Panthers aim to settle score
BELL Post Hill captain Matt Sampson-Barnes says he will put it on his side to “right that wrong” of the Round 11 loss to Torquay ahead of their semi-final showdown.
The Panthers saw off a 10-man Highton on Saturday, successfully defending 222 as the Heat fell 30 runs short without ill captain Jacob Smith.
But Sampson-Barnes is already looking ahead to this weekend’s battle against the Tigers, going in confident with the minor premiership under their belts.
“We’ve had a shocking few seasons, we’ve been getting outplayed by better opposition, so it’s nice to have a season where we’ve been successful and a chance to win a flag,” he said. “After we played Torquay in the first round, I said to the boys, ‘We’ll be seeing these guys at the end of the year’. They’ve got a good team and some good cricketers.
“When we played them the other week they turned it up a notch. I’m looking forward to it.”
As for the final home-and-away season match, Highton got off to a rollicking start thanks to Ben Dodds (27) and Luke Buckland (18), but the latter’s run out triggered a collapse of 3-6 that last year’s grand finalists could never recover from.
Heat coach Brad Scown hit his highest score of the year making 61, but it was in vain as another disciplined bowling effort from the Panthers, led by Luke Zanchetta’s 4-40, sealed the victory.
“The conditions were what you don’t want when you bowl — it was hot, fast outfield and the wicket was good, so I was thinking they’d take it right to the end and they did that. I wasn’t surprised that they put up a fight,” Sampson-Barnes said.
“They’ve got some very good cricketers and they probably haven’t performed how they would’ve liked this year.”
Casting ahead to the semi-final, Sampson-Barnes said the 95-run loss to Torquay in Round 11 sticks in the memory even more so than the Round 1 clash where they bowled the Tigers out for just 68.
“I’m going to put a bit more on us to right that wrong and come out and play well,” he said.
“If Torquay come out firing we have to be better than them. It was more our execution that affected the result. I’m confident — not arrogantly confident — but we’re in a position where we’re here for a reason and I’ll back my boys in.”