East Belmont’s Sean O’Neill leads all GCA1 first grade batters for total runs
A two-time Jack Sing medallist, a multiple premiership star and several double centurions make up the best GCA batters since season 2014-15.
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They are the best performing batters of the past 10 GCA1 first grade seasons, who have all breached the 2000-run barrier.
This masthead has crunched the official numbers provided by Cricket Australia to find out who are the top run scorers, from season 2014-15 to 2023-24.
South Barwon and St Joseph’s were well represented with four batters each, while Lara, Grovedale and East Belmont had three.
However, it will surprise few close cricket observers to see a two-time Jack Sing medallist coming out on top with more than 4000 runs and 14 centuries in that 10-season period.
We spoke to GCA1 first grade expert Wes Cusworth for his thoughts on all of the players in the top 20.
20. Phil Lang
Club: South Barwon
Matches: 70
Runs: 2000
Average: 31.74
100s: Three
50s: Nine
Highest score: 140 in 17-18
Best season: 488 runs in 15-16
Wes Says:
Polished and highly resilient, Lang’s courage and experience at the top of the order facing the new ball has facilitated his presence in this list.
Capable of wearing down opposition bowlers, Lang has a capacity to accumulate and go on to develop big scores with a minimum of fuss, but a maximum of timing.
19. Gareth Yelland
Club: Grovedale
Matches: 108
Runs: 2012
Average: 26.1
100s: Two
50s: Eight
Highest score: 107 in 16-17
Best season: 397 runs in 16-17
Wes Says:
Another gifted all-rounder, Yelland was a dynamic force in our competition and exhibited the capacity to take the game away from opponents with both bat and ball.
The three-time Jack Sing Medal winner had the ability to turn a game with his creative and commanding, albeit measured, ball-striking.
18. Luke Ford
Club: South Barwon, Grovedale
Matches: 79
Runs: 2018
Average: 29.6
100s: Two
50s: 16
Highest score: 132 in 15-16
Best season: 592 runs in 18-19
Wes Says:
A hardworking left-hander, Ford will, by his own admission, work into an innings rather than take an attack by storm.
Typically, correct and elegant, Ford will usually work the gaps, although as recent weeks have revealed, his capacity for heavy hitting, when required, cannot be ignored.
17. Joel Davies
Club: South Barwon
Matches: 63
Runs: 2074
Average: 37.7
100s: Five
50s: 14
Highest score: 207 in 18-19
Best season: 588 runs in 18-19
Wes Says:
Involvement in elite programs from an early age facilitated Davies’ development into one of the competition’s leading strikers and his junior club was the beneficiary through a profitable period.
Despite enjoying some periods of lusty hitting, it would be folly to fail to recognise the brilliance of Davies’ well-cultivated technique.
16. Brad Hauenstein
Club: South Barwon
Matches: 130
Runs: 2176
Average: 27.5
100s: 0
50s: Nine
Highest score: 77 in 14-15
Best season: 437 runs in 14-15
Wes Says:
Never out of the game, by virtue of his evergreen all-round contributions, Hauenstein is another multiple Jack Sing medallist who has made a habit of making his mark when the Swans needed it most.
Hauenstein’s strikepower is only matched by the value he places on his wicket, ensuring he is always stubborn and difficult to remove.
15. Justin Foss
Club: St Joseph’s
Matches: 74
Runs: 2297
Average: 34.8
100s: Four
50s: 11
Highest score: 201 in 16-17
Best season: 651 runs in 16-17
Wes Says:
Tall and correct, Foss’ robust batting had the potential to be destructive as evidenced by his double ton in 2016-17 against St Peter’s.
Another beneficiary of time spent at Kardinia Park, Foss’ repertoire of shots was expansive and was, as fortune would have it for the Joeys, matched by his similarly impressive feats with the ball.
14. Damian Vassiliou
Club: North Geelong
Matches: 71
Runs: 2317
Average: 37.9
100s: Three
50s: 16
Highest score: 124 in 16-17
Best season: 539 runs in 17-18
Wes Says:
A rock-solid performer, Vassiliou had the capability to anchor an innings or go on the attack often putting new-ball bowlers off their game if a more confrontational approach was required. Vassiliou’s prolific scoring was an important part of North Geelong’s premiership success in the early stages of their current run.
13. Michael McNeel
Club: Grovedale
Matches: 99
Runs: 2428
Average: 29.6
100s: One
50s: 17
Highest score: 124 in 22-23
Best season: 590 runs in 22-23
Wes Says:
A high-class shotmaker with a Ferrari-like technique, McNeel has grown into his role as one of the Tigers’ most accomplished batsmen.
His exquisite timing makes him a constant threat and one of the most coveted Grovedale wickets to claim.
McNeel certainly has the capacity to go big!
12. Andrew Fergusson
Club: North Geelong
Matches: 89
Runs: 2637
Average 39.9
100s: Three
50s: 12
Highest score: 135 in 18-19
Best season: 497 runs in 16-17
Wes Says:
A multi-format player of great substance, Fergusson is a gifted all-rounder, for whom run scoring appears to come naturally.
With a capacity to blunt or destroy an attack, Fergusson reads the game superbly and has been a key to North Geelong’s recent run of success.
11. Jordan Moran
Club: Grovedale
Matches: 66
Runs: 2682
Average: 52.5
100s: Six
50s: 16
Highest score: 148 in 22-23
Best season: 644 runs in 19-20
Wes Says:
An incredible 360-degree player, Moran’s willingness to throw caution to the wind is only equalled by his game smarts and capacity to bat with alacrity, manifesting in several dominant innings in his time in Geelong.
Moran’s proactive batting style has the capacity to change the dynamic of a game within minutes.
10. Leigh Kentish
Club: St Joseph’s
Matches: 66
Runs: 2699
Average: 57.4
100s: Seven
50s: 18
Highest score: 147 in 16-17
Best season: 852 runs in 16-17
Wes Says:
Another gifted all-rounder, Kentish was a dynamic force in our competition and exhibited the capacity to take the game away from opponents with both bat and ball.
An astute thinker about the game, the two-time premiership player could dismantle a bowling attack with his commanding, albeit measured ball striking.
9. Andrew Baars
Club: East Belmont
Matches: 98
Runs: 2834
Average: 31.8
100s: Five
50s: 16
Highest score: 169 in 16-17
Best season: 542 runs in 17-18
Wes Says:
A precise and durable opener, Baars was, for a long time, the perfect complement to O’Neill’s emergence as the king of GCA batters.
With a capacity to move through the gears with aplomb, the East Belmont faithful were no strangers to Baars’ imposing array of shots when required.
8. Matthew Lineker
Club: East Belmont
Matches: 103
Runs: 2938
Average: 34.5
100s: Six
50s: 17
Highest score: 129 in 14-15
Best season: 672 runs in 15-16
Wes Says:
Another exquisitely talented Englishman to grace our competition, the tall left-hander was another for whom the game appeared to slow at his beck and call.
Early doors showcased a level of flamboyance that was in time balanced out by a more measured level of batting craftsmanship.
7. Dan Weigl
Club: Lara
Matches: 108
Runs: 3016
Average: 34.2
100s: Five
50s: 19
Highest score: 122 in 21-22
Best season: 528 runs in 21-22
Wes Says:
The 2015-16 Jack Sing Medallist claimed a premiership as a teenager before blossoming into one of the cleanest ball strikers of the decade.
Weigl’s powerful front-foot hitting makes him one of the most entertaining and damaging batsmen of the past decade, with the promise of much more to come.
6. Luke Ibbs
Club: St Joseph’s
Matches: 101
Runs: 3092
Average: 32.5
100s: Five
50: 17
Highest score: 137 in 16-17
Best season: 556 runs in 19-20
Wes Says:
True and correct, Ibbs was the beneficiary of time well spent in Premier Cricket with Geelong before emerging as a leader at St Joseph’s.
Durable and composed, Ibbs was an elegant ball striker who had the capacity to graft an innings or attack opposition bowlers while leading from the front.
5. Richard Oliver
Club: Geelong City
Matches: 61
Runs: 3263
Runs: 57.2
100s: 10
50s: 18
Highest score: 155 in 18-19
Best season: 839 runs in 18-19
Wes Says:
Arguably the most talented Englishman to grace our competition, Oliver made a habit of peeling off big scores courtesy of his game sense and flourishing willow.
It didn’t take long for this striking left-hander to become one of the most watchable, and hard to dismiss, batsmen of the modern era.
4. Andrew Hughes
Club: Lara
Matches: 95
Runs: 3664
Average: 44.6
100s: Seven
50s: 22
Highest score: 221 in 18-19
Best season: 779 runs in 17-18
Wes Says:
The relaxed, unflappable style of Andy Hughes has been central to his rise through the ranks to become one of the competition’s most distinguished batters.
His laconic approach and seemingly effortless ball striking combine to underpin a quality of performance that has become the envy of many.
3. Andrew Hodgson
Club: St Joseph’s
Matches: 128
Runs: 3881
Average: 36.6
100s: Five
50s: 28
Highest score: 157 in 17-18
Best season: 633 runs in 20-21
Wes Says:
Textbook perfect and a joy to watch, Hodgson was the routine anchor of the Joeys’ line-up and seemingly accumulated runs at will.
An astute thinker, Hodgson did have the capacity to accelerate the scoring despite primarily adopting the role of a traditional batting artisan who performed consistently.
2. Sam Hall
Club: North Geelong
Matches: 129
Runs: 3996
Average: 35
100s: Nine
50s: 21
Highest score: 154 in 21-22
Best season: 579 runs in 21-22
Wes Says:
Another of the competition’s most watchable strikers, Hall’s counter attacks and moments of inspiration are to be savoured.
The longevity of this Magpies’ veteran is testament to his professional approach to the game, with the hard-hitting left-hander pivotal to much of North Geelong’s recent premiership success.
1. Sean O’Neill
Club: East Belmont
Matches: 112
Runs: 4608
Average: 51.7
100s: 14
50s: 20
Highest score: 203 in 16-17
Best season: 1007 runs in 18-19
Wes Says:
The pre-eminent batsman of the past decade, O’Neill’s illustrious career reached its zenith with an extraordinary 1007-run 2018-19 summer in which East Belmont claimed premierships in both formats.
The two-time Jack Sing Medallist’s capacity to excel over a sustained period sets him apart from all rivals.
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