By Trevor Jackson
THE importance of Penola’s Hoggies Wines Barber Shield grand final victory at Frew Park on the weekend was certainly not lost on victorious captain Mark Smith.
The side has become one of the benchmarks of the competition in recent years but its clash against East Gambier in the 2021-22 grand final was almost a must-win scenario.
After a strong season, had Penola lost the big game, it would have been a disappointing situation, as Smith himself noted.
“It was a pretty important win for us,” he said.
“Four out of five years we have been here and I felt like if we were ever going to win one it was this year.
“But cricket is a funny game, there is always a winner and a loser and if we lost, it was probably a fail for us as a group.”
Far from lose, the Eagles were emphatic victors, with the result set up on the back of a classy century opening stand from Jack Mullan and Lewis March.
The two-day contest could not have started better for Penola, with the expected pressure of a title decider building as the contest progressed.
“That opening partnership was clearly a match-winning partnership for us,” Smith said.
“Credit to Mully and Lewy.
“Any game you get a 100 opening partnership is good but to be fair we probably didn’t capitalise on that.
“We probably left a few runs out there but that is finals cricket, the pressure and the mental game.”
While the run chase for East did not start as well, sitting at 5/42 before reality kicked in, from there it appeared the Bulldogs had settled into their work.
Unfortunately the top order was gone, including the dangerous Dion Stratford.
However, Emerson Marks and Alex Hentschke looked set at the crease and the pressure continued to build.
With capable scorers still to come, Penola needed a breakthrough and stuck to a simple plan to create that opportunity.
“They certainly didn’t want to give up, which is credit to them,” Smith said.
“They had plenty of depth and we never felt like we were definitely going to win.
“They had some key batters and we were able to get them out cheaply which was good.
“Then there were some spells there where we just bowled maidens and maidens and tightened them up, to build pressure so they would play a false shot.
“It was a really gruelling game and I think there are a lot of mentally and physically tired blokes from both teams.”
Lachlan Jones was instrumental in bowling the Bulldogs out cheap, with five wickets – four of those the top order batsmen.
After his 20 runs with the bat he was deservedly award player of the match.
Smith said it was certainly the right choice on the day.
“Lachy is a very good competitor,” he said.
“I love having him in my team.
“He used to bat down the order but has proven himself as a top-order batsman as well.
“He was able to come in and make that important 20 for us.
“He is really fit and can bowl all day if he wants – I bowl him a few overs and take him off and he is not real happy.
“But I thought (Sunday) he was in the rhythm, there weren’t many runs getting scored, he was taking wickets, so you might as well leave him on.
“He was able to come on later and get the last wicket which was real fitting I thought.”
In what has panned out as a tough season for every team in the competition, with the Covid-19 virus affecting many players, Penola certainly stood tall.
Smith said the team looked to struggle for available players prior to Christmas, there were hit by Covid and again had to dig deep.
However, he said the side was strong when it mattered most, which played out on grand final weekend.
“I knew if we could get the top 12 or 13 players available it was a pretty special group,” he said.
“To have the likes of Tom Clayfield missing out as our 12th man shows the quality of the players in the team.
“And to have George Kidman batting at eight, there is no excuse not to make 200 every time we bat.
“It was a really pleasing result.”
After a hot weekend of cricket, with a premiership flag in their possession, Smith said it was certainly time to celebrate.
“I reckon we will consume a couple of beers over the next couple of days,” he said.
“You never know what is around the corner in life, so we will enjoy it while we can.”
