DAVE: Morning boys, an absolute scorcher on the weekend and one member of our team is sporting the war-wounds of sunburn to prove it. We praised Blair last week for his sun-smart approach at the Aussie Open, but Juzzy, what happened to you at the CCCA Kookaburra Cup grand finals at Lang Lang on Sunday.
JUSTIN: I enjoyed a lovely day at Lang Lang, but enjoyed myself too much and now I’m a lobster.
DAVE: Surely it was worth it mate, surely your best action from the weekend came from Lang Lang?
BEST ACTION
JUSTIN: Yes it did Dave, well I’ve got two; the first came from the District grand final between Merinda Park and Carlisle Park. The Cobras were always going to win, needing less than a run a ball after keeping the Vikings to 112, and Ashley Slater was seeing them like beach balls all day. He made 66 not out to guide Merinda Park to victory, but his last shot was a huge six to hit the winning runs. I spoke to him after the game and a few of the Cobras had dusty heads after being at a bucks party on Saturday night, but he said he told his mates on the night that he was going to hit a six to win the game. He dropped the knee, sweep shot over backward square-leg for six and she was all over. And also a special mention goes to Ash Chandrasinghe from Casey South Melbourne. He pulled off a huge play, running out Dylan Kight from Footscray after throwing down the stumps from cover with just one stump to aim at. Kight has been in ridiculous form this year, and the following numbers tell you how important this wicket was. He averages 118 this season and his last seven knocks were 16 not out, 61 not out, 16 out, 38 not out, 128 not out, 59 not out and then Chandrasinghe runs him out for 43. He’s also had an 88 not out, a 71, a 47 and a 121; so this guy is a serious talent. To run him out on 43, when another big score looked likely, that’s a huge effort from Chandrasinghe and it helped put Casey South Melbourne in a good spot; 0/15 overnight and chasing 207 for victory.
BLAIR: I had a tennis best action last week, but we’re back to cricket now and it was great to see the DDCA play some cricket on the weekend. My best comes from Narre South, who has won just one game for the season, and they were playing Hallam Kalora Park, coming off five consecutive wins. It was a good toss to win, considering the heat, but my best action is the dual centuries of Oshadha Ariyadasa and Vineth Jayasuriya; 125 and 130 respectively. They scored the bulk of the runs and put on a partnership of 219; leading the Lions to a great score of 9/331. That’s a serious performance from those two. And a quick shoutout to a young bloke from Buckley Ridges, Ashen Hettinayaka, an under-18 player who took 6/20 against Parkmore. Yes Parkmore has struggled and will more than likely get outrighted, but Hettinayaka had taken 11 wickets prior to Saturday and has now got 17 for the year. He’s a very talented young spinner, playing under-18s for Frankston/Peninsula.
DAVE: Boys, I spent a bit of time at the Pakenham Regional Tennis Centre on the weekend, keeping an eye on some of the talent on show. One of the first people I ran into was Destanee Aiava, a first-round winner at the Australian Open last year, and she was warming up with her partner Corey Gaal prior to their doubles match. It was one of the first times I’ve ever sat three or four metres from a court and watched good players hit the ball. Look, it wasn’t in the main competition, but just watching those two smash the ball back at each other was my best action for the week. It definitely gave me a greater appreciation of the game. And a special mention has to go to Gamini Kumara from Hallora, Greg Munro from Western Park and Kasun Ranasinghe from Garfield/Tynong for digging in despite the heat and making brilliant centuries on the weekend.
IMPACTS OF THE HEAT
DAVE: Boys, who are the winners and losers from the Heat Policies of different leagues on Saturday? Some competitions got called off, most played, and I know Juzzy has an example of a local club in the CCCA that benefited greatly from no play. Blair, who would have been happy, and who got stitched up from the playing and non-playing of matches?
BLAIR: All the DDCA games got up, with earlier starts, and as you would expect the batting teams cashed in after good tosses to win in the heat. Narre South 331, Dandy West 326, Springy South 9/267 against Berwick; so some big scores there, and the other team that probably wins from the weekend is Buckley Ridges. They had a two-day game against Parkmore; if that gets turned into a one-dayer this week they don’t get the chance to win outright, which they’re now odds on to do after a dominant day one. Those extra points will give them an extra buffer. The other side, the losers are probably the teams that lost the toss and now have huge scores to chase this Saturday.
DAVE: What is the forecast for this week boys?
BLAIR: Mid-to-high twenties…so much cooler for those in the field.
DAVE: Justin, tell us the team that we’ve discussed this morning that might be rather fortunate to get heated out in the CCCA Premier Division on Saturday?
JUSTIN: That team would be Pakenham, Dave. The CCCA called things off earlier than what the rules say at 11am, because teams had scheduled games to start at 10am because of the heat. They did it at 7am instead, and Pakenham skipper Jack Anning would have woken up early and done a Heat Dance, not a Rain Dance, because it was hugely beneficial to have this week called off. The Lions are fourth and didn’t have to play third-placed Kooweerup, while fifth-place Clyde missed the opportunity to play a struggling Officer. Those games could have been a real difference maker in the run home, because you could argue that both teams are favoured to go 1-2 in the run home. Pakky has Devon Meadows, then Cardinia and Tooradin, and Clyde has Upper Beaconsfield, Tooradin and Kooweerup. It’s a big bonus for Pakenham and Clyde will be feeling a little hard done by.
DAVE: Boys, on Saturday I woke up and my phone said the forecast in Pakenham was 38…feels like 35, but the BOM forecast was for 40 so cricket got called off. Look, I’m an old codger, and we all think we were tougher and stronger back then, but it really felt like a day where cricket should have been played. I’m not having a crack at the CCCA here, they did the right thing by sticking to the rules, because if they went against their rules and somewhat got seriously ill, they’re odds on for a law suit. The DDCA has a Weather Sub Committee (WSC); if the temperature is forecast for 40 degrees then the WSC may, at its discretion, cancel all scheduled play for the day. That’s for turf cricket, but the DDCA’s cut-off temperature for synthetic is 38 degrees; the same as the CCCA. Being an administrator of a sporting league or association is hard work, I’ve been there before, but, to me, it just didn’t sit right that the CCCA didn’t play on Saturday.
BLAIR: Back home in Hamilton it was 40 degrees for us and when I moved to Melbourne I was surprised that cricket got called off at a 38 forecast.
DAVE: I understand it for lower grade cricketers, bloke in the 40s, 50s and even 60s, but top-grade cricket should go ahead I reckon. If you’re in the senior XI, you’re normally a teenager, in your twenties or thirties; you should be able to handle a day in the heat if you’re that age and looking after yourself as you need to at that level. There’s no science behind by argument…it just didn’t sit right with me.
JUSTIN: It’s an interesting one.
DAVE: In the WDCA, the team that wishes cricket was called off was Longwarry, who had 9/342 scored against them by Western Park. The Crows have been in great form of late, but a combination of the heat and a high-class opponent caught them out on the weekend. Look, they might chase down the runs and prove me wrong, but it would have been nice for the Crows to avoid being belted like that and keep that mystique up their sleeves for later in the season. Noble Park is the other team that would have loved a day off; they lost a high-scoring game on the weekend, their second loss in a row, to drop from first place at Christmas to now sixth place on the ladder. The ham, turkey and prawns would have tasted nice at Christmas, but it’s back to baked beans and burnt toast at the moment.
MONEY IN FOOTBALL
DAVE: On the weekend boys, I had an off-the-record chat with a local footy coach, who said that money is having more of an impact on building a playing list that it ever has before. In his opinion, and that of other coaches, attracting and retaining players is becoming harder and harder. When I worked at AFL South East, I basically discovered that there is nothing you can do about it. Salary Caps are one thing, but if clubs have rich benefactors, and some clubs have many, there are so many ways around the Salary Cap. The Player Points System (PPS) works, but the Salary Cap is being exceeded by so many clubs right now. The coach mentioned some of the money being offered, and by which clubs; I won’t go there, but the money being talked about is ridiculous. Players won’t dob in clubs, clubs won’t dob in players; it’s a very hard thing to police. Is there anything that can be done about it; or do we just accept that money being splashed around will forever be a part of footy?
JUSTIN: I think we have to accept that Dave. The Player Points System is good, it encourages junior development, it encourages players to go back to the clubs where they played juniors and it makes it harder to field teams of extreme talent. The younger players, when a club throws money at a younger player that doesn’t earn much money; it’s almost like another job when a club throws a bag at them. Even if you’re playing with your mates, you really have to consider your decision. We are journos, and we have integrity, but we also know there are other things being offered as well as money. Jobs, transport…there are many ways to attract a player to a club.
DAVE: Or a boat suddenly appears in your back yard out of nowhere.
JUSTIN: Exactly. Governing bodies will find it very difficult to police those types of things.
BLAIR: I agree with Juzzy, it’s where local footy and local sport is at now. We have to accept that loyalty is slowing dying because of the amount of money that clubs are throwing around. I’ve heard of players being offered $50k to leave VFL and go and play at local level. The current salaries of local leagues and the VFL are too similar. One way to try and combat it a little bit, and I don’t know all the politics involved, but lift VFL salaries so talented players pursue that higher level of footy. It might reduce really good players beating up on local leagues because of money. The only reason you would play VFL right now is for the exposure of getting to the AFL. But you wouldn’t do it for the money.
JUSTIN: You’re right, you rarely see older players sticking around in the VFL; think about how many people have retired from the VFL, and not always necessarily for money. Cal Porter has left Box Hill to go to Narre Warren, he’s not even 30; Tom Murphy was the skipper of the Frankston Footy Club, he’s taken on the coaching position at Pines because he doesn’t want to play anymore. It makes more sense for them to play locally, less stress on the mind, the body, and you can earn more money while doing it. Trips to Brisbane, Gold Coast and Sydney…it’s a big commitment if there’s not that incentive to do it.
DAVE: Good chat boys; we’ll do it all again next week.
