ELATION and relief in equal measures.
They were the overriding emotions for Gol Gol’s cricketers as their impressive performances were finally rewarded with a Sunraysia Cricket Association premiership on Sunday.
And now they plan to keep the band together for as long as possible to continue to the run.
In the time since their last flag in 2011/12, the NSW side had played in all but one finals series and reached the big dance four times without a win.
Their 63-run win over Irymple at Alcheringa Oval felt like a pressure valve being released, and skipper Adam Thomson admitted it was a sweet result.
“Everyone knows how many grand finals we’ve lost over the past few years,” he said.
“Even this year, we lost the Twenty20 final to Coomealla Wentworth on the last ball, then the one-day final was washed out as well, so it is a bit of a relief to finally get one in the bag.
“Personally, it was my 10th grand final as a captain and just my third flag so it’s been a long time coming.”
While it hasn’t been discussed at length yet, Thomson believes the majority of the playing squad, at least, would be back to defend their title next season.
Man of the match Shacaya Thomas, who scored 95 and took 4/60, had already signed on for another two seasons in recent months.
“I believe most of the boys are keen to stick together,” he said.
“Maybe a couple of the older guys might take a step back but that will all be figured out.
“I would suggest I’m likely to go again as co-coach. This year I shared coaching duties with ‘Grovesy’ (Simon Groves) and that was fantastic for me to have that support.”
While Thomas had been a dominant home-and-away performer for Gol Gol his finals record hasn’t quite been as strong, but Thomson said the club always had faith he would perform on the big stage.
“It maybe hasn’t happened for him in the past but I know he puts in more work than anyone around the competition with his fitness and skills training so it was deserved for him,” he said.
Thomson was also pleased for 21-year-old Tyson Adamson, who was the second-highest scorer for the victors with 39.
“I was very impressed with Tyson’s performance,” the captain said.
“We’ve been doing some extras on a Friday night just to try and push him a bit further and he’s worked really hard.
“He got his maiden First Division 50 this year then 39 in the grand final is impressive, and his fielding was good, too, with two catches and a run out.
“He’s dominated second division but it feels like he’s starting to get more comfortable in firsts.”
The contest was the first time Thomson had opposed his brother Mark, who won the Innes Medal earlier in the week, in a grand final as captains.
“It was a bit of a surreal feeling. I did see him briefly afterwards but it was a bit of a rough game for him personally,” he said.
“No doubt we’ll catch up properly during the week.”
While Mad Monday celebrations appear to have ended, the club will celebrate again with end of season presentations on Friday night.
