POWERFUL DRAGONS PONDER PROMOTION AT OWN PACE
BELL Park captain-coach Mick Lymer is adamant his team can compete “with the big boys” but believes promotion to GCA1 is “unlikely”.
Awarded the GCA2 premiership following last week’s abandonment of the finals series, the Dragons are now firmly in the conversation to join GCA1 next season.
But with forecast changes to formats across the GCA, including a proposal to create a more balanced fixture in Division 1, Lymer cast doubt on his club’s ability to make the change as early as next season.
“There’s been a few things thrown around by the GCA where there is the potential for things to change in the lower grades, so there’s a lot of water to go under the bridge,” Lymer said.
“But if the format was to stay the way it is, as much as our first XI would thrive on it, it’s just not viable for our third and fourth XI.
“I’m open in saying we want to be up there playing the highest level possible, there is no doubt about it. But if it is not viable for our club, and if it’s going to destroy our lower grades, then we’ve got to think bigger picture and keep our club on the ground rather than worrying about the first XI.”
Claiming all three premierships on offer this season, the Dragons have announced themselves as a power club of the competition.
But it is the strength of the club’s lower grades that concerns Lymer and president Rodney Brown.
“There’s no doubt that our first XI, or even our turf squad which consists of 25 players, would thrive on playing Division 1 cricket and we’d love the challenge,” Lymer said.
“We’d love the chance to be able to go up and mix it with the big boys, but it just has to be something that works for the club.
“If it was just the first XI we wouldn’t bat an eyelid, we’d be there tomorrow.”
The jump to Division 1 has often proved challenging for clubs in recent years, with the likes of Bell Post Hill bounced back to Division 2 after one season. But Murgheboluc finished mid-table this season in a strong campaign after earning promotion from GCA2.
“We’d fare pretty well, to be honest, that’s without sounding too arrogant,” Lymer said.
“By no means would we go up there and take the competition by storm, but I think we’d be competitive and I think we would hold our own.
“On the back of bringing in (import) Dave Toft, who has been a fantastic addition, we’ve got depth in the likes of Shane Lymer and Steve Kelly, who are classy cricketers who have been around a long time.
“And we are still a young playing group. I see myself at 37 years of age as the veteran, but there’s not many of us above 30.
“We pride ourselves on our fielding and that’s where we win a lot of our games.
“So I think we’d be competitive.”