Several seasons will be on the line this weekend with ACL captain-coach John Kedey resigned to the fact his side may miss finals should they fail to defeat Cressy on Saturday.
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“It’s make or break time for us, if we lose I think we’ll be a bit too far back at this stage of the year to try and push for finals after Christmas,” Kedey said ahead of the round 6 bout at University Oval.
“These last two games are vitally important to our club.”
The Bluebacks are one of three teams to have recorded just one 40-over victory to date, with Ash Batty and Paul Hazelwood to make way for Cameron Martin and debutant Denish Liyanage.
Kedey said his charges had been in winning positions in most matches, but that his batting line-up must show more composure in the heat.
Third-placed Cressy is coming off two straight losses to Hadspen and Longford.
BEAUTY POINT and LEGANA will also be praying for a positive result at Beauty Point Oval in a bid to keep their seasons alive.
Just percentage separates the pair at the bottom of the table with Tamar Tigers captain Rob Crane keen to unveil some boom recruits.
“Connor Crook, a wicketkeeper-batsman from Victoria will come in for us this week which will be a positive for us, and Chris Hay will play on Sunday before playing Premier League next week,” Crane said.
“We played Legana in a T20 and from the scores last week it looks like their batting is clicking.
“Our bowlers have been in form so hopefully they can do the job.”
The Durhams made 5-239 in falling 10 runs short of Trevallyn’s total last week, impressing coach Geoff Stick.
“It didn’t quite all click into place but it shows what we’re capable of,” Stick said.
“It’s a disappointing loss… but we head into this week matching up fairly evenly against Beauty Point and expecting to win.” Jason Savage will miss for the Point, while Jai Bourke replaced Michael Dunn in Legana’s XI.
PERTH snapped a two-game losing streak last Saturday and is keen to test itself against yardstick LONGFORD.
Demons skipper Ross Tulich said injuries would determine the make up of his side after training, while Country Tigers captain-coach Josh Adams is cock-a-hoop about his team’s dominance so far. The three-time defending champions have not looked like being beaten in five matches.
“The best thing at the moment it that we’re not just leaving it up to the same blokes each week, it’s someone different,” Adams said.
TREVALLYN host arch-rival HADSPEN with just four points separating the second and third ranked teams.
The Chieftains will go in unchanged for the third week in a row.
Corey Martin
Having started at The Examiner as a cadet in 2009, I have held various positions telling the stories of Northern Tasmanians in sport and news. I was appointed deputy editor in 2019 and became editor in September 2021.
Having started at The Examiner as a cadet in 2009, I have held various positions telling the stories of Northern Tasmanians in sport and news. I was appointed deputy editor in 2019 and became editor in September 2021.
