DDCA: How a ‘footy mentality’ revitalised HSD ahead of Turf 2 grand final

An off-season shake-up and adoption of a “footy mentality” has left Heinz Southern Districts with its best chance yet of returning to the DDCA’s top flight ahead of the Turf 2 decider.

Ryan Patterson batting for HSD. Picture: Valeriu Campan

An off-season shake-up and adoption of a “footy mentality” has left Heinz Southern Districts with its best chance yet of returning to the DDCA’s top flight.

The Cobras will take on Parkmore this Saturday at Thomas P Carroll Reserve in the league’s Turf 2 decider.

The tantalising match-up is the rematch of the corresponding fixture in the 2021/22 season, where Parkmore prevailed by four runs in an instant classic.

“It’s probably fitting for us, that’s the kind of narrative that I’m trying to push, it’s a good thing that it’s Parkmore,” HSD coach Craig Hookey said.

“It gives us extra fire in our belly to right the wrongs of the past, the last two times that we’ve played them we’ve won and it’s been in two-day cricket as well which is really promising.

“Not that you need anything extra to get up for a grand final but I think it’s good that it’s going to be Parkmore, they’ve probably been one of the most consistent teams throughout the year.”

The revitalised HSD outfit has been a clear standout in Turf 2 this season, finishing a game clear on top of the ladder and breezing past Lyndale by 147 runs in the semi-final.

The Cobras have now made the Turf 2 finals for all of the past four seasons since they were relegated, but haven’t figured in the big dance since that loss to Parkmore three years ago.

HSD batter Ethan French the last time his side met Parkmore in the Turf 2 decider. Picture: Valeriu Campan.

“At the end of last year we thought we had some deficiencies and they’d been similar deficiencies to what we’d had in the past,” Hookey said.

“It was really about trying to fill those deficiencies inside the confines of our budget. We looked at options outside the square to try and fill those positions and we feel we’ve done that perfectly.”

New recruit Sakuntha Liyanage has been a standout, with the spinner having amassed over 30 wickets.

“He’s taken a lot of the stress off our fast bowling attack which has been really good, “ Hookey added.

“We took him down to the nets and with two or three bowls of him bowling I turned to our president and said this bloke’s a star, so I’m glad that’s worked out our way.”

English player Harry Funnell has been another addition who has added some “class depth”.

And it’s newfound depth which has also been crucial for HSD.

“We went away and developed a club-wide gameplan,” Hookey said.

“A bit more of a footy mentality that your reserves should look a lot like your ones and so on. We created a cricket department in the off-season to developed a few ideas and implemented them.

“At this stage it’s gone well, we’ve got three teams in the grand final but nothing’s achieved just yet.

“I feel more confident with this team, it’s more well-rounded. It has all bases covered really.

“We’ve won seven games in a row … we’re really confident inside our four walls, we’ve got a well-rounded squad and having people in our twos who have performed as well has helped.

“In the past we’ve only been able to pick from 12 or 13 blokes, but this year we’ve played 17 people and all combinations of 17 people would be successful.

“That’s probably been the difference.”