By LIAM TWOMEY
THIS time last year, there wasn’t much to celebrate for Footscray Edgewater.
The Bulldogs were out of the Victorian Premier Cricket finals race and finished the season a disappointing 12th on the ladder.
But if a week is a long time in sport, what can happen in the space of 12 months is staggering.
Following its smashing of Melbourne Uni last week, Footscray is on top of the Premier Cricket table and is a genuine premiership contender.
The club has gone toe-to-toe with the cream of the crop and walked away with the chocolates on 12 of 14 occasions.
But according to the man in charge, Footscray Edgewater chairman Geoff Collinson,
the job isn’t over yet.
Collinson has been rapt with his side’s turnaround in form which coincided with master coach Steven Chapman joining the club in the off-season.
Chapman previously coached Premier Cricket rival Dandenong to a premiership and he has wasted no time working similar magic at Farnsworth Avenue.
Footscray is now setting its sights on making an impact at the business end of the season.
“At the start of the season we thought we would have a team capable of playing finals,” Collinson said.
“Now with the way the team has come together and the recruitment of a couple of players, we have probably got a team that is capable of playing at the pointy end of the season.
“Steven (Chapman) has had a terrific impact on the playing group and the club as a whole. His knowledge of cricket is incredibly deep and his experience of being an ex-county player and having been a successful coach both here and overseas is fantastic.”
Leading the charge on field and instilling fear into batsmen everywhere has been Bulldogs’ opening bowler Jake Haberfield.
The gun quick joined Footscray from South Australia in what has proved to be a recruiting masterstroke.
Haberfield has taken 34 wickets at an average of 14.15 and has batsmen throughout the competition wondering if there is anything worse than seeing the tear-away quick steaming in.
But they need wonder no more with Haberfield likely to be sharing the new ball with world-class speedster John Hastings for finals.
“Having a look at the fixture, if we can get through the quarter-finals stage it looks like we may get John Hastings back,” Collinson said.
“He is obviously a great bowler, having played for Australia last season but at our level of cricket he is a genuine number four batsman as well.
“When you’ve got John Hastings and Jake Haberfield opening the bowling, it is going to send a few shivers through a lot of opposition batsmen.”
While the playing list continues to develop at a rate of knots, Footscray believe many of its stars are ready to make an impact on the game at the next level.
Haberfield has been selected for the Victorian Sheffield Shield side during the season and is contracted to the Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League.
His team-mates, Dean Russ and Dylan Kight, have been regulars in the Bushrangers’ second XI and Guy Walker will represent Australia at under-19 level next month.
With the stage set for an exciting end to the 2013/14 season for Footscray, the club is also keeping a close eye on the future to ensure its stay at the top end of the ladder is a long one.
Last year Footscray launched its Bulldogs Academy, which is designed to develop all the best cricketing talent throughout Melbourne’s Western Suburbs.
“It (the Bulldogs Academy) is really unique. We are the only club in Australia to do it,” Collinson said.
“First and foremost, we see that we have a community responsibility to develop cricket in the area.
“Obviously we are going to be a beneficiary of that with the half a dozen elite kids coming through the club.
“We have also got a responsibility to all the Sub-District clubs and all the local clubs to try and make their players better and make the competition better so it becomes just as strong as anything in Melbourne.”
Geoff Collinson on:
The 2012/13 season:
“I felt like we should have made the finals last year with the talent that we had in the team. It was very clear to me and the committee and we believed we had a better team than where we finished.”
The leadership of Captain Dean Russ:
“Dean is a terrific leader in all respects. He is a born and bred Bulldog boy. He captained our Dowling Shield team, his dad is a life-member, ex-president and ex-first XI member. He is Bulldog through and through and his performances as captain have been outstanding.”
Bulldogs playing at the next level:
“Dean Russ and Dylan Kight, I think are performing at the levels where it is surprising that the Vics haven’t picked them. Guy Walker has just been picked in the Australian under-19s tour, which is the second or third time he has been selected at that level. He has also got a rookie contract with Victoria so they obviously have their eye on him.”
