By Marcus Uhe
COOMOORA
LAST SEASON: Premiers of Turf 3
COMING: Jackson Noske (St Kilda), Sam Wetering (Springvale South), Jarrod Munday (St Kilda).
GOING: Charith Sylvester, Lalanka Dhanasekara
STAYING: Dean Krelle, Malan Madusanka Lance Baptist, Rahoul Pankhania, Joel Robertson.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Sam Wetering, Malan Madusanka, Rahoul Pankhania
The chance to prove themselves at a higher grade is fuelling the excitement at Coomoora Cricket Club this preseason.
Numbers have been excellent at training according to senior coach Liam Hard, with a handful of former Victorian Premier Cricketers joining the club to bolster the ranks, on the back of winning the Turf 3 premiership in the Dandenong District Cricket Association last summer.
Former Dandenong quick Sam Wetering comes to the Roos after a season off to bolster the bowling attack, alongside former St Kilda seamer Jackson Noske, to form a strong quartet of seam bowlers alongside Joel Robertson and Dean Krelle.
Promotion to Turf 2 saw the ‘Roos shake the monkey from their back in the eyes of Hard, and he has faith that their players, and the game style, is replicable at the next level.
“What we’ve been building in the last few years is creating a really professional environment,” Hard said.
“The professionalism that we had in Turf 3 really stood out and I reckon that’s why we’ve picked up a few guys, because they’ve seen that.
“We’re pretty confident in the way that we play, and what we’ve done is going to stand up in this division as well.
“Watching Dandenong West go from Turf 3 to Turf 2, gives us a lot of confidence; they carried through a pretty similar side from that division up, which gives us a lot of confidence as a club. “We’ve recruited well and what we’ve built, we’re going ‘we’re a chance here.’”
They won’t need to wait long for answers as to whether they will be up to the challenge, with a tough slate of early matches to offer a baptism of fire.
The remaining three finalists from last season, in Cranbourne, Parkfield and HSD, await in the opening five weeks, along with the relegated St Mary’s, no doubt eager to prove themselves after falling from Turf 1.
Much of Coomoora’s premiership winning side has chosen to stick around, bar wicketkeeper Charith Sylvester and all-rounder Lalanka Dhanasekara.
Another former Saint in Jarrod Munday returns to the game after some time overseas to take the gloves, adding vital experience to join the senior ranks alongside Malan Madusanka, Lance Baptist and Rahoul Pankhania.
Madusanka comes with high expectations, having taken an astonishing 54 wickets last season, the most of any in Turf 3.
The left-arm spinner boasts plenty of variations in his trick bag and will be vital if the Roos are to emulate their success from the previous summer.
“Our goal, and what we’re building, is to get up to Turf 1,” Hard said.
“Everyone’s talking about it, we can’t wait to play against the Turf 2 sides and see where we rank.
“We’re confident with where we are but we’ve got no idea until you start playing.
“The ones boys have trained the whole preseason.
“After a flag, sometimes it can drop off a bit, but the boys are super excited.”
