By DAVID NAGEL
THE trophy cabinets at the Officer and Pakenham Cricket Clubs may be about to swell this weekend with both clubs fielding five sides in WGCA grand finals.
Officer, the Bullants, have three senior and two junior teams involved while the Lions have four senior sides and their under-17s primed for success.
Pakenham president Phil Anning said it takes a lot of hard work for the clubs to capitalise on the growth of the south-east corridor.
“Obviously the growth of the area has something to do with it but it’s a wonderful achievement for both clubs to have that many teams go through,” Anning said.
“From our club’s point of view I know the committee, coaches and players have all worked really hard to achieve this type of success.
“And full credit must go to Officer because it was only two years ago that it was struggling on-field and its junior numbers were down… that’s a great achievement for their club.”
Anning said that while the club was disappointed not to have its Premier Division side involved in finals this season, the weekend can still provide a real positive moving forward.
“At (Peter) Bun O’Hare’s funeral last year it was mentioned that he thought it was important to win premierships, in any grade, to create a winning culture at a club,” he said.
“We’ve sort of taken that philosophy on board and hope we can bring a few wins home on the weekend.”
Anning said that if he was forced to pick one, the under-17 title is the one he would most like to bring home.
“I reckon it’s been at least 20 years since we played in an under-17 grand final, let alone won one,” he said.
“Some of those boys are playing their last game of junior cricket for our club so it would be great if they finish on a high.”
The Bullants and Lions will match up against each other in two grand finals, in C Grade at Upper Beaconsfield and F Grade at Officer.
