Thomson overcomes last year’s grand final loss to win GCA3 premiership as Lara go through GCA2 first grade season unbeaten
Thomson endured grand final heartbreak last season, but the Tigers turned the tables this time. Meanwhile, Lara has completed a historic four-from-four premiership feat through the grades.
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Thomson has achieved premiership redemption, knocking off the Marshall Bears by 61 runs in the GCA3 first grade decider after enduring grand final heartbreak last season.
The Tigers finished on top of the ladder in the 2023-24 season but were rolled for 110 in the decider in their devastating nine-wicket grand final loss to Bell Park.
After finishing on top again this season, it was a different story on grand final weekend this time around.
Thomson set a strong total of 235 for victory that the Bears were unable to chase down as the Tigers took out their firstflag since 2017-18..
Thomson captain Zac Smith, who crossed from St Albans Breakwater in the off-season, said the focus was on enjoying themselvesrather than the disappointing end to last season.
“A lot of the boys after last year they were obviously pretty disappointed with the result, so just to see some of the smileson their faces, it is a great feeling,” Smith said.
“I’ve been in the situation before at another club where we come off a loss and went into the next year and won the flag,so I just kept the messaging really simple.
“But it’s the same thing we sort of spoke about all year, we just want to have fun out there and when we have fun, we playour best.
“In house we were completely focused on just having fun and really enjoying our time out there together.”
Seb Dew (49) was one of six Tigers batters to pass 20 as Mike Norris and Taylor Cameron each took three wickets for the Bears.
Marshall found itself in trouble in reply, slumping to 4-40 and then 7-118 as the Tigers took control.
But a gallant batting effort from Bears captain Jake Hilton kept them in the match, putting on 50 for the eighth wicket with Brad Greenwood before the lower-order batter fell, losing his bat in the process.
“He’s an exceptional person and cricketer so I knew he was going to fight it out until the end, he did the same against uswhen we played a one-dayer out here, so we knew he was going to do it,” Smith said.
Tigers quick Seaver Cowley took the final two wickets as the Bears were all out for 174.
Cowley finished with 5-74 but the tireless efforts of Shane Bremner (4-74) saw him take out the man-of-the-match award.
“Shane Bremner took four-fer and bowled every over from one end and Seaver Cowley, he took five-fer coming on first change.So they were both exceptional,” Smith said.
It was a spirited effort from the Bears this season after the club was relegated from GCA2 last season, failing to win a firstgrade game in 2023-24.
Smith said Thomson’s premiership win was just reward for Tigers president Dale Menzies.
“He is at the club countless hours, night after night,” Smith said.
“He gives so much of his family time for the club, he is a true Thomson man and just to see the smile on his face after theresult today, it makes it all worth it.”
Cats make history in division two
A superb unbeaten hand of 86 from Lara captain Dan Weigl has guided the Cats to their maiden first grade flag in 15 years.
A four-wicket triumph over Murgheboluc on Sunday was the third domino to fall as the club chased four titles across the grades and go one better than what St Peter’s achieved in 23-24.
The club’s thirds and fourths got the chocolates by 23 runs and eight wickets against Geelong City on Saturday.
Lara’s seconds, who didn’t drop a game all year, beat the Sharks by four wickets on Sunday.
Lara president John Speirs was a happy man, 12 months after the Cats were demoted from GCA1.
“It’s a good achievement,” Speirs said.
“As Dan Weigl said in his speech, having the thirds and fourths being here this morning (on Sunday) probably helped us when we were 6-59.
“He batted exceptionally well last night, and really well today, I think it was a chanceless innings.
“And he’s put the team ahead of himself, there were times during the year where he hasn’t batted, to give people a go.
“It’s a hard pill to swallow (being relegated), but you can only go back and do what you can do.”
Speirs also praised the season of Robert Sodomaco, who went from nearly being dropped early in the season to being one of the competition’s best batters.
“He was almost going to go to the seconds,” he said.
“After about round four or five, apparently his name was up, he hadn’t made a lot of runs, then he made a 40 odd against City.
“He turned it around since then, he never failed, basically, until yesterday when he made 12.”
Coming into the GCA2 first grade grand final, Murgheboluc had been one of the few teams to test the unbeaten Cats in season 2024-25.
And the Frogs had the Cats on the ropes, reduced to 6-59 chasing 147 for victory at Bisinella Oval and with no wickets from the competition’s leading bowler Jason Grozdanovski yet.
Grozdanovski had taken 48 wickets for the GCA2 season coming into the decider, including twin five-fors in the prelim against Bell Park.
However, Weigl’s knock, one of the most important in the club’s history, was complemented by 33 from Kaden Marum — equalling his highest score for the year from back in early October.
It was the second time Weigl has rescued his side in a fortnight, after he teamed up with Robert Sodomaco at 4-27 to eventually reach 87 against Murghe for a grand final berth.
Marum had taken 2-26 off 18 overs the previous day.
It matched the brilliant all-round performance from Murghe’s Luke Webb, who posted 59 at number five and took 5-53 from 25.3 overs to give his team a sniff of two titles in three seasons.
Webb had come to the crease the previous day at 3-38, going on to produce his second half century in his past three digs.
Murghe struggled to establish lengthy partnerships, with the 25-run stand for the seventh wicket between Sam Abley (five) and Webb the biggest of the innings.
Mitch Heyward (3-27), Rhyce Nolan (2-51) and Marum (2-26 off 18 overs) were the multiple wicket takers for the hosts.
In reply, Lara reached 4-49 by stumps on day one and it was Webb in the action, removing Lara openers Jason Hewitt (five) and Casey Young (six) and Andrew Hughes (four) while Daniel Grozdanovski took the key scalp of Robert Sodomaco for 12.
Weigl was unbeaten on 20 at stumps.
On day two, the Cats lost Brenden Miller and Jhiah Baxter for ducks and were reeling at 6-59 — both falling to the bowling of Webb.
But Weigl found an ally in number eight Marum, with the pair taking the score to 6-119 at the tea break.
Rosellas go back-to-back
Lethbridge has continued a fine family tradition across three generations in a third back-to-back triumph for the Rosellas on Saturday.
There were three Giles in the premiership-winning first grade team at Grinter Oval against Meredith: Sam, his father Robert and cousin Jack.
However, Rosellas president Damien Harwood told this masthead that opening bowler Sam, who took 2-20 against the Rams, had repeated what grandfather Mick and Robert had achieved by winning flags in the same position.
“Three generations of opening bowlers in premiership teams,” Harwood said proudly.
“We’re rapt, it’s hard enough to win one let alone back-to-back.”
It follows Lethbridge’s first grade threepeats in the 70s and 80s and back-to-back titles in 2010-11 and 11-12 and 17-18 and 18-19.
Lethbridge has also firmly put itself firmly in the centre of the promotion zone to GCA3.
The Rosellas, who beat Waurn Ponds by 91 runs in last year’s GCA4 decider, enjoyed another reasonably comfortable victory by 27 runs over the Rams.
Earlier, after being sent in at Newcomb, the Rosellas posted 9-196 off their 45 overs.
Lethbridge had been in a bit of trouble early at 2-12 before Hayden Spiller (68) and captain Shane Dillon (31) rescued the side with a 90-run stand before the latter was caught behind by Jai Harvey off Chesney Milne.
“We always believe that Newcomb offers you something with the new ball,” Harwood said.
“But having Shane and Hayden was huge.
“Club legends, born and bred Lethbridge people, they put on that 90-run partnership and it just changed the game.”
Thomas Saunders (26) and Vihang Ahlawat (35) would add important runs through the middle order as Matt Ringin returned the impressive figures of 4-30 off nine overs.
It was the third time in successive games that both players provided crucial contributions down the order while Dillon has dominated with both bat and ball all season.
“We were chasing that 200 (run) mark. It just allowed for Tom and Vihang to come in and do what they do, play with freedom,” he said.
In reply, the Rams also stumbled early at 2-24.
However a double strike with the score on 47 were telling blows for the defending champions, and none more so than the removal of Harli Givvens for 40 off just 32 balls by Dillon (3-23), trapped leg before.
“When you’ve got Harli Givvens in the team, anything can happen, he can make a hundred extremely quickly,” Harwood said.
“Shane came on to bowl and slow it down ... it was instant success.”
A handy partnership of 54 runs between Ringin (37) and Levhi Givvens (42) restored the innings and gave the Rams a pulse.
“Levhi Givvens almost turned the game I believe, momentum was going our way and it looked like we were going to bowl them out for 140 or something,” he said.
“He really took it up to us and never turned the tables for them.”
But Meredith fell into further trouble when Ringin and Beau Moreland were dismissed for the addition of three runs.
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