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Terry Ranking Rising Star Award
Mark Hanson - Stepney
The Nominations were:
Modbury - Jake Haberfield, Rocco Illuminato
Windsor - Chris Buttfield, Terry Nelligan
Stepney - Mark Hanson, Neisha Iles
Woodlands - Zac Joanaau
Camden - Matt Starr
M/Vale - Nick Bowen, Brian Sheedy
John Lonergan - Camden
Terry Rankin
Click Here for the Grand Final Results
Schlong's Tips for 2003
Let's see how I went !!
A Grade Grand Final - Woodlands and Modbury - BINGO, GOT THAT ONE CORRECT
A Grade Top 4 - Woodlands, Modbury, Camden, Morphett Vale - 3 OUT OF 4, STEPNEY AHEAD OF CAMDEN
Basheer Medal - Grant Doran (Stepney) - NOT EVEN CLOSE
Dark Horse for Basheer Medal - John Lonergan (Camden - just cause the umpires know me !) - NOT EVEN IN THE TOP 10 !
Other Contenders for Basheer Medal - Peter Gladigau (Camden), Scott Heywood (M/Vale), Al Lubke (Modbury), Daniel McKay (Stepney), Paul Smith (Windsor Gardens). NOT EVEN CLOSE - Mind you, it didn't help with the Sharks playing Matt Skrokov in the B's first game of the year (I at least pointed that out as a bit of an issue in my season preview !).
Paul Smith Medal (U18) - Chris Buttfield (Windsor Gardens) - NOT EVEN CLOSE, not sure how many 18s games Bucky played, but only got the 6 votes, he made the Men's Open side, so I think that's still a decent pick !
by John Lonergan, State Men's Open Coach 2003
Camden Rams
The A Grade have suffered a huge blow in losing the services of Jeremy Astill. Jeremy was one of the best
bats in South Australia, and was a big reason for the Rams making the Prelim final in 2002. However this
gives others an opportunity to be promoted from Ram to Goat status !
Craig Corretti had a good year in the B's last year, and had some exposure at State Level with the Under 21s,
he will become the new A grade keeper, and along with Scott Martin and Ryan Presser will start to bring the average
age of the A grade somewhere back near 30 !
A late pickup in the draft is Kirk Radway from Woodlands, looking for more opportunities to play A grade (this is
written after Rnd 1, and Kirk got a game in the A's due to a late withdrawal so his was a good move !). A few
promising quick bowlers in the C grade, who will be led by Brad Holt (picked in 2002 Open squad !), should mean
the C's will at the worst cause a few upsets, and at best will compete for a finals spot.
The B's will be a top 3 side this year, with Chris Allen sacrificing a potential A grade spot to captain the side,
and the talent of Kirk, Simon "Spook" Morris, a rejuvenated Chris Sentance and a much improved Greg Morris, this
side should win more than they lose, and have plenty of experience for finals cricket.
The D's will tend to struggle due to the lack of players at Camden, but hopefully we can at least get some
consistent players there. The Over 30s could do well if all eligible players play, but that would mean half the A
grade would have to double up and that may affect our A grade performances, will have to wait and see.
The Under 16s have picked up some great young players, and will definitely remove themselves from bottom of
the table this year and will even push the strong clubs such as Modbury and Morphett Vale. Coach Tony Starr
is very hopeful of removing the tag of being the competitions "whipping boy", and with a strong first up win
over Windsor it looks like he will be on track to having a good year.
The Women's side will once again be ably led by Lesley Lonergan, the side is much the same as last year with
a couple of new players. Hopefully more consistent performances will be the norm this year, with both Carly
Warren and Lee Martin in the Open side, they should help lift the overall performance along with the consistency
of Lesley, Kim Braddock and Caroline "Chucky" Johnston.
As the Club Coach, I'm looking forward to a fun season, with hopefully more success than just the A grade this year.
The feeling is good, and this is in most part to our fantastic Centre Owner Scot Evans, who genuinely wants to
promote a club atmosphere, and therefore has the respect of every single player at The Beach.
Woodlands Cougars
A few dramas at the Cougars lair, with Paul Mattschoss being unavailable due to injury, Pottsy going overseas,
and Brad Holt moving to Camden. The powers that be have given young Steven Payne the nod from C grade to fill
the A grade keeping spot, and although this may have put some of the B grade players off side initially, hopefully
this will pay off for both Steven and the club.
The B's have lost Kirk Radway, but still have a good strong side and will compete in finals again. The C's and
D's are generally strong at the Cougars, and with the pickup of a few outdoor players they will continue this
trend. The Masters sides look good as usual, especially the 35's as they have chosen to put their State players
in this competition, and therefore are the early favourites to take it out. Juniors have been strong in the
past, and although they have had a few move up to the seniors, this should still be the case.
The Womens side have picked up 1 or 2 players over the Summer, but are generally struggling for numbers. However
their strongest 8 players are a good side, and they've started with a win in Round 1 against the Sharks.
Morphett Vale Sharks
Haven't heard of too many changes at the Fish Bowl, so performances should be much the same with the A grade
competing for finals, and the lower grades generally making finals I would think. The Masters may struggle
a bit this year unless a few "young" players step in to help out the veterans. Round 1 saw former Mens Open
player Matt Skrokov playing B grade, so that may be a sign that the A's are going to be a good side this year.
The Women's side were struggling for numbers just before the start of the season, but if they can get 8 players
on the court they'll be strong, as the likes of Belinda Mason, Lee-Anne Hunter and Charmayne Sorrell will be
able to cover for any new players coming through.
Stepney Saints
The biggest Draft Pick over the Summer was Stepney gaining the services of Modbury and Mens Open player Grant
Doran. Grant is on his day the best bat in the competition, and is an extremely handy addition to the talented
young Saints A grade. They may suffer by losing Dino Vrynios due to an overseas trip mid season, and this could
be the difference between making finals or not due to his strong batting. Hopefully players such as Grant,
Daniel McKay and captain Neil Bowles and can have good seasons and once again have the A's competing for the
final four.
The B grade may struggle this year, purely because of the focus on getting the A's into finals which has to
be a priority for the club. However the C's are generally strong, and the numbers will tell the tale of how
the D's go. Only the 35 Masters at Stepney, and as this is a new competition it's a bit unknown, but they
will definitely be competitive as most of the regulars should still be playing in this new competition.
The Womens side is always strong, and even with the loss of Angela Lee from the side (working at Windsor), the
reigning premiers should once again play Finals and compete to retain their title.
Windsor Guards
The loss of Justin Shore to the Chiefs is a blow to the A grade, but gains of Paul "flea" Smith and Brad White
more than make up for losing any other players. The A grade will still struggle a bit this year as they are
blooding some young players in Terry Nelligan and Chris Buttfield, but Chris especially is a class player and
his selection in the Open side will hopefully help his game improve and make him a genuine A grade player in 2003.
The B's will rely on their experienced players to get them through, so they will be honest but may lack the firepower
and consistency to be a real threat on the premiership. The loss of a few players in the top grades will impact
the C's and D's, but hopefully they can pick up players to compete for finals.
The 16's will have a tough season as they are a very young side, not sure about the 18s. The Masters have a good
side led by Col Robinson, Darren Gow and Gary Bartlett, and will put on a good show.
The Womens side is very strong, and along with Modbury would have to be early favourites for the flag.
Modbury Chiefs
A few disruptions to the A grade side with the loss of Grant Doran (Stepney), Ash Tharaldsen (Non Playing Coach) and
Richard Lamerton (Retired). They have picked up Justin Shore from Windsor which is a good gain, and will still be a
strong side and should compete in finals again. However the loss of those 3 players, means that Woodlands now move
to outright favourite for the flag, and Modbury and back with the pack to compete for the other Grand Final spot.
Without listing them all, every other grade should be strong as they usually have a good depth of players due to their
location, and the Juniors are favourites in both grades. The Womens side under achieved last year in their finals
campaign by losing to Stepney, so they'll be fired up to prove they can carry their minor round form into the major
round this year.
Click Here to see 2002 Superleague Season Information