Longford's fragile first defeat - in the Premier League grand final - proved nothing is certain when Hadspen's around amid the TCL Premier League season review:
Hadspen
Finish: Premiers
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Wins: 13
Losses: 4
Draws: 1
The Examiner says: "The defending premiers always looked around the mark all season, but like last March Hadspen left its best game until last for back-to-back title wins. Still could improve further next season with much of its success down to a few key batters and after picking up spearhead Kyle Strochnetter from Trevallyn. A spirited club culture also played its role in a top year"
Topstar: Kyle Strochnetter 35@13.25, best bowling 7-26
Captain says: "[It was all] confidence, cohesion but nervous anticipation. Some new faces but a core of consistency. Dilan Jayalth [scored] runs aplenty, Strochnetter finding his feet, backed up by a strong lineup with bat and ball. To the pointy end, the same protagonists as last year's success. A very tough game and respect to Longford, but fight and patience got us there" - Liam Reynolds
Longford
Finish: Runners-up
Wins: 13
Losses: 1
Draws: 3
The Examiner says: "No doubt Longford dominated the year - except for the one match that counted more than the other 23 its top side played through the summer. The Premier League grand final loss two years in a row would hurt, but nothing else could be asked of the Tigers who would week in, week out, bank wins without fail. They also won the T20 title"
Top star: Jackson Blair 855@42.75, 1 hundred, 7 fifties, highest score 100*
Captain says: "After such a successful year to go down like that is very agonising. That's cricket, that's a game and it can go either way on the day... the season we had was still a great season, so to only get beaten all year by Devonport in a Twenty20 and obviously to Hadspen by one wicket, we should be proud of our awesome year" - Jackson Blair
ACL
Finish: Third
Wins: 7
Losses: 8
Draws: 2
The Examiner says: "At times ACL seemed to be just hanging on to a top-four spot, but in the must-win clashes the Bluebacks came to the fore and held off all challengers. Top individual efforts were the backbone of many wins, but still most of their regulars in the lineup played their role too"
Top star: John Kedey 322@20.13, highest score 51; 23@18.52, best bowling 5-13
Captain says: "Our three consecutive defeats in November was the hardest period of our club's season. We lost all games comprehensively and finding a way to bounce back from that was a challenge and we had to adjust the way we went about our game. We did, just not as consistently as I thought we had the capabilities of doing. We have had 63 players roll through Premier League over my four years as coach and to be honest if you reflect on that figure we did bloody well to be in finals" - John Kedey
Beaconsfield
Finish: Fourth
Wins: 6
Losses: 8
Draws: 2
The Examiner says: "Beaconsfield made a fairly good fist of its return to the Premier League. There were two standout teams in the competition, but for most of the season the Swans were the next best around. The loss of their Sri Lankan imports mid-season was a bitter pill to swallow but they fought on bravely and competitively. Should be better for the experience for a second time around"
Top star: Drew Clark 583@38.86, highest score 89, five fifties; 16@26.63, best bowling 5-27
Captain says: "Was a real learning curve for us this year. If you had of told us before the season we would finish third, then play finals, we definitely would have taken it. To lose the final was a clear lowlight for us, but that's just cricket sometimes. As a first step into the top grade, and with players like Drew Clark and Tyler Bain improving their own games on a whole, it was a positive year for us still" - Sean Barry
COVID AFFAIRS: Targa Tasmania called off
Trevallyn
Finish: Fifth
Wins: 3
Losses: 10
Draws: 2
Top star: Daniel Kirk 457@45.7, 1 hundred, 3 fifties, highest score 118*; 16@16.81, best bowling 7-51
The Examiner says: "One thing that stood out was that Trevallyn slipped from five places off the bottom to second off the bottom in a condensed league. Always competitive, the side was also never quite there. But the club still unearthed new emerging talents that paints a rosy picture on the hill"
Captain says: "Our full team towards the end of the year was excellent once we had our full kind of plethora of players, but it was just availability that hurt us - that and consistency, and that starts at the top. That starts with me" - James Whiteley
Perth
Finish: Last
Wins: 1
Losses: 12
Draws: 2
Top star: John Hayes 591@45.46, 6 fifties, highest score 72; 12@30.00, best bowling 3-25
The Examiner says: "It's fair to say Perth had teething problems from preseason and never full recovered. But clearly the Demons got better as the year went on, finding more contributors and nearly becoming the first side to beat Longford"
Captain says: "I'll be the first to admit we had a rough season at the top. Our club started the season on the wrong foot and we were playing catch-up all year. I think that, compounded with a stronger six-team Premier League highlighted that we have work to do to become a competitive team. We had a lot of quality young players play their first games at the top level and fast tracking their development will go a long way in putting us in the top four and making finals next year, which is our goal" - John Hayes
Subscriptions are available here.
Sign up to our Sport email here.
Andrew Mathieson
The day I realised I wasn't good enough to play for St Kilda or be the No.1 spinner for Australia was when I realised journalism was the closest I could come to follow my passion for sport. And it's not just about the scores for me. It's the back story behind the game.
The day I realised I wasn't good enough to play for St Kilda or be the No.1 spinner for Australia was when I realised journalism was the closest I could come to follow my passion for sport. And it's not just about the scores for me. It's the back story behind the game.
