Tara Murray
Spotswood is hoping it will again be in the mix for the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association south-west.
Having made back-to-back grand finals, the Woodsmen have been one of the stronger teams in the competition.
On the back of a good pre-season, Woodsmen playing coach Dan Schuppan said they were hoping to be back there again.
“We had a really strong pre-season,” he said. “We think we would like to think we will be able to be up there.
“We’re confident again that we’ll play finals again and that is what you play cricket for.”
The Woodsmen will play the south teams this season, including Caulfield and Oakleigh which have been strong for a number of years.
Schuppan said they would get a clear indication of how much they’ve improved in their time in the competition.
“Our first year we played the south sides,” he said. “We just missed out on finals that year, we’ll see how far we have progressed since then.
“Hopefully we can play finals.”
The Woodsmen have kept a stable group of players together again.
Import Harry Lumsden is the big out, with Jackson Wadden returns after a season off and Patrick McArdle joins the club from Altona North.
Schuppan said they were thrilled to have Wadden back in the side.
“We don’t have a lot of turnover and we were able to strengthen our list,” he said.
“Jackson had a year out of the game and lots of club’s were after him. We want to come back and enjoy the game.
“It’s one of those things it’s a good environment and he chose us. It’s somewhere he feels comfortable and it’s a two way street.
“He’s matured a bit and it’s a win-win.”
Schuppan said McArdle offers depth to the squad. He comes after spending a number of years at Altona North.
The Woodsmen are also hoping to see some of the younger players take that next step.
“Harvey Redpath in the practice match made 70 not out and won us the game,” Schuppan said.
“Darcy Lamont, Ansh Sharma got a taste of it last year. They are kids that we’ve been able to retain and they’re another year older.”
Schuppan said they felt that they had more depth across the board and they would continue to improve in all grades.
The Woodsmen were set to kick off their season on Saturday against Moorabbin but day one of the season was called off due to a lack of grounds being ready for action.
It will be a one-dayer starting next week.
In other matches, Yarraville will host Oakleigh Altona hosts Williamstown in a big local clash.
This season there will be a combination of one and two-day matches and a T20 match will be held the Saturday before the Christmas break starts.
