MILDURA SETTLERS
President: Brett Robertson
Coach: Joel Perry/Braidyn Turner
First Division captain: Braidyn Turner
Last year: Premiers
In: Nelson Mensforth (Nichols Point)
Out: Luke Coates (Nichols Point), John Pratt (Adelaide), Mark Cleary (retired)
Coach says: Every season we go into we have the goal of being up the top, which I think we can this year. We lose big names in ‘Coatesy’ and ‘Pratty’ but I still think we have a good enough side to be up the top. That’s obviously if everyone’s healthy and no injuries occur, which touchwood hopefully doesn’t happen. Our goal is definitely to still be up there.
Daily says: Death, taxes and Setts being strong. These are the three certainties of life. Not too many clubs can lose a top-line pace bowler in Luke Coates, a locked-in First Division batsman like John Pratt, plus have the retirement (at the moment) of one of the greats of Sunraysia cricket in Mark Cleary and still look like a serious contender. While those losses give other clubs a sniff, there’s too much talent left at Mildura Senior College to write the reigning premiers off.
WORKERS GOL GOL
President: Daron Hulls
Coach: Adam Thomson
First Division captain: Adam Thomson
Last year: Runners-up
In: Hayden Carroll (returned from overseas)
Out: Matt Boyd (Nichols Point)
Coach says: After a disappointing finish to last season with COVID costing us a chance to play in a grand final, we will go into the 2020/21 season will a very similar squad. Having signed Shac (Shacaya Thomas) for three seasons and having last year’s (joint) Innes medalist Wade Hancock again is a huge boost to our squad. Selection will be a lot tougher this year with borders closed from South Australia and having two players travel from over there. Our aim is always to play finals cricket and anything can happen once you get that far. Our White ball record has been very good over the past two season so we hope to continue that form.
Daily says: Workers Gol Gol have been thereabouts for the past few years but have had to contend with a top-class Settlers side in that time. They will need to put the disappointment of last year’s abrupt end to the season aside, because on their day this side is as good as anyone and remains a real premiership contender.
IRYMPLE
President: Dean Connelly
Coach: Shane Garraway
First Division captain: Mark Thomson/Dan Coghlan
Last year: Third (lost semi-final)
In: Nick Giofre (Surrey Hills)
Out: Nil
Coach says: I think we’re probably suited to the shorter form of the game, given we’ve got plenty of bowlers and our batting for the 20 and 40 over games is suited. We’re hoping for a pretty good season obviously.
Daily says: Last season’s White Ball Cup premiers would be licking their lips at the prospect of this season being all limited overs. Irymple’s bowling is the envy of any side, and any weakness in their batting is negated by not having to bat all day. If reigning joint Innes medalist Bryson Lush can have another great season with the willow at the top of the order, that will give the Swallows a solid base, and their bowlers would be happy defending any mid-range total.
MILDURA WEST
President: Richard Chamberlain
Coach: Davison Mbindi
First Division captain: Luke Hickey
Last year: Fourth (lost semi-final)
In: Mbindi (Zimbabwe, via Mount Beauty), Rhiann O’Donnell (Plenty Valley), Andrew Danson (Moorabbin Park), Jayden Zanoni (Melbourne University)
Out: Aaron Feroz (overseas non-returning), Will Parsons (overseas non-returning), George Woods (Albury)
Coach says: You’ve got to make sure you start on the front foot and in the right gear and we can build from there. Game after game, we take one game as we go, one after another and try to make sure we start strongly and go from there.
Daily says: West made a late charge into the finals last season and have a pretty good all-round system. Under a new captain and coach combination it will be interesting to see what develops. If opener Ben Hallam backs up a breakout 2019-20 campaign there’s a lot of promise for a relatively young side.
NICHOLS POINT
President: Karl Ferguson
Coach: Shaun Mathews
First Division captain: Brad Thomas
Last year: Fifth
In: Luke Coates (Mildura Settlers), Matt Boyd (Workers Gol Gol), Tate Hulland (Tempy), Leigh Thomson-Mathews
Out: Glen Bridson (overseas non-returning), Kaushik Aphale (overseas non-returning), Nelson Mensforth (Mildura Settlers)
Coach says: Our aim for this season is to continue improving the club across the board. Obviously losing Alfie and Briddo (Aphale and Bridson) who are unable to come back due to coronavirus restrictions does hurt, but I feel with the talent we have added (Coates, Boyd, Hulland and Thomson-Mathews) brings more depth to the club and puts us in a good position heading forward.”
Daily says: The Pointers were clearly the “best of the rest” last season and narrowly missed a maiden First Division finals campaign. Batting-wise a lot will rest on the shoulders of Shaun Mathews and Brad Thomas but the club’s bowling recruits in Luke Coates and Matt Boyd greatly improve the team’s potency with the ball.
COOMEALLA WENTWORTH
President: Jordan Wade
Coach: N/A
First Division captain: Justin Freeman
In: Colby Wade (Rochester), Cameron Douglas (Nursery Ridge), Mathew Andrews, Jeremy Weinert
Last year: Sixth
Captain says: We are heading into the season pretty positive as all the boys have been training hard. The team is really growing together and starting to mature. So if we take all our work into the season we should see some good results.
Daily says: Coomealla Wentworth have always been a pretty solid and tight unit and have been capable of throwing up some upsets in the past, especially in white ball games. Now would be the time the club looks to string a few more together and climb up the ladder. They probably need one or two players to have a great season with the bat, as too often in the past the Blues’ bowlers have just not had the chance to defend a total.
MERBEIN SOUTH
President: Aaron Walder
Coach: Darren James
First Division captain: Matt O’Connor
Last year: Seventh
In: Ash Durie (Whycheproof), Brady Moore (Fire Brigade), Ilario Cavallo, Nick Dorman
Out: Shane Trinick (retired), Cameron Grimwood (overseas non-returning), Jarrod Forrester, Ethan Gray
Coach says: We’re putting a lot of our time and effort into our under 16 kids, we’ve got eight or nine under 16 kids that are more of less going to play Division 2, possibly knocking on the door for Division 1. This year we’ve got a full-blown (standalone) under 16s side so that is a bonus, we’ve worked hard to get some kids on board. I just want to be competitive for a full game, last year we were competitive for half or three quarters of a game and after that we sort of fell away big time.
Daily says: The Saints are rightly going the youth route looking to blood some youngsters for the future. Don’t expect them to be challenging for finals just yet but that wouldn’t be their aim. Coach Darren James was disappointed with the way Merbein South finished last season, so being competitive until the final round is a must. Josh Carmichael returning from football commitments in Darwin after Christmas is going to be a big plus for his side’s batting line-up.
MILDURA EAST
President: Mat Hunt
Coach: Josh Berry
First Division captain: Josh Berry
Last year: Eighth
In: Arslan Safdar (Workers Gol Gol)
Out: Nil
Coach says: We didn’t have a lot of wins last year but at times I felt we were pretty competitive, and it’s off the back of the young talent we’ve got. It’s just about us working with them and getting them to find that consistency week-in, week-out performing in First Division cricket, once they find that it’s exciting and these are players we can work with to hopefully create our next premiership.
Daily says: East have gone down the right path with their rebuild. Much like Mildura West a few years ago, get some games into the young crop and then add bits and pieces along the way. Yes, it might cost results in the first few seasons and they aren’t really challenging for the finals at this early stage, but that shouldn’t be East’s aim in this phase.
