By Nick Creely
Cranbourne and Dandenong District legend Steve Spoljaric has claimed his fifth Alan Wookey Medal for the Turf 1 top-player, narrowly pipping his team-mate Matt Chasemore and Berwick all-rounder Jarrod Armitage for the top-gong on Wednesday 22 March’s presentation evening.
The 40-year-old superstar continued on his stunning career in 2016/17, scoring 681 runs at 85.1, including three-centuries and a further 25 wickets with the ball.
In what was an entertaining and somewhat bizarre acceptance speech, Spoljaric said that individual accolades mean nothing compared to the feeling of winning a premiership. “You don’t play for these things – last year’s grand final, that’s the fun part, the best part, and that’s with no disrespect to the umpires – the grand final we played last year, that was the highlight for me,” he said.
Spoljaric described his training regime, or lack of, to the packed crowd.
“Well, I live in Sale – it’s two hours away – to be honest with you, and this is just for a laugh, that Dandy West game (153 runs) was the first time I picked up a bat since last year’s grand final – that’s fair dinkum,” he said.
But it could be the last time Spoljaric struts his stuff on the DDCA stage, with his involvements with greyhound racing becoming a major focal point in his life.
“I’m not really sure – greyhounds are a priority, though, it’s quite busy preparing them all – I’ve never liked hard work and finally I actually have to do some, I am 40. “We’ll see what happens.”
In what was one of the most interesting parts of his speech, Spoljaric was asked whether it was harder to prepare for a dog than it is to prepare for cricket.
“Dogs don’t talk to you, they just do as they’re told,” he said.
Spoljaric put his success down to sensing moments, and simplifying the parts of the game so many others find difficult.
“The better players will stand up in finals – most people crumble under pressure but the better players won’t,” he said.
“I sense moments in games, when Chooka (Chathura Athukorala) was bowling well last game, I didn’t want to let him get on top, and it didn’t last, unfortunately.
“It’s all about trying to put pressure on the bowler – don’t be stationery and don’t be frightened.
“I’ve scored a few runs this year – it’s not the bowlers that get the wickets, it’s the pitches I play on that have got me – bowlers bowl the ball, I don’t think about who I’m facing – it’s the wickets this year, I’ve played on some pretty slow wickets – but just play the ball, mate, that’s the old rule.”
Spoljaric’s teammate and last year’s Wookey Medalist Matt Chasemore was close behind after another stellar season, while Jarrod Armitage was brilliant in his first season at Berwick after crossing over from Springvale South.
Damien Fleming, the former Australian player and Springvale South junior, was the night’s special guest, delivering a humorous speech on his test hat-trick on debut and the World Cup glory of 1999.
The full Wookey Medal top-10:
1. Steve Spoljaric, Cranbourne, 30
2. Matt Chasemore, Cranbourne, 28
3. Jarrod Armitage, Berwick, 26
4. Chathua Athukorala, Mordialloc, 23
5. Ian Daniel, Mordialloc, 23
6. Nathan King, Springvale South, 22
7. Janaka Liyanabadalge, Narre Warren, 22
8. Matthew Hague, Dingley, 21
9. Christo Otto, Dingley, 21
10. Ben Hillard, Hallam, 20
