BLAIR: Welcome back to another week of Let’s Talk Sport as we look ahead to upcoming cricket finals and footy will also be here before we know it. Best Action is the way we always start, so kick us off Dave.
BEST ACTION
DAVE: I am going straight to what best action should be and that is a specific piece of action. Russell Lehmann, the Tooradin captain, has won a couple of league best and fairests and been a legend. I was lucky enough to be at Pakenham on Saturday hosting the Pink Ladies Day and Russ copped one on leg stump and whipped it over square leg for four. It was like wow … this bloke has still got it. The best action was clearly the Pink Ladies Day, 185 women on the sauce on Saturday (boys laugh), all raising money for the McGrath Foundation. Young Owen Smith raised $2050 by selling his $5 lollie bags and representatives from the McGrath Foundation actually turned up and presented him with a pink cricket ball and hat, both signed by Glenn McGrath. Also the drag queens came on for the entertainment and Pakenham Footy Club should’ve got the cheque book out and signed them as rucks because they were about seven foot tall. It was a great day of entertainment and a good one for best action as well. And a quick shout out to Paddy Cross who was added to Melbourne’s AFL list on Monday.
JUSTIN: I feel like I am walking a fine line here between sport and best action, but it was the Tyabb Airshow on Sunday. It’s always a big day for my family and there was not a dry eye when my grandfather’s hand-built VH-PUD Boeing Stearman got up on the weekend. He spent 15 years rebuilding it by hand, painting it and it finally got up. My pop is 82 now so he doesn’t fly anymore, someone else flies it for him, but it was good to see.
DAVE: Hey boys, can I make a suggestion? Last week, we had Justin’s cousin mentioned, this week his grandpa. I suggest we change this page to Let’s Talk Schwarze? (boys laugh)
BLAIR: My best action comes from DDCA Turf 1; the Bucks were playing Hallam Kalora as their last tune up before finals. They had a good win and held onto top spot as they eye off a third consecutive flag. They kept Hallam to 224 at Dandenong Park Oval, which has absolutely been flowing runs for a number of weeks now. They went in and chased it down in just 24 overs. Best action goes to Ayush Patel who opened up and scored 76 off 22 balls – or so it said on PlayCricket. I have since been told it was off 29 balls, which is no less impressive as he belted 11 fours and five sixes. Also, Dasun Opanayaka from Springy South won the Wookey Medal on Sunday. His numbers for the year were 515 runs at 73.57 and 27 wickets at 19; he won the medal by one vote. A brilliant season from him and great to see a lot of star performers recognised.
CRICKET FINALS
BLAIR: Finals are here for some of the cricket leagues, so let’s look into what match-ups are going to be the blockbusters, and games to watch. Given CCCA isn’t yet into its finals, how is it looking at this stage Justin?
JUSTIN: In CCCA Premier, despite Clyde giving up 400 on the weekend, it is going to be Clyde v Tooradin in the first semi and Cardinia v Kooweerup in the second. I think it is pretty easy to pick Tooradin and Cardinia at the moment. Clyde has a few weapons and so do Kooweerup, but I just don’t think they have the consistency or depth. I want to talk about Vic Premier and Casey South Melbourne. Unfortunately, their local rivals in Dandenong didn’t do them any favours as a big Carlton win knocked the Swans out of the four and into fifth, so they will face Richmond again. The two weeks of action at Casey Fields between Casey and Richmond in the past two weeks – 39 wickets fell over the fortnight as the Swans won by 60 runs. But they got lucky in the sense that they had one person stand up in both batting innings. In the first innings, Jackson Isakka made 51 of 130 and in the second innings it looked like they could be reverse-outrighted and a guy at number 10, Muhammad Irfan, made 83 of their 182. It ended up getting them over the line, so they will play Richmond again this week in the elimination final and I am backing the Swans to get the job done.
DAVE: Western Park rolled Iona for 64 last week and on Saturday they decided to bat the eyeballs out of the contest and made 8/535. They didn’t need an outright being already clear at the top, so it was more like centre-wicket practice. They were 7/331 and then there was a 132-run partnership for the eighth wicket and Ellis Whiteford made 128 not out batting at eight. Looking ahead to finals, Western Park is clearly the team to beat and they take on Ellinbank. But there is one danger, and that is if Ellinbank’s Canadian-import Aaditya Varadharajan plays a big innings. He has made 410 runs at 58. In finals, sometimes it just takes one bloke to come out and get lucky and all of a sudden, the whole season can turn on its head. I am tipping Catani to make the grand final as well. They have had a really strong year. There is a player that they picked up from Kooweerup, Cody Miller, he played in premierships for Koowee, he has been there and seen how you win premierships, he has come across to Catani and I can really see his him playing a steadying leadership role over the next couple of weeks.
BLAIR: That is the stuff of nightmares for the Iona bowlers and fielders.
DAVE: Yeah, two tons, two half centuries and a couple of forties…they went nuts and said ‘cop that’.
BLAIR: For me, the cricket finals in the DDCA top division are here. Much like you Dave, I really hope the top two teams get through to the big dance. Buckley Ridges and Springy South have been the best sides. Dandenong Park Oval will host the game and I am really looking forward to it. The Bucks have had a run of home games heading into this one and the total runs scored across those matches have been 726, 755 and 449 in a one-dayer on the weekend. So, it will be the two best sides on the best batting track in the league and smallest boundaries going head to head. Adding some fuel to the fire is the fact that Buckley, while they have been on top for most of the year, they have dropped two games which were both against the Bloods. Springy also wants some revenge from last season; a grand final spot awaits the winner.
DAVE: What I love about the DDCA finals structure is you’ve got the two best teams, the best cricketers, and they can all play with freedom this week. That has the potential to be the showcase game of any cricket in our region. Come finals, the pressure can build thinking if I make a mistake, I could cost my team a premiership, but this game is just going to be, “let’s go out and outplay them and get to a grand final, if we lose, we have a backup plan.” I love that.
BLAIR: I completely agree. It will be across Saturday and Sunday this weekend and it will be a massive free swing for both sides.
FOOTY BIG CALLS
BLAIR: Footy is just around the corner and we are here to make some big calls. I said very early last year that Hampton Park would win the Division 2 flag and go undefeated. I got half of it correct. I mozzed them a bit with a few losses following that call, but they were a class above in 2025. They are going up to Division 1 and not only will they make finals, but they will win one in their first year up there.
DAVE: That is a very big call.
BLAIR: Yeah I’m bullish; they’ve added Mitch Cox and other guns like Heath Briggs. I don’t think you will see too many sides go up to Division 1 and compete like the Redbacks will. They could’ve won a number of games up there last season I reckon. It will be a big challenge, but I’m looking forward to seeing how they go. Onto AFL, Jamarra Ugle-Hagan to kick 50 goals this year after not playing a single game last year; Gold Coast will be good, and while they have Ben King and Jed Walter, I think Jamarra looks fit and mentally in a great place, so he will have a huge year. And the Tigers finish 10th …but that’s just wishful thinking (boys laugh).
JUSTIN: In the Outer East Division 1, I reckon Pakenham and Emerald will play off in a grand final this year. I am really looking forward to seeing how they go. Emerald is the rebound story and Pakenham is also trying to get up to Premier. This one could be a very big call, but Ewan Wadsworth wins the league best and fairest by a country mile. In the Premier Division, he was number one for disposals at 29.6, he was number three for ranking points with 136 per game and is one of the best ball-winners and users in the comp. But it doesn’t end just there, because he has arguably the best ruck in the competition alongside him, Steve Kapahnke, number one last year for hitouts. With AFL, I am going to stick on the Gold Coast trend and say the Suns make at least a prelim, their list is unbelievable, they are building and looked good last year. They’ve got one of the best midfields; it is so good that Touk Miller is playing half forward. Ben King and Charlie Curnow are going to have a shootout for the Coleman which will come down to the last round.
DAVE: Boys, I love Tooradin, they were always struggling to make finals before they went to West Gippsland and they have been a powerhouse ever since they did. But I just have a feeling they may be vulnerable this year.
JUSTIN: Wow…how vulnerable?
DAVE: I hope it doesn’t happen because I love writing about Tooradin…but can they make the six? They were runner-up last year, but some of the players they have lost are incredible. Lewis Hill, I reckon he is probably the second-best mid in the comp behind Trent Armour, Piva Wright is gone, Adam Oxley across half-back, Cooper Shipp team of the year centre half-back, both gone and I’ve missed four of five others including Andrew Dean. They are just going to play the kids and I don’t know how that is going to roll. Tooradin never had kids to play, so that is a huge bonus for the club, but I think they are going to drop out of the top four and possibly miss finals. It’s just a matter of whether a side can step up, like an Inverloch-Kongwak, a Kooweerup, a Garfield, and challenge them for that spot. The other thing, let’s just keep an eye on Nar Nar Goon; they are going for a three-peat this year. Nate Pipicelli is showing really good form in his practice matches for Casey. Trent Armour, their captain, has had an ACL injury and he is already back running, but he is not going to be coming back until at least two-thirds into the season. So how do you go with your ruckman and your best midfielder gone for a big part of the season? Longwarry, I spoke with an insider who is going to be sitting on the bench this year and they are very confident of winning the Ellinbank premiership. I agree with you about Pakenham Juzzy, I have a feeling that the early indications in the season will be that it is their premiership to lose. I think they will handle Emerald quite easily in the opening game and then the Lions will cruise through to the pointy end of the season. How do you prepare for finals if you dominate most of the season? But this is my biggest call … I think it’s going to be an all-Queensland AFL grand final.
BLAIR: That would be good for the game. That is another week of Let’s Talk Sport, keen to revisit a few of these things in future weeks.
