Season Wrap: Division One

Waverley Wildcats 2006/07 Division One Champions

How did the division one teams fare this season? Who's the toughest pitcher in the league? BV takes you inside the minds of the coaches with its season review.

Prior to the start of the season BV previewed the teams in division one and made some pretty bold predictions about who would finish where (click here for story).

Seven months and twenty-seven games later, we learned that we weren't far from the mark. 

The Waverley Wildcats (1st place finish – Premiership) Record:  22-5  (Predicted 3rd)
Coaches:  Dave White & Scott Dawes Top Bat:  Andrew Russell Ace:  Ryan Fisher              

Prior to the Wildcats grand final clash with Essendon, co-coach Dave White said, “last year we expected to win, this year we want to win and that’s the difference.”  While the clubs confidence and belief in their own ability hadn’t changed, the club was clearly hungrier than the year before when they were surprised by Josh Spence and the Geelong Giants.

A number of coaches prior to the start of the season, including Waverley co-coach Dave White, expressed  concern that the departures of Adam Bonadido, Simon Beresford, Evan Phillips, Hayden Dingle and Greg Johnston would hurt the Wildcats chances of contending for a Premiership.  As has traditionally been the case in the club's history however, if the head gets cut of the snake, the snake grows three younger heads.  Enter Ryan Fisher and Tom Rynberk and a full season from Aussie hurler Donavan Hendricks.

“I can’t pick our best pitcher this year, which is a good thing.  Fisher was the best in the playoffs.  We expected nothing out of Rynberk and we got a lot.  He pitched less than 10 innings in the two’s last year.  Hendricks came in this year and has been great. So tough call.” White said.

Toss in a triple crown candidate (Andrew Russell), the improved plate performance of catcher Grant Karlsen and the emergence of Ian Geduld, Adam Kim and James Beresford and you don’t just have a competitive ball-club, you have a dominant one.

When it comes down to it though, most coaches agreed that defence was the key for Waverley with Anthony Reinke and Daniel Reeman at the corners and the state’s best double play combination, Beresford and Glen Mascoll up the middle.

“Every time you needed a one out hit a ball would shoot up the middle and those two (Mascol and Beresford) would turn a double play.  The range those two possess is scary.”  One coach said.

Essendon – (2nd place finish – runner up GF) Record: 19-8 (Predicted 4th)
Coach:  Russell Spear    Top Bat:  Tim Sullivan   Ace:  Casey Jones

Ross Hipke

As one former coach put it prior to the season, “Essendon always seem to have the cattle but can’t seem to make the finals.”  Well this year the bombers overcame injury and adversity to dominate the league with what is possibly the state’s nastiest pitching staff. 

“You play most clubs and you hope you don’t get there number one guy and if you do, you wait for the relievers to come in.  With Essendon, there are three guys there in Casey Jones, Ross Hipke and Russell Spear that you flat out just don’t want to face.”  One division one coach said.

Led by Tim Sullivan and Tristan Mcdonald, the bomber offense received welcome support from Adrian Kelly, Scott McIntyre and coach Russell Spear.  The improvement of  McIntyre in particular was a bonus for spear who had to deal with the loss of Brett Tamburrino (shoulder injury) at midseason.

"He (McIntyre) was a big improver for us.  He worked really hard and reaped the rewards." Spear said.

While the disappointment of losing the grand final undoubtedly still lingers for the Bombers, Spear’s crew were this year finally able to shed the tag of the league’s “loveable losers”.  Preseason has reportedly already started for the Bombers and with the expected returns of Tamburrino, Hayden Chinn and possibly Shane Lindsay next season, Essendon could be here to stay.

Blackburn Orioles – (3rd Place Finish) Record 19-8 (Predicted 2nd)
Coach: Lee Hogan   Top Bat:  David Tierney  Ace: Cam  Hardy

Ryan Booth

With the pickups of pitcher Cam Hardy(Malvern), centrefielder Ryan Booth(Malvern) and slugger Hayden Dingle(Waverley), many picked Blackburn as the dark-horse favourite for the premiership prior to the start of the season.  Injuries and inconsistency however plagued Lee Hogan’s Orioles squad throughout the season, or as one coach put it:

“On their day they were the best team in the league, without a doubt.  The problem is when it wasn’t their day they could look like the worst.”

With the acquisition of Hardy from Malvern, the Orioles were able to shore up one of their biggest weaknesses, namely innings pitched.  Hardy gave Hogan a horse he could start ever week, leaving himself to relieve and throw midweek games.

“Hardy was great for us this year.  He probably had one of his best years here.”  Hogan said.

Dingle on the other-handed provided some pop at first base and some useful innings on the mound with his bat joining David Tierney, Daniel Mack, Cam Hubbard and Derek Shumpert in the team’s potent line-up.  Hogan also pointed to the improvement of infielder Cain Bumpstead as a key factor in his team’s success, with the state under 23’s player essentially playing his way from the seconds into the teams starting line-up by the end of the season.

“He worked hard and really earned his spot this year.” Hogan said.

Looking to next season, the rumour is that Hogan will lose some of his veterans including Aces outfielder Derek Shumpert who has reportedly retired.  Knowing Blackburn however, talented ready made division one players will emerge from the clubs seconds and juniors.

The Geelong Giants – (4th place finish) Record: 16-11 (Predicted 1st)
Coach:  Nathan Holmes   Top Bat: Kirt Zimniewitcz   Ace:  Chris Humphrey

2005/2006 Premiers Geelong

The Giants also enjoyed productive seasons from innings eater Chris Humphrey and stalwart Cameron Forbes. 

“He (Humphrey) picked up the bulk of the innings and did an outstanding job in his first full season in division one.” Holmes said.

Offensively however, the Giants were not able to replicate 2005/2006’s consistency as they struggled to score only 125 runs, good enough only for sixth best in the league.  While the club enjoyed a productive season from start American import Kirt Zimniewitcz and newly signed centerfielder turned pitcher Elliot Biddle, the absence of leadoff man Stuart Forbes for the majority of the season clearly hurt the Giants.

“We achieved one of our goals which is to get all four teams in the final.  We probably didn’t get as far as we wanted once we made the finals.  We probably didn’t work as hard as last year as a group and lacked some of the experience we had the year before.”  Coach Nathan Holmes said.

Holmes conceded that his club needs to work harder in order to be in premiership contention next season as he does not believe the club’s success will come down to any problems with depth.

“We have a very strong ball-club right now.  We just need to work harder and work better.  We spent a lot of time at the field this year but didn’t maximise our time.” He said.

Malvern – (5th place finish) Record:  13-13-1 (Predicted 7th)
Coach: Darryl Dicker Top Bat: Brad Whitford Aces: Ross Mclean/Stuart Willemson

Ross Mclean

The saying “fortune favours the brave” clearly didn’t apply to Malvern this year as the 2005 champions slumped to a .500 record and a disappointing fifth place finish.

Melbourne – Brett Caulfield (6th Place Finish) Record: 11-15-1 (Predicted 9th)
Coach:  Brett Caulfield  Top Bat:  Michael Dunn  Ace: Daryn Cassidy

After a number of years up the top, Melbourne were clearly affected by the loss of former ABL star Ben Smith who departed for division three club Ormond-Glenhuntly in the off-season.  In Smith the club not only lost a key offensive contributor, they also lost one of their top pitchers. Melbourne’s fortunes this past season rested largely on the right shoulder of Ace Daryn Cassidy, who has been amongst the league leaders in innings, wins, strikeouts and earned run average for the past several season.  Unfortunately for the Demons, when Cassidy suffered arm problems at crucial points during the year, Melbourne suffered in the loss column.

There were several bright spots for the Melbourne this year, aside from the fact that the club was able to avoid relegation with eleven wins, that being the team’s youth. Rhett and Jordan Mitchell-Hill look the goods for the team offensively, while 17-year old Andy Mann enjoyed several stellar games for Melbourne on the mound.  The Demons desperately need their youth to step up and support veterans Michael Dunn and Stuart Cox in the line-up if they are to contend for a finals place.

With long-time coach Brett Caulfield stepping down at the end of the season, the club recently appointed former Waverley pitching coach Andrew Fennell as the new coach to help take the club back to the top of division one.

Sunshine Eagles (7th Place Finish) Record: 11-16 (Predicted 5th)
Coach:  Matthew Kent Top Bat: Matthew Kent   Ace: Greg Wiltshire

Greg Wiltshire

Considering Sunshine arguably has the best pitcher in the competition in Victorian Ace Greg Wiltshire and the league’s best hitter in helms award winner Matthew Kent, a sixth place finish was disappointing, especially after the club picked up former Rockies farmhand Lindsay Webb early in the season.

With a strong defense built around a core of young infielders, the Eagles struggled offensively all year scoring the third fewest runs in the league (100 runs).  The absence of key off-season pickup Peter Stokes was also a major loss and his return next year could potentially pair him with Kent to make one of the better 3-4 combinations in the league.

"If they get Stokesy back that lineup is going to have a lot more pop."  Once coach said.

Newport – (8th Place Finish) Record: 10-16-1 (Predicted 7th)
Coach: Marc McKenner    Top bat:  David Land:   Ace: Chris Bramwell

Chris Bramwell with Marc McKenner and Steve Walker

It was a tale of two seasons for the Newport Rams, a horrendous first half followed by a stellar second half where the team picked up an amazing eight wins.

First-year coach Marc McKenner took some time to settle in at the Rams but learned very quickly that knowing when to use super-sub Chris Bramwell was the key to success.  Bramwell, the co-ERA title winner from the 2005/2006 season, was not only the team’s best pitcher, he was also their top catcher and ranked amongst their best infielders.  Supported by Twins farmhand Matthew Lawman and up-and-comers Scott Malthouse and Cable Savage, McKenner was able to find a mix that shocked the competition in the second half. 

One area McKenner and his young squad will need to address before next year is run production, with the club finishing under one-hundred runs scored for the season.  Ask any coach in division one however and they’ll tell you that the Rams are definitely a side to watch out for next year.

“There infield defense is actually really good.  With Bramwell on the mound getting groundballs, they are a tough team to play, especially at home.”  One coach said.

Bonbeach Blue Jays – (9th Place Finish) Record: 9-17-1 (Predicted 8th)
Coach: Craig Kernick   Top Bat:  Simon Myles    Ace:  Brendan Wilson

Ben Donald

Picked by many coaches as a potential surprise packet, the Blue Jays lived up to expectations in the first half.  So when the club crashed out of the playoff hunt and into relegation in the second half of the season, a number of division one coaches were shocked.

“I thought they’d make the finals.  They have good hitting and strong pitching.  I couldn’t believe it.”  One coach said.

Certainly on paper, the club looked the goods.  With hurlers Brendan Wilson, Ben Donald, Mat Prior and Ricky Howell and an offense that included Scott Wearne, Rikki Johnston and Simon Myles and scored the fourth most runs in the league at 147, statistically speaking the club proved itself to be a division one calibre club.

As it is with baseball however, statistics do not always reflect performance and defence and walks tended to cost the Jays.  Despite another year in division two to mull it over, it’s not all bad news for the Jays, who proved to the league they are a division one team.

“To be successful next year we need to pull together as a united club and all work together to get back to our right place in first division.” Coach Craig Kernick said.

Sandringham – (10th Place Finish) Record: 3-24 (Predicted 10th)
Coach:  James Sanders Top Bat: Brendan Horne Ace: James Sanders

James Sanders

With a 3-24 record, only 75 runs for and with 257 runs against, it wasn’t a good season for the once dominant Sandringham Royals.  Where did it go wrong?  Depth seemed to be the main issue for the Royals who were competitive when they had their best nine on the park.  Unfortunately they rarely had their best nine on the park.

A stellar shutout by Coach James Sanders against Waverley at midseason and the emergence of third-sacker Brendan Horne as a legitimate division one hitter were two bright-spots for Sandringham.  The improvement of right-hander Matthew Blackmore and his consequent success with the Victorian Aces in Perth was also a highlight for the Royals.

 “The big problem was that we lacked depth at important positions.  We also had a lot of players unavailable for long periods of time.  There was only a month or month and a half where we had everyone available and we were very competitive during that time.”  Assistant Coach Matt Dobra said.

“We need to get a lot of development into our younger players.  We have a good stock of young athletic guys who need more time to develop”

Other Bits and Pieces

Here’s what some of the coaches had to say about:

The toughest out in the league:

“Kirt Zimmniewitcz (Geelong).  Its hard enough spelling his name, try getting him out.  He’s probably one of the most underrated hitters in the league.”

“I’d say Nathan Holmes (Geelong).  He rarely strikes out and always gets it done with runners on.  He’s probably the most frustrating out for us.”

“Andrew Russell (Waverley) is the toughest out in the league.  You get him to 0-2 and he’s still a good hitter and a tough out, even against the best pitchers.”

“Yeah I’d say Russell.  Hitting around Hodges, Dawes, Karlsen and Beresford, you can’t pitch around him either.”

The toughest pitcher to face:

“Casey Jones (Essendon).  He knows how to pitch and has a 2-seamer that moves A-LOT.”

“If Dean Barker is throwing strikes he is absolutely un-hittable.  It’s Moylan like coming from side-on, the movement is scary.”

“Greg Wiltshire by a long long way.  He throws hard, he throws strikes and his secondary pitchers are sometimes better than his fastball.”

Funniest umpire:

“Steve Day.  Lovely guy, good umpire, he even has a joke for you sometimes.”

“Stuart Howe. Who is funnier than him….seriously?”