Tara Murray
He may have still made plenty of runs last Victorian Premier Cricket season, but Footscray’s Dean Russ has decided to hang up the bat.
Just the 14th player to play 300 first XI premier games late last year, Russ has decided now is the time to step away from playing cricket at that level.
“It’s the time factor,” he said. “The time that premier cricket takes.
“We are time poor as cricketers and it’s the amount of time that we have away from our families.
“The time is right to step away and let the next generation at Footscray succeed.”
Russ said he came back for one last season with Footscray to try and get a second premiership.
The side would ultimately fall short after a strong regular season.
“We made no bones about it, I played another year to win a premiership,” he said.
“We had success in the home and away season, but weren’t able to finish it off.
“The club is in a good place and hopefully I helped develop that culture. I tried my best.”
Russ said the premiership win is the most special moment he holds from his time at the club. He said with the club not having a lot of success it was a pretty special thing to be part of it.
“Being part of the premiership, I’ll always hold that dear to my heart,” he said.
“It’s a special moment for so many people at the club. Being part of that team is my most special and memorable moment at Footscray.”
While the premiership is the most special moment, Russ takes plenty of friends and relationships away from his time at the club.
Having started at the Bulldogs when he was 16, Russ has spent a lot of his life in the rooms at Mervyn Hughes Oval.
“Friends and relationships, you spent so much time with them,” he said. “There’s a lot of slow periods in the game.
“You get to know them on a deeper level and you get some valuable things out of the friendships and mates.
“You still catch up and reflect on the good times. It’s been one of the constants in my life, Footscray Cricket Club, since I was 16, it holds a special place in my life.”
Russ said even though he didn’t play for milestones, it was nice to reach the 300 game milestone and celebrate it with his family.
He sees the funny side of the match, going out for a golden duck as part of a hat-trick.
Russ said for him it was nice to go out on his terms.
He won the Ryder Medal for the competition’s best player in 2021-22 and followed up averaging 54.11 with the bat in his last season.
“It’s nice to know that I can still play at this level and I’m not limping out.
“I was able to help win important games with Footscay and help the young players develop. It was nice to finish off and still perform.”
While his premier cricket days are over, Russ didn’t rule out the possibility of playing local cricket.
“We’ll see.”
