Ripe for the picking after fruitful start to season
son’s first XI grand final defeat to Carlton.
“It’s a great start to the year for him,” Ludeman. “I was pretty happy to see that scorecard. It’s good for him to get Geelong first XI v Camberwell away like that. Shield cricket is just around the corner and hopefully he’s put his name up in lights.
“You only have to look at his Premier form in recent times and his big hundred in the final … he’s constantly knocking down the door and it’s about scoring as much as he can at Premier level.
“If he makes some big runs there, it’s got to help. It would’ve been nice for him to get three figures, but a score is better than nothing.”
Vines, opening the batting in the second XI, made 84 from 243 balls in the first innings as Victoria went on to record a crushing 371-run win over Queensland.
The Cats skipper will now look to pile up the runs in tomorrow’s season-opener against Camberwell at Kardinia Park in the hope of earning a spot in the Victorian side for Round 1 of the Shield season against South Australia on October 10.
Geelong made two changes to the side that went down to Evan Gulbis-led Blues, recalling all-rounder Andrew Vine and leg-spinner Joel Blain in place of star Brenton McDonald (retired) and Jake Reed (Footscray).
“If you look back to our Round 1 side last year when we were playing white-ball (cricket), it’s not too dissimilar,” Ludeman said.
“Brenton McDonald didn’t play early on in the season anyway, so the only difference is Reedy. Vine played last year when McDonald was out and our batting line-up pretty much stays the same.
“We’ve got a good mix. Batting has been our strength for the last five or six seasons, and with the youth we’ve got across the club, I think that holds us in good stead when you consider the wise heads we’ve got.
“I’ll back the boys in to get the job done.”