By Charlene Gatt
A 19-RUN win to Altona North has curtailed Keilor’s four-game winning streak ahead of this weekend’s Victorian Turf Cricket Association senior division finals. Resuming at 1/11 Keilor was quick to fall under the bowling spell of Simon Polidori (3/17), aided largely by Matt Saunders (2/26), Robert Axiak (2/29) and Robert Stonehouse (2/49) to be all out for 155 and finish the season in third.
Keilor will face an uphill battle this weekend when it squares off against long-time rival Yarraville Club to gain a place in the grand final. Yarraville Club beat Keilor for back-to-back titles in 2005-06 and 2006-07, but coach Matt Willmott was confident Keilor had what it takes to win.
“They’ve been our biggest rivals for the past five years so it was really good to beat them in round 10 and has given us a hell of a lot of confidence to beat them going into the finals,” he said. “We’re quietly confident and have a fair amount of self-belief.”
Willmott was also weary of minor premiers Doutta Stars, who thrashed the side before Christmas, but said Keilor’s form should see them through.
“It probably wasn’t as good as it could’ve been before Christmas, but we’re pretty pleased with the way we’re playing at this time of year and we’ve certainly picked up,” he said.
At Walker Oval, Yarraville Club played its best in recent weeks to pass Royal Park/Brunswick’s 153 and cut its finals chances. Middle order batsman Benjamin Pope top scored with 65 not out to add to opener Justin Baker’s half century and bring the Clubbers to 2/191. Coach Michael O’Keefe said the club needed to let go of its complacency if it wanted a chance to claim the three-peat.
“We certainly need to improve a hell of a lot if we’re going to win three in a row. Our form’s down at the moment and there’s a number of us who really need to lift if we’re going to win the grand final,” O’Keefe said. “We know potentially we’re good enough but potential doesn’t win you finals, you’ve got to play together as a group. It’s pretty open at the moment, the Doutta Stars have obviously had a really good year, they’re up there and they think they’ve got a really good chance of winning it. Keilor have beat us a couple of weeks ago and they’ve got a very good side as well.”
South Caulfield this week faces the Doutta Stars for a grand final placing.
