Footscray coach Dale McDonald assesses his club’s Premier Cricket season
Despite Footscray bowing out of Premier Cricket finals in straight sets, coach Dale McDonald says the club’s season was anything but negative.
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It’s not all doom and gloom at Merv Hughes Oval, Footscray coach Dale McDonald is adamant about that.
Yes, the Bulldogs lost their last three matches of the season, bowing out of Premier Cricket finals in straight sets but the season’s positives far out weight the negatives.
A 122-run loss to St Kilda in Round 15 was followed by an eight-wicket defeat to Melbourne in the qualifying final and a 118-run loss to the Saints again in the weekend’s semi-final.
Footscray finished the home-and-away in second, a third top-five finish in the last four seasons.
“Finishing second is an outstanding result but obviously to get knocked out in straight sets wasn’t ideal,” McDonald said.
“We played two teams that just performed better than us.”
The immediate positives for Footscray are clear.
Dylan Brasher had a career-best season, totalling 614 runs at an average of 51.17 after plundering 783 runs and winning the Wiesse Medal in Darwin over the winter.
The dashing opener smashed his previous best of 468 in 2020-21 and earned a Victoria Second XI debut, scoring a brilliant 113 not out after earlier being hit in the head and retiring hurt.
Meanwhile, paceman Umair Butt was arguably the recruit of the season as he snared 34 wickets at 19.88 after arriving from Tasmania.
And Ryan Stingel’s late-season form was impressive, top-scoring in the Round 15 and qualifying final defeats, and finishing the year with 195 runs in just six innings – three fewer runs than Ash Chandrasinghe in two fewer digs.
“There’s been huge growth in some players this year, Dylan Brasher has played Second XI and made a hundred, so he’s come on in leaps and bounds,” McDonald said.
“Ryan Stingel, he didn’t bat in every game but he’s still made nearly 200 runs and only batted six times.
“Mitch Jamieson from a numbers point of view, he had a lean year, but from a development point of view he’s come on in leaps and bounds.
“I spoke to him on the weekend and asked what he learned, he said ‘wow, isn’t Premier Cricket tough’, so it’s not as easy as some people think.
“Max (Birthisel) got 49 on the weekend and I genuinely think Max can turn into a middle order batsman, bowling all-rounder.
“Umair Butt had an absolutely outstanding year coming across from Tassie, we weren’t sure what we were going to get but he hasn’t missed a beat.”
There’s more young talent in the Bulldogs pipeline too with Footscray’s Second XI into this weekend’s grand final after chasing down 296 to beat St Kilda.
“In our Second XI, it’s going to be hard to pick a team next year with the Nadeem brothers, Blake, Steve Mihelakos-James, Aaron Harding, Raj Nand and Josh Pace, the list goes on.
“We’ve got another young guy who came across from Melbourne, Campbell Griffith – he’s had glandular fever – but he’s a left-arm quick and proper quick and an exciting prospect.”
The development of Footscray’s young talent will also depend on the club retaining its experienced core, including skipper Travis Dean, Dylan Kight, reigning Ryder Medallist Dean Russ, Daniel Sartori and Jake Reed.
“Age is just a number and good players should stick around for as long as possible,” McDonald said.
“To have the better players playing Premier Cricket for longer, as long as they’re able and willing, only makes our competition better.
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“That would be my message to anyone out there in their low to mid-30s, if you can still compete at the highest level then I would highly recommend it.”
After seeing St Kilda up close in the past three weeks, McDonald tipped the Saints to knock off Carlton and go on to win the premiership this season.
McDonald joked that Footscray had played the Saints back into form in the final round of the season and they’ve gone on to hammer Northcote in the elimination final and the Bulldogs in the semi.
Carlton will host St Kilda at Princes Park, while Melbourne will host Ringwood in this weekend’s preliminary finals.
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