After strong post-Christmas form last season and a couple of new recruits, RSL could prove to be the surprise packet of the SHDCA in 2023-24.
The Blues started last season in horrendous fashion, walking away with nine losses and a tie from their first 10 games throughout the shorter formats, despite having one of the competition’s most talented top orders.
But while they may have started off slow, history tells us that RSL were a much better side than that, with the Blues rallying after Christmas and sneaking into the finals, only to be outplayed by a rampaging St.Mary’s-Tyntynder in the semi’s.
With Ben Hallam returning to lead RSL once again, the Blues appear well placed to not repeat the sins of the past when they take to the pitch for the first time tomorrow afternoon.
“We didn’t get off to the start that we wanted last year, we were still trying to iron out a few different things prior to Christmas which had an effect on our form,” Hallam said.
“But I think we showed the league that at our best we can be really damaging, it was just a few lapses early in the season that cost us games.
“Last year we started to shift our focus and blood a few kids and playing the T20 format first up probably didn’t suit us.
“A couple of those young boys got a bit of treatment early on and had their confidence dented a little bit, whereas the older guys know that’s just T20 cricket.
“I think that showed in most of our T20 games, but then in the longer format our guys got into a bit more of a rhythm.
Joining the club this season is promising young paceman Lleyton Purcell, who comes to the club having played showed plenty of promise with the ball at Werribee Centrals.
Purcell is expected to take the new ball alongside Cameron Cook, with the Brenton and Pat Caldwell likely to partner at first change, giving the Blues plenty of depth with the ball.
Also arriving at Gurnett Oval this season is Josh Ephraums, who despite playing in the lower grades at Irymple in previous seasons, will most likely feature in the shorter formats for the Blues, where he can use his aggressive batting to full affect.
2023-24 will also see the return of Ben Shepherd from Ultima-TUF, who has traded places with youngster Charlie Kingwill, who departed the Blues for the Roodogs.
While the addition of Purcell will give RSL a boost with the ball, it’s with the bat where they will be most dangerous, with league leading run scorer Ryan Hinton returning for another season.
While Hinton will undoubtedly hold the key to unlocking RSL’s finals hopes, no less important will be those around him, with Stuart Patterson, Paul Munro, Brenton Caldwell and Hallam himself all needing to step up in support.
“I think our strengths will lie with the bat, but that’s not to say we haven’t got some talented bowlers either,” Hallam said.
“We have an older list, but we saw what ‘Ryno’ (Hinton) is capable of last year, ‘Brenno’ (Brenton) Caldwell can change a game in 10 overs and ‘Patto’ (Patterson) had a down year last year, but he has the reputation to come out and go bang on his day.
“We have a few kids who are developing nicely too who I think will take their games to another level this season.
“Jett Hinton’s come along nicely in the pre-season and is hitting the ball really well, as is Kynan Laursen, so we’ll also have a good mix between youth and the older boys as well.”
RSL FAST FACTS
WORD FROM THE CAPTAIN
BEN HALLAM
“We’re wanting to improve on where we were last year, which in fairness is probably everyone’s goal. We just scraped into the finals 12 months ago, but this year we want to establish a spot in the top half of the ladder, and we believe we can.”
PLAYER TO WATCH
Ryan Hinton
Last year’s leading run scorer proved impossible to stop, especially after Christmas, when he amassed 322 runs from five innings, including consecutive centuries against Ultima-TUF and Nyah District. Is the most damaging batsman in the SHDCA at his best, and will he have a big say in RSL’s hopes of playing finals this season.
IN’S – Ben Shepherd (Ultima-TUF), Lleyton Purcell (Werribee), Josh Ephraums (Irymple)
OUT’S – Charlie Kingwill (Ultima-TUF)
