Anglesea out to equal Queenscliff’s record of five straight BPCA premierships
Anglesea might be well placed to equal Queenscliff’s record of five straight top tier premierships, but its esteemed coach is convinced Barwon Heads are the team to beat.
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It will be a history-making weekend at Jan Juc Park this weekend, no matter what happens in the BPCA’s top tier grand final.
Anglesea will be out to match Queenscliff’s historic five A1 premierships in a row when it faces Barwon Heads in the decider.
The Coutas won five on the bounce between 1973 and 77, and 12 in 17 years in the BPCA’s top grade while the Roos have banked flags in six of the past nine seasons.
Meanwhile, the Seagulls, who won last year’s A2 flag, are the first club in league history to qualify for a decider in its debut season after promotion.
Anglesea coach Bryan Thomas was particular generous when it came to his view of the Seagulls’ achievements this summer.
“Barwon Heads are the ones to beat,” Thomas said.
“It’s a very structured club, my mate (Russell) ‘Nipper’ Hyland has been there a long time, they’ve always been a very well-run club.
“Always have been, always will be.
“They’ve recruited well and had a lot of young blokes come through the ranks.
“I think most clubs would be pretty jealous ... they bottomed out but they rebuilt pretty quickly.”
Meanwhile, Thomas said the Roos’ opportunity to equal BPCA history had not been discussed internally, with a new group in 2023-24 including Ollie Huby and Ben Harcombe.
He said the Roos remained a dream squad to marshall each Saturday.
“It’s been a joy the last four years, it’s a big family down there,” he said.
Thomas said the team had benefited from an even spread of contributors, with Huby (30 not out) and Ky Eskrigge (23) putting on 53 for the last wicket in Round 12 against Inverleigh, underlining his point.
Anglesea only had one player in the top 10 for the batting and bowling aggregates this year, Tyron Norman and Darcy Elliott respectively.
“It’s pretty hard to pick one player because each week ... somebody’s stood up, it could be 10 or 11 (with the bat),” he said.
“It’s a bit stressful as a coach, you don’t know who’s going to pop up, but somebody seems to pop up every week.”
It’s been an even contest between the two sides in 2023-24 with both enjoying landslide victories during the regular season.
In Round 5, the Seagulls were skittled for just 90 in pursuit of 206 for victory with Elliott (4-24 off 14) doing the damage.
The Seagulls then repaid the favour in Round 10, bowling out the Roos for just 87 in a 93-run victory.
Elliott was once again a force for Anglesea with 3-15, named in the competition’s team of the year, taking 26 wickets at 13.65.
Norman, named captain of the all stars squad, was the competition’s second most prolific with 551 runs at 50 during the regular season.
However, the Seagulls have three bowlers within the competition’s top 10, with team of the year member Daniel Donaldson plus Sam Schaller and Darcy Hewitt combining for 75 poles this season.
Brent McMinn leads the way with the bat for the Seagulls with 351 runs at 39.
Meanwhile, A2’s best bowler, Blake Dobbin, will square off against the competition’s leading all-rounder in Corey Walter when Drysdale face Collendina at Len Trewin Reserve in the A2 grand final.
The Hawks have lost their past two A2 deciders – their most recent first grade flag was in 2014-15 – while the Cobras last tasted top tier success in 2016-17, beating Barwon Heads at Portarlington.
Originally published as Anglesea out to equal Queenscliff’s record of five straight BPCA premierships
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