Dunn (3/22) didn’t give an edge, bowling economically and claiming crucial middle order wickets.
Torquay got off to a shaky start with the bat with the Rams having them 4-50, but Nagireddy Saripalli (41) helped steady the ship in the middle order.
Geelong West also shot themselves in the foot by conceding a whopping 28 wides and two no balls throughout the day.
Meanwhile, Murghebuloc is sitting clear in top spot after notching its second win for the season against Bell Park, while Panthers captain Ben Muir led his side to victory over Leopold with 5/28 in a stunning display.
GCA4: REDBACKS GET OVER THE LINE
A steadying knock from Little River opener Bailey Croker has led the Redbacks to a tight three-wicket win over Meredith on their home turf.
Meredith set Little River 183 to win off the back of a captain Tyler Ditloff (55) and Beau Moreland (65) and Tyler Dittloff combined.
The Redbacks looked to be cruising towards victory at 5-169 but the Rams made things interesting by taking two quick wickets.
But number nine Reuben Chandran smashed a quickfire 12 from eight balls to see the Redbacks secure the victory, with Croker finishing with an unbeaten 65 (108).
It sees the Redbacks move to the top of the table after having the bye last week.
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Originally published as GCA Round 2 wrap: Marshall Bears break 995-day winless drought as Modewarre wins thriller
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