DDCA: North Dandenong confident its Turf 1 finals appearance was not a flash in the pan

North Dandenong president Jason Shaw is confident the club’s new recruit and organic growth will keep it in the Dandenong District Turf 1 finals hunt. See why.

The expectations at North Dandenong have risen.

President Jason Shaw says the Maroons’ recruitment of former skipper Jurgen Andersen and the internal development is indicative of how the club has grown in recent years.

The side out of Lois Twohig Reserve has developed from an outfit regularly fighting to survive in the Dandenong District Turf 1 competition, to a side expecting to fight for finals berth each year.

Andersen played with the club for three seasons, taking 77 Turf 1 wickets, before joining Mornington Peninsula club Long Island where he has played the last two seasons.

Along with the club’s organic growth in the last 12 months, Shaw is optimistic that Andersen’s re-inception will only propel the club further.

“Jurgen has got a good record and he thinks it’s the right time to come back and give back,” he said.

“He’s more mature, he has a child on the way, he wants to play where he started in Australia again.

“He’s going to have a bowling coach role with David (senior coach David Bell) because we want to support the senior coach, that’s one thing we identified, we want to develop our players.”

Jurgen Andersen. Picture: Valeriu Campan

Andersen took 17 wickets in each of his two seasons at Long Island and bowled an average of 14 overs a game in the competition‘s return to red-ball cricket in 2022-23.

Shaw noted his ability to bowl big spells and toughness as the asset the Maroons were looking for.

“He’s a senior cricketer, and especially with the return of two-day cricket, he has the ability to bowl long overs,” he said.

“As a player, he fits the role, we need to improve our toughness and our game sense and that comes with experience.

“You can see the individuals winning finals for their team are those types of players… (Blade) Baxter always stands up in finals for Springy South and similar blokes do that.

“You have to have the game sense and the knowledge to do things at the right time.

“We want to be there – it was nice to get positive feedback from other clubs that it’s a different club, I think that gives hope to the clubs in Turf 2 that while it’s a long haul, it can be done.”

North Dandenong made its first Turf 1 finals series in over a decade in 2022-23 and hold greater expectations for 2023-24.