TUG OF WAR IN GCA CRICKET QUARRELL
South Barwon batsman’s bid to move to Grovedale sparks row
SOUTH Barwon and Grovedale are locked in a tug of war for the services of star batsman Anthony Quarrell.
Quarrell has declared his intent to join the premier — his junior club — but the Swans have dug their heels in, declaring the talented righthander is a required player.
“They’re pretty unhappy with me,” he said.
“They’ve basically said they’re not going to clear me, so it might be a bit tricky.”
South Barwon captain Brad Hauenstein said yesterday the club refused to grant Quarrell’s wish under league rules.
“He maybe be seeking a clearance but we still want him at South Barwon,” Hauenstein said.
“There’s a rule that clubs have got to protect themselves from recruiting players and having them walk out, and that is they must play 20 GCA games before we have to honour his request.
“We don’t want to get into fight, Quazzer’s a good kid, but he needs to understand how things work at clubs.
“At least have the courtesy to ring me. I don’t get worked up but I just get frustrated when you hear he’s organised meetings with other clubs.
“When you look after someone, you just think you deserve a little bit better.
“We said to him all along that we wouldn’t want to play that (20-game hold) card on anyone, but it’s in our hands if we want to use it. We want him playing at South Barwon.”
Having made 387 runs after crossing from Division 2 club Newcomb & District, Quarrell is hellbent on returning to Grovedale.
While the Tigers will welcome him, Quarrell has a fight on his hands to get there.
“Why would any club want to get rid of a really good player and a good kid?” Hauenstein said. “It’s dumb. “It’s really difficult to recruit in the GCA as it is. We got him in last year, looked after him and we want a little more back than just one season.”
Hauenstein said the club would be reluctant to force him out of the game for 12 months, but stated it was a possibility.
“That’s the last thing we would ever want, but I can tell you right now which way we will go if it does get to that,” he said.
Quarrell revealed close friend and Tiger veteran Clinton Ford played a bit part in his decision to make a move.
“Grovey is a really good club, and being my junior club I’ve got a lot of friends there that I miss being around, so I want to go back,” he said.
“I think I should’ve gone to Grovedale last season instead of South Barwon. I don’t have anything against South Barwon, it’s a great club, but I feel like I’d rather be back home.”