All GCA1 news ahead of North Geelong v East Belmont and Newtown & Chilwell v Grovedale finals
North Geelong has not been able to find a place for two of its gun players, boasting incredible depth ahead of its qualifying clash against East Belmont.
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NORTH Geelong has made some tough decisions ahead of its qualifying final match up with East Belmont, with Casey Meehan dropped to the seconds.
Blake Troy has been promoted to the senior side and will bat at three, while Brad Apps was unable to make it back into the senior side after missing the last round of the season.
Meehan has struggled with the bat this season, averaging just 13.8 in seven senior appearances and a top score of 28 while opening the batting.
The opener has been strong in the seconds and T20 competitions, scoring 288 runs at an average of 72 in the reserves side, while also notching a 49 against East Belmont in the T20 quarterfinal.
Meanwhile, Troy has scored 60 runs across three senior games for an average of 20, while also notching 387 runs at an average of 64.5 in the seconds team.
A 56 against Lara in the final game of the home-and-away season was enough to earn a promotion to the senior side for Troy.
Apps has played seven games in the senior side this year, taking 11 wickets at an average of 10, while also taking six wickets in two reserve games and four scalps in two T20 matches.
Only new recruit Ned Cooper has played every game this season, with the star bat scoring 445 runs at an average of 40.5.
Home ground an advantage for Two Blues’ premiership hopes
NEWTOWN & Chilwell coach Tom Meredith believes hosting a home final could be crucial to the Two Blues’ chances of knocking off Grovedale in Saturday’s elimination final.
The third-placed side lost to the Tigers earlier in the season at Burdoo Reserve, while the return fixture was washed out.
Meredith said Grovedale played its home track very well.
“We’re pretty pleased to have finished third because it gives us the home final, which is a pretty big thing in this outing,” he said.
“Grovedale play pretty well at their home ground and they beat us there earlier in the year so it’s nice to get the game at home on a new track.
“They haven’t played at Queens Park this year, so there is an advantage in having the game at home.
“But they’ve got some very good players, Mick McNeel had a great day against us last time and has had a great season so we’ll have to get him out early, and everyone knows about Jordan Moran.
“They’re guys who are always dangerous so I think they’re the danger players with the bat.”
Newtown & Chilwell has not lost a game since round 6 against North Geelong, and will host the grand final at Queens Park whether they make it to the final game or not.
Meredith said the side was planning on playing in the season decider, so having the home-field advantage twice in the finals series was huge.
“We’ve talked about it, we haven’t been shy in having a vision throughout this year and that is our vision, to be there for the grand final,” he said.
“We unfortunately missed out on the T20 grand final but seeing the ground on that day with cars all around the pitch with quite a large number of fans there definitely lit the fire in our lads’ bellies to be there.
“There’s still a few games to get through to get there but you definitely need to believe you can do it and that’s what we’re aiming for.
“We haven’t been beaten since Christmas so we’re approaching this with a bit of momentum, which is always key in finals.”
Top-order batter George Rhodes is shaping to be an important player for Newtown & Chilwell, despite struggling with the bat in recent weeks.
“He obviously started the season with a huge bang with two centuries and an eighty, but he hasn’t really made much of a score since then,” he said.
“He’s definitely due a score, so the longer we go in finals the more confident I am that he’ll get a big one, but he offers more than just with the bat.
“He’s our leading wicket taker this season, and his intelligence and leadership this year has been so important for us.”
‘New season’ starts after return to form for fighting Tigers
GROVEDALE coach Jordan Moran believes his side has found its form going into finals after hitting “a brick wall” after the Christmas break.
The Tigers will face Newtown & Chilwell on Saturday in an elimination final, with Grovedale chasing down 259 in the clubs’ only meeting this season.
Moran said it was promising that his side was showing strong form late in the season with a good win against East Belmont.
“We started the season like a house on fire and then hit a bit of a brick wall after Christmas, but we’re confident coming into finals that we’ve found the form from the start of the year,” he said.
“We’ve simplified a few things and we’re concentrating about how we play, it definitely gives us a bit of confidence that we got one up on them earlier in the year and that we can chase a big score.
“But it doesn’t matter where you finish, the home-and-away season is about getting into the finals and once you get there it is a new season.
“You go out, play your best cricket and have confidence it’ll be better than the opposition, both sides have match-winners so it’s about limiting theirs and maximising ours.”
Grovedale bowled East Belmont out for 69 in round 14 of the season, with young star Bailey Sykes claiming 5-9 off 9.4 overs.
Moran said Sykes had been an important inclusion into the senior side this season, after moving across from Drysdale in the BPCA.
“He’s played a massive role with us this year,” he said.
“Having a left arm finger spinner is always a bonus in one-day cricket, his role on the weekend will be very similar to what it has been this year.
“As I said to Bailey last weekend, five wickets is outstanding but what’s more pleasing is he only went for nine runs off his overs, which shows he’s not bowling just five good balls.
“He was landing the ball in good areas and bowled 60 good balls that made it hard to score, which just built pressure on the batters.
“That’s the really pleasing thing, to see his development and watch how all of his balls are now a lot tighter and the slight changes of pace has really thrown batters.”
‘Benchmark’ a big challenge in battle for grand final berth
EAST Belmont captain Shane McNamara has declared his side is ready to topple the “benchmark” of the competition in the opening week of the GCA finals.
The Lions stumbled against Grovedale in the last round of the season but still secured a top-two spot on the ladder, and will face their fierce rivals North Geelong on Saturday.
McNamara said the Magpies had earned the right to be favourites for the clash, but believed the dominant side was not unbeatable.
“They’ve obviously beaten us in the last two grand finals, they’ve been the benchmark of the competition for the past few years,” he said.
“But we’ve beaten them in the regular season in recent times, last time we were at North Geelong we had a good day, so it’ll be good to get out there and play them again.
“Our bowling has been really good since Christmas, our batters didn’t have a great day last week (against Grovedale), but we’re feeling pretty good.
“We’ll walk away from that game and not really talk about it now, we’re now focusing on the game ahead and we’re taking it week by week.”
East Belmont toppled North Geelong at Osborne Park in round 10, setting 161 runs off 50 overs and then bowling the Magpies out for just 108.
Noah Quick starred with the ball for the Lions that day, taking 3-7 off seven overs, while McNamara also notched a half century in the first innings.
McNamara said he was wary of the Magpies’ depth with both the bat and the ball.
“They’re an incredibly deep team, they really bat right down the order, Tom (Mathieson) bats low and he can hit them well,” he said.
“With Sam Hall at the top of the order they can really get a good start and put on a big total, then they have the ability to defend their totals.
“They’re very disciplined, they don’t give much away when bowling and then they’re very good in the field too.
“You’ve got to stay disciplined yourself, you’ve got to work through some tough periods with the ball, their good bowlers can bring the tail.
“But it does get a bit easier the more time you spend in the middle, we’ve got to give ourselves a chance without trying to create things, you’ve just got to be patient.”
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Originally published as All GCA1 news ahead of North Geelong v East Belmont and Newtown & Chilwell v Grovedale finals
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