Dasun Opanayaka couldn’t have had a better debut season in the DDCA after moving to Springvale South and recently being crowned the 2025/26 Wookey Medallist.
Actually … there is one way it can be better and that is if the Bloods can win two more matches and hold the Turf 1 cup aloft.
Opanayaka stormed home in the vote count to win the association’s top honour with 33 votes, just one ahead of Berwick’s Jake Hancock (539 runs @ 89.83) and Buckley Ridges opener Dale Tormey (645 runs @ 46.07).
The 31 year old, who has close ties with Springy skipper Cam Forsyth and a number of other players at the club, made the move from Elsternwick to the DDCA in the off-season.
And it is fair to say he has slotted into the team seamlessly, but also taken the competition by storm as a damaging all-rounder.
The gun cricketer prides himself on consistency, especially with the bat, and that is exactly what he delivered every single week, scoring 515 runs at an average of 73.57, also taking 27 wickets at 19.22.
His season by the numbers has been ultra-consistent, with scores of 0*, 13*, 43, 38*, 49, 22, 49*, 71, 39, 83 and 55, gradually moving from seventh in the batting order to fourth.
In his last six matches, he also took two five-wicket hauls which came against Hallam Kalora Park (5/34) and Dandenong West (5/64).
He said bowling in different conditions and playing in the UK for a number of seasons had helped him hone his craft.
Opanayaka said he had loved his experience so far at Springvale South, and had never expected to win the Wookey Medal.
“I didn’t go into the year expecting to win the Wookey Medal, I have seen some of the past winners and probably thought I wouldn’t impact the game as much as they have,” he said.
“I sort of model my game around trying to be consistent, being able to draw from other peoples’ experiences has been good.
“Cam obviously backs me 100 per cent and the boys back me, so that has been a pretty easy transition into the DDCA, hopefully we can play well over the next couple of weeks, win our final and then win it all.”
At round 10, Opanayaka was 11 votes behind the top of the table, but his teammates knew it was at the end of the year where he would come home strong.
“Jordy (Wyatt) and Cam Forsyth were having a look to see if I could poll and come home strong, which I was fortunate enough to do,” he said.
“Looking at some of the names on that list in the top 10, there are some really good players, so to even compete with them and finish at the top, I was pretty lucky to do that.”
Opanayaka, who grew up as predominantly a batter, said he worked his way up the order throughout the season, playing more of an anchor role for the aggressive hitters around him like Jordan Wyatt.
“It makes my job a lot easier being able to back the guys in coming after me to score at a quicker rate and I can sort of stay at the wicket and not score as quickly,” he said.
“In previous years, I think they were looking for a batter that could be the one who could bat most of the innings and be there so the other guys can come out and score freely, which is what I sort of model my game on.”
Opanayaka came to the Bloods from Elsternwick, but he had spent eight years playing Victorian Premier Cricket with Dandenong prior to that, across mainly the Firsts and Seconds.
“I had already played with six or seven of the guys before, so it was pretty comfortable to slot straight into the team and the boys have been absolutely fantastic – hopefully I have repaid the faith to them by winning this award,” he said.
In Turf 2, it was Coomoora’s Krishan Alang who won by the length of the Flemington straight to finish with 36 votes, ahead of Cranbourne’s Harsaroup Singh (22 votes) and teammate Malan Madusanka (17 votes).
Alang scored 530 runs at an average of 66.25 and took 23 wickets to be easily the most valuable player in the competition.
Turf 3 was much closer as St Mary’s bowler Danidu Chamikara won with 12 votes, which was great reward for his 33-wicket season.
Buckley Ridges’ Suren Ekanayake came runner-up with 11 votes, while there was a three-way tie for third position.
