West Gippsland Cricket Association round 1 preview

By Ian Ferguson
PREDICTABLE preseason outcomes remain elusive today, even among the most respected of sports writers.
None of The Age football experts tipped that West Coast and Sydney would contest the AFL grand final.
Nor did any of these respected pundits correctly select the final eight.
However, despite the glorious uncertainty of the sport, the following predictions are made about the 200506 West Gippsland cricket season, which begins this Saturday.
Beaconsfield, Cardinia and Catani should finish in the top four on the Agrade ladder.
Beaconsfield, the reigning premier, is further strengthened after snatching former Tooradin premiership captain Luke Sibley from the Seagulls’ nest and his recruitment as the Tigers’ new coach should significantly boost their batting depth.
Cameron Knight is the new master at Cardinia and this well credentialled allrounder should keep the 200405 premier near the top of the table.
Catani made impressive strides last season and Ben Maroney’s competitive squad now has the allround skills of assistant coach Mick Torney and the returning Lionel Sexton to call on.
The last finals position appears more open.
Tooradin, Officer and Devon Meadows have all been top WGCA teams in recent times, but all have lost significant players.
Both Pakenham UpperToomuc (PUT) and Merinda Park have recruited strongly over the winter months and either one of these teams could also press for inclusion in the next finals series.
Pakenham showed promise at times in 200405, but the anticipated loss of both Paul and Sean Gramc to Berwick will be a blow to its chances.
Little is known at present about Clyde’s or Emerald’s playing depth, but it appears at this stage both will struggle to be competitive.
Nar Nar GoonMaryknoll will hope to emulate the deeds of Beaconsfield, who captured Bgrade and then Agrade pennants in successive seasons.
The Goon has promising young players who will benefit from this season’s Agrade exposure, but it is difficult to see the combine challenging the better teams.
It will be an intriguing roundone clash at Starling Road Reserve, where Officer hosts Tooradin.
The Bullants are still reeling from the loss of capable performers Simon Cornell, Jack Hayes, John Simpson and Chris Pentland during the offseason, but last year’s runnersup are also depleted.
Apart from the loss of Sibley, the Seagulls are resigned to losing allrounder Rowan Best and fast bowler Greg Bethune may also be missing from the nest.
However Tooradin appears to have greater early depth and should take the points.
Merinda Park is at home to Catani in another difficult game to predict.
Both teams appear to be strengthened by the addition of capable players, but Catani appears to have the edge in class.
Old rivals in Nar Nar GoonMaryknoll and Pakenham clash at the Goon, but the Lions appear to have the talent to prevail over the Agrade newcomers.
Nyora should celebrate its arrival in Bgrade ranks by accounting for Emerald at the Nyora ground, while the relegated Upper Beaconsfield is tipped to narrowly defeat the strong Beaconsfield Bgrade combination at home.
The Agrade fixtures, with the likely winners shown in capitals, are:
Officer v TOORADIN
Clyde v PUT
Merinda Park v CATANI
Nar Nar GoonMaryknoll v PAKENHAM
BEACONSFIELD v Devon Meadows
Emerald v CARDINIA