Bulls eye grand final berth

By David Nagel
IRONICALLY, it’s the legacy that he will leave behind that now stands between the most respected man in West Gippsland cricket, Cardinia captain Mark Cooper and his Bulls as they attempt to make their fifth grand final in six seasons.
The Bulls and their arch rivals, Kooweerup, have been the benchmark in recent seasons and have lifted the bar to a new standard at the top end of the WGCA. Teams had a choice; they either lifted to new levels or continued to get steam-rolled by the Bulls and the Demons.
Cardinia’s semi-final opponent this week, Tooradin, has accepted the challenge.
“This is my sixth season and definitely the standard has improved,” Cooper said.
“I suppose us and Kooweerup set that benchmark, but things like recruiting and just the overall professionalism of sides like Tooradin have improved.
“Have a look now at how team’s warm-up before games, things like that weren’t taken seriously in the past.”
Cooper and his Bulls have been like a gold medal contender at the Olympics, just cruising through their heats on the way through to the finals. Class has got them where they are, but now it’s time to produce their best and Cooper knows his team needs to lift.
“It’s a bit of an unknown situation for us; we’ve definitely been a bit flat lately, and it will be interesting to see if we can just flick a switch and improve,” he said.
“There’s a few concerns. I’m concerned about our lack of ability to bat out 80 overs, but that’s a mental state, not an ability thing.
“We’ve played a lot of finals in recent years, so hopefully we’ve just been waiting for the big stage and our energy and enthusiasm will lift.”
So why will the Bulls win this week and progress through to the biggest match of all?
“We’re going to need a bit to go our way to be honest,” he said.
“In a few areas, they’re better than us; their quicks are very good and they’ve got a champion batsman (Tom Hussey) at the top of the order.
“Experience under pressure is where we’re strong, so hopefully that’ll get us through.”