Greater Northern Raiders will break new ground on Tuesday for the second time inside three months.
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The expansion club that debuted last summer in the Cricket Tasmania Premier League will unleash a third side representing the region in a statewide competition.
The Raiders appeared in the female league in October and now into the under-18 Vacation Cup championship for the first time for a home clash against North Hobart at the NTCA Ground.
Coach Alistair Taylor was looking forward to indoctrinating more promising cricketers into the fledgling club.
"It's going to be good for the kids to put on some orange and grey for the first time and get them involved in the whole system," he said.
"It will be a good learning curve for them."
The four-match fixture - Cricket Tasmania Premier League sides are split into two pools - is about a getting greater exposure for the next batch of teens into the state's highest grade of the game.
But the historic occasion will consolidate the Raiders' presence against traditional clubs that affiliate six sides as much as anything else.
"We still have that representative side feel to it just because you don't all train together like a normal club would still," Taylor said.
"I think the more teams involvement with the Raiders, with the men's, women's and under-18 sides, there is going to be more exposure of cricketers playing in it and I think more unity in the northern half of the state as well."
ELSEWHERE IN SPORT
The stepping stone into the new format will be aided by four of the Raiders squad tasted the high standards of the Premier League.
Inaugural captain Cooper Anthes will take his five matches for the Raiders into the leadership role.
"Our boys will certainly be leaning on his experience in playing in the senior Raiders' team," Taylor said.
The coach, who is also the Raiders Premier League vice-captain, will take advice from Anthes and teammates for knowledge on their rivals.
"I will definitely have those conversations with the likes of Cooper and we'll try and work out some plans and go from there," Taylor said.
"The players will probably know more of the players from other clubs because a lot of boys this year played for those clubs down there in this [under-18] competition, so they should have intel on all those players."
SQUAD
- Jake Dixon (Burnie Hurricanes), Josh Lamprey (Burnie Hurricanes), Sam O'Mahoney (Devonport), Toby Bellchambers (Devonport), Dihan Cloete (Launceston), Will Bennett (Launceston), Spencer Hayes (Mowbray), Sam Freeman (Mowbray), Cooper Anthes (Riverside), Sam Artis (Riverside), Angus Foster (South Launceston), Julius Kerwin (Ulverstone), Alex Wynwood (Ulverstone), Joel Lloyd (Westbury), Caleb Williams (Westbury). Manager: Rowan Smith, Coach: Alistair Taylor, Assistant coach: Miles Barnard.
FIXTURE
- January 7 - Raiders v North Hobart at NTCA Ground
- January 9 - Raiders v University at NTCA No.2
- January 21 - Glenorchy v Raiders at Shoobridge Park
- January 22 - New Town v Raiders at Clare St Oval
- January 29 - Grand Final at the Clare St Oval
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