RSL CRICKET CLUB – 2024-25 SEASON PREVIEW
SHDCA FAST FACTS
PRESIDENT – Patrick Caldwell
A-GRADE CAPTAIN – Oscar Hier
LAST A-GRADE PREMIERSHIP – 2017-18
2023-24
FINISH – Sixth
LEADING RUN SCORER – Ryan Hinton – 526 runs @ 52.60
LEADING WICKET TAKER – Oscar Hier – 33 wickets @ 15.64
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WORDS FROM THE CAPTAIN
OSCAR HIER
“Every team wants to try to win the premiership, but being semi-realistic, we just want to make the jump back into the finals. Hopefully we’re competitive enough to do that while at the same time blooding some kids.”
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PLAYER TO WATCH
Ryan Hinton – Having been one of the SHDCA’s leading batsmen for more than a decade, RSL will once again require Hinton to have a big season with the bat for them to climb back up the ladder. Scored 526 runs at an average of 52.6 in 2023-24, including two unbeaten centuries and two half-centuries.
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IN’S – None
OUT’S – Kynan Laursen (Barham-Koondrook), Ben Hallam
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AFTER missing finals the past three seasons, RSL will be hoping a change of leadership brings about a change of fortunes when the 2024-25 SHDCA gets underway in a fortnight’s time.
Having last played finals in 2020-21, when they finished on top of the ladder but were beaten in the semi-finals, the Blues have since struggled to return to their best, with inconsistent form and an ageing list impacting their past few campaigns.
Oscar Hier will take over the reins from Ben Hallam this season, with the first-year captain hoping his team can take the next step under his leadership.
“It’s an exciting new challenge for me, I’ve captained a couple of games here and there in the past but I’ve never been given the captaincy for a full season,” Hier told The Guardian this week.
“I’m excited for the challenge, our pre-season’s been good, we’ve had good numbers so far and all the boys are ready to get into the season.”
Bridging the gap between his team’s best and worst cricket will be the first challenge for Hier, with RSL having started last season with eight wins and four losses, before a form slump post-Christmas saw the Blues lose their first five games after the break and fall from finals calculations.
It’s that slump in form that will motivate RSL this season, according to Hier, who is confident the Blues best cricket is more than good enough to match it with the best teams in the SHDCA.
“We only lost a couple of games to a couple of good sides before the Christmas break last year, but then our form dropped when we had blokes in and out of the side and in the end I think that cost us (last year),” Hier said.
“I think it’s really motivating for us when we look at the past two years, where we’ve only really played half a season of good cricket each year.
“We know that if we can put a full season together, then we can be competitive and have a good push towards finals.
“In saying that, our fielding needs to go up a level in my opinion, we gave teams too many opportunities last year and that’s something we’ll be looking to improve.
“Even scoring an extra 30 or 40 runs with the bat will help too. If you look at those games after Christmas, we weren’t far away and if we just had those extra runs, we probably would have won a couple of those and played finals.
“Even if we improve in the field and save an extra 20 runs there, that could be the difference for us.”
Having taken 33 wickets with his dangerous leg spin, Hier will be the key with the ball for the Blues, along with veterans Brenton Caldwell (21 wickets @ 14.05 last season) and Pat Caldwell (17 wickets @ 16.12).
RSL will also be hoping for continued improvement from opening bowler Lleyton Purcell (22 wickets @ 21.0), who finished last season with a six-wicket haul in their final game against Ultima-TUF.
But it’s with the bat where the Blues big strength will likely lie, despite the loss of top order batsmen Hallam and Kynan Laursen.
Veterans Ryan Hinton, Stuart Patterson, Paul Munro and Brenton Caldwell will again be the mainstays of the Blues line-up, along with youngster Jett Hinton, who is expected to get further opportunities in the middle order.
“We have plenty of numbers with the younger age groups in the club, but we’re perhaps a little bit thin when it comes to the older kids, with the exception of the two Hinton boys,” Hier said.
“Mitch and Jett (Hinton) are coming through the ranks and will both play a fair bit of A grade cricket.
“Jett showed a bit with the bat in a few games last year, especially late in the season and showed that he matured a bit and I think Mitch will feature a bit this year with the ball.
“He’s (Mitch) had a bit of a growth spurt and is bowling pretty quick in the nets.
“‘Ryno’ (Ryan Hinton) will still be the key for us with the bat, he’s scored four centuries over the past two seasons and he just churns out runs year after year.
“A big factor in us playing finals will be him having another successful season and scoring bulk runs.”
