By Brad Kingsbury
KOOWEERUP captain coach Matt Davey was justifiably proud of his players after the Agrade grand final was decided on Saturday and warned that they would only improve.
Davey’s triumphant Cardinia counterpart Mark Cooper joined Lex Duff medallist Steve Paterson, umpire Michael Meeng and West Gippsland Cricket Association representative Rob Hansen in heaping praise on the exploits of the young Demons over the 200607 season.
“Coming from Bgrade and making the Agrade grand final is no mean feat,” said Hansen during the presentation ceremony after the game.
“Kooweerup helped keep the Agrade competition alight, particularly around Christmas and just after, with the massive amount of runs they made.”
“It certainly made for thrilling and interesting cricket,” he said.
Davey, while disappointed with the result, acknowledged Cardinia as worthy winners of the competition and said his players would learn from the experience.
“Obviously, we’re disappointed, but we were definitely outplayed by Cardinia in all facets and they deserve their win,” he said.
“I probably didn’t think that we would be playing (in the grand final) at the start of the year, but there’s always that hope. We knew we had a good group and the guys worked hard to improve their game, so I think we deserved our place.
“We didn’t handle the pressure as well as Cardinia in the end. I hope the group will stay together and continue to improve.”
Davey said he would remain involved with the Demons, but was not sure in what capacity.
He said he would wait to see how things shaped up over the offseason and what new players joined the club before confirming his role in 200708.
