By David Nagel
PAKENHAM
Captain: Dale Tormey
Last Season: Third
Most Runs: Chris Smith (539 at 53.90); Jason Williams (336 at 56.00)
Most Wickets: Tom Brennan (20 at 26.70); Troy McDermott (19 at 18.68); Jason Williams (19 at 29.05).
In: Tom Tyrrell (Returns) and Nick Sadler (Clyde).
Out: Zac Chaplin, Troy McDermott (Family) and Tom Brennan (Casey South Melbourne).
Pakenham will be out to re-establish itself as a genuine powerhouse of the Casey Cardinia Cricket Association (CCCA) when the Lions kick off their season with a round-one trip to Merinda Park on Saturday.
The Lions played in four grand finals on the trot, from 2016 to 2019, splitting a quartet of battles against Kooweerup with two premierships to their name.
The same two teams qualified for grand final day 2020, before Covid called a halt to play.
The Lions then missed finals in 2021, before making a large charge to third position last year.
The Lions bowed out in the elimination final against Cardinia.
“We finished the season well, and building on that momentum is really important, but at the end of the day we’re like every other club, just taking it a week at a time and seeing where we’re at,” said senior captain Dale Tormey.
“Where it currently sits is we missed finals two years ago and got knocked out last year, so we’re just like other clubs at the moment who are trying to work hard to be successful.”
The Lions will take injury concerns into their round one battle against the Cobras, with star batter Chris Smith recovering from a workplace incident and opening bowler Patrick Lawson doubtful with a knee complaint.
Zac Chaplin and Troy McDermott have not committed this season, while up-and-coming bowler Tom Brennan is having a crack at Casey South Melbourne.
It would appear to leave the Lions a little short on numbers.
But the enthusiasm of youth, a key signing, and improvement from existing players have Tormey confident the Lions can be competitive.
“A lot of the younger guys did an extended pre-season; they took that on themselves to do that, so they’re super-keen and raring to go,” he said.
“James Close did well last year and he’s come on in leaps and bounds…this is his first proper pre-season since he took up cricket three or four years ago.
“Marcus Martini is another young one who didn’t probably play as many games as he would have liked last year, but he’s had a massive pre-season and is looking forward to the season as well.”
Nick Sadler is a significant pick up from Clyde.
“We know he’s a quality player, he’s played a fair bit of country week for the league in the past, and I think we’ll get the best out of him, used a bit differently to what he was at Clyde,” Tormey said.
“We also think he’s a very good batsman and will be a very capable all-rounder.
“I think he’ll be a big bonus for us.
“We’ve got a few injuries at the moment, which is not ideal, so we’re not sure what type of team we’ll be putting out to start with for round one.
“But whatever team we put out, I’m sure we’ll be competitive.
“We’ll probably have five players out of our finals team from last year, but it will be good for the club to blood these kids and see where they’re at.”
Tormey is also expecting improvement from a top-order bat.
“Jack Anning didn’t have the sort of year he wanted to last year, but he’s put in the time and had some extra sessions away from the club and he’s hitting the ball really well,” he said.
“I think we’ll see some big improvement from Jack this year, but that goes for everyone across the board.
“Apart from Boof (Jason Williams) and Smithy, we all could have done a lot more and we’re all raring to get into it.”
Tormey is also raring to go and keen to plant himself at the top of the CCCA rankings.
“Obviously my last two seasons haven’t been great, with injury and stuff last year, and I set myself very, very high standards,” he said.
“I’ve been bitterly disappointed with my last two seasons and have a bit to prove to myself and a few others this season.
“So I’m raring to get into it myself.”
Tormey is more focussed on his own group than this week’s opponent.
“I don’t really look too much into the new recruits at clubs and things like that, because if you start worrying about other teams you lose sight of what you need to work on yourself,” he said.
“We’ll worry about our own backyard and keep trying to improve ourselves.”
The Cobras and Lions are due for a round one shootout at 12noon at Donnelly Reserve on Saturday.
