By JARROD POTTER
VENTURING into uncharted DDCA territory, Cranbourne captain Steve Spoljaric was once again named the best in the association as he earned his fourth Alan Wookey Medal.
Spoljaric, fresh to Cranbourne this season after four years at Parkfield, continued to be the form player of the competition as he rattled off 623 runs and 31 wickets in the regular season.
Although he trailed throughout the night – first to Springvale South skipper Craig Slocombe then the Bloods spinning all-rounder Ruwantha Kellepotha – a six-vote haul against his old side Parkfield in round nine pushed the Cranbourne all-rounder to the front.
Spoljaric finished on 31 votes, ahead of Kellepotha (27) and Mordialloc duo Monto Perera (24) and Chathura Athukorala (18).
“It’s alright I suppose – it’s part of my job isn’t it,” Spoljaric said after winning his fourth Wookey Medal. “I thoroughly enjoy it.”
Without hyperbole, DDCA president Michael Hawking called Spoljaric “the best player to ever play in the association” and Spoljaric’s numbers certainly stack up that way throughout his five DDCA seasons.
After coming across from Victorian Premier Cricket where he won first grade’s highest accolade – the Ryder Medal in 2007/08 with Hawthorn-Monash University – Spoljaric has plundered all Turf 1 opposition for 3334 runs at 52.09 and 132 wickets at 13.55 combined.
His final knock of 2014/15 – a gallant 88 chasing Heinz Southern Districts’ 216 in the Turf 1 semi-final – was what Spoljaric thought was his best yet – a scary sign of things to come from the dominant batsman.
“Sad to say that it was actually probably the best I’ve hit them all year, so I was probably going to be immoveable I suppose if we didn’t run out of partners, but hey, that’s cricket,” Spoljaric said.
Earning the minor premiership will be what Spoljaric looks back on most fondly from season 2014/15 as Cranbourne moved from Turf 1 new kids on the block to ladder-leaders in their first season back up.
He hopes the next generation of Cranbourne’s first XI learned a lot from their first Turf 1 season and he thought there were still bigger things to come down at Casey Fields.
“Finishing top, when I thought at the start of the year we’d be doing well to play finals, with what we had,” Spoljaric said. “Being so dominant during the year – I just hope they all learn something, that’s the key and I’m sure they have.”
The DDCA Turf 1 grand final is on this weekend as Heinz Southern Districts clash with Mordialloc at Keysborough’s Rowley Allen Reserve.
