HUNTING LIONS
GREATER NORTHERN
Coach: Tim Coyle
Captain: Oliver Wood
Last season: 8th
Gains: Charlie Eastoe (ex Glenorchy) Dravid Rao (Dandenong CC) Evan Gulbis (Carlton CC) (*Evan will play with GNR until borders re-open and travel between Tasmania and Melbourne is unrestricted.)
Losses: Miles Barnard (Knee injury)
Coach’s comments: The squad remains similar to last season outside the addition of the above.
The loss of Barnard is a significant one but we are confident through recruitment and the natural development of our young players such as Anthes, Hayes, Simpson (currently inj) O’Mahony and Bennett our batting will standup. We are expecting to see more of Alastair Taylor this season which is a huge plus with the bat and behind the stumps.
The bowling group lead by Jono Chapman will be competitive and has a good mix of experience and youth. Our two young quicks in Ben Spinks and Dihan Cloete have impressed in the pre season. The spin department has been strengthened by the addition of Rao and we will look for the continued improvement of Will Bennett and Cooper Anthes. Ollie Wood (supported by Jono Chapman and Charlie Eastoe) will take on the captaincy role. Our focus is to continue to improve and develop the Raiders brand to become a force in the CTPL. We understand there will be ups and downs but our learnings from last season have given us an increased level of belief in what can achieved.
KINGBOROUGH
Coach: Richard Cowlard
Captain: Thomas Martyn
Last season: 9th
Gains: Nivethan Radhakrishnan (Sydney University), Anthony Adlam (Mosman)
Losses: Tom Bevan (Longley), Bryce Turnbull (Longley)
Coach’s comments: Players continue to demonstrate strong playing ability in the lead up to season launch. They are focusing on a positive mindset and physical fitness to strengthen personal playing capabilities. Due to their unorthodox approach, the coaching staff are excited to see what the new recruits bring to the club and how they will influence our playing list. The Knights goal this season is to improve our overall performance at a first-grade level while leveraging our strong player connections to influence all grades.
LINDISFARNE
Coach: Matthew Wilkie
Captain: Charlie Wakim
Last season: 4th
Gains: Nil
Losses: Declan Waddington (Moving Interstate), Ryan Neal (Moving Interstate)
Coach’s comments: This season will test our depth again with the likelihood of not having our Tigers players
very often. However, this presents an exciting opportunity for some very talented young players coming through that have been working very hard in the pre-season.
NEW TOWN
Coach: Peter Di Venuto
Captain: Mitchell Owen
Last season: 7th
Gains: David Burk (returning) Anthony Mosca (Sydney) Ben Manenti (Sydney) Harry Manenti (Sydney) Jack Di Venuto (University) Jack Montgomery (Moree)
Losses: Thomas Gravina (injured) Tafara Mupariwa (Zimbabwe)
Coach’s comments: Finishing last season with four wins from the final seven games was a just reward for the efforts the playing group have put in to improve their games over the past two years. For our club this has been a natural build, however adding some experienced cricketers and quality youth has undoubtedly seen a strengthening of our playing list. Off field we have also added two fantastic coaches to support our playing group in Nigel Horsley and Brad Loveluck. This provides us with four Level 3 High Performance coaches within our cricket coaching structure and I can’t wait to see the accelerated development of our players across the club and the results they’ll produce.
NORTH HOBART
Coach: Alex Pyecroft
Captain: Tom Rogers
Last season: Two Day and One Day runners up, T20 premiers
Gains: Yousaf Iqbal (Melbourne Uni)
Losses: Patrick Page Jnr (SA), Sam Lewis-Johnson (St Aidans), Isaac Manson
Coach’s comments: After making all three finals last year in 1st Grade, we are going to push to do this again with the hope of coming away with more silverware. While disappointing to lose a few players, Yousaf Iqbal is a great addition and we are looking forward to how he can have some impact for us. There’s also a big focus on overall club success for us this year so we are really looking for our second grade, third grade and U17s players to be pushing for selection.
STH HOBART-SANDY BAY
Coach: Harry Nichols
Captain: Harry Nichols
Last season: 6th
Gains: Eamonn Vines (Victoria & Geelong CC), Umair Butt (Glenorchy), Cameron Valente (South Australia & Adelaide CC)
Losses: Nil
Coach’s Comments: Our Squad depth across all three senior grades has never been so strong. We have added some pure quality at the top. At a first grade level we have retained Alex Doolan post professional retirement and Ben Dunk will play more regularly than he has in previous years. The sharks have the two best young local spinners in the comp in Tom Willoughby and Caedence Kuepper, who are both set for breakout years. Second grade Sharks become the hunted as they enter this year trying to repeat premiership glory, whilst the third grade side look to take their runner up one better. We wouldn’t be as well placed as a club if not for our three supreme leaders; Sean Willis (first grade), Perry Mannering (second Grade) and Wills Thompson (third grade). With that we as a club set our benchmark at winning the club championship. If we win that, our sides will be in finals and we give ourselves every chance of picking up silverware in March.
UNIVERSITY
Coach: Damien Wright
Captain: Jake Doran (One-Day), James Faulkner (Two-Day)
Last season: Runner up T20, Premiers One Day and Two Day competitions.
Gains: Bradley Hope (ClaremontNedlands, WA) Param UPPAL (Fairfireld-Liverpool, NSW)
Losses: Jack DiVenuto (New Town), Sam Leon (Clarence)
Coach’s comments (From assistant coach James Craig): University Cricket Club has had a solid planned pre-season with a focus built around the strength and fitness of the entire group. We are looking to improve on the success of season 2020-21 with the significant inclusions of Hope and Uppal rounding out a strong and talented line-up of home grown players.