Sport
Haisman Shield | Sizzling-hot Lakers keen to secure finals spot with win over Katandra
Nagambie comes into its round 14 Haisman Shield clash against Katandra on its home deck a well-oiled machine, with a win all it needs to secure a place in the finals series.
The Lakers have been the form team of the Cricket Shepparton competition since the Christmas break, reeling off pivotal wins against Northerners, Old Students, Mooroopna, Euroa and Numurkah to have them rise from 10th to fifth on the A-grade table.
With spearhead Nathan Fothergill in ripping form with the ball — taking nine wickets in the past two matches — and its batting line-up continuing to improve behind the likes of Luke Nolan, Jonathan Moore, and Tyrone Muir, Nagambie is firing on all cylinders as it prepares for a potential finals campaign.
Captain Mark Nolan said his team was beaming with confidence as it embarked on this do-or-die clash.
“We are feeling pretty good and very confident after stringing a couple of good games together and playing our best cricket since Christmas,” Nolan said.
“I just think we are all getting a bit better with the bat, before Christmas nobody was making runs and we had to rely on Luke (Nolan) to score for us every week, and now it is a mixture of a few, and everyone is hitting the ball the best I’ve seen them in the nets.
“It is a must-win game for us this week, we are looking at it as a if we win we are in, and if we lose there is a fair chance we might miss, so it is a final before the finals and we will have to be on our game.”
While the Lakers come into this clash in sizzling form, they will have to be wary of a dangerous Katandra side which will be eager to finish its season on a high.
Led by Lightfoot Medal contender Jedd Wright, Nolan said his team certainly wouldn’t be taking the Eagles lightly.
“They probably haven’t had the year they wanted, but they have arguably the best cricketer in the league in Jedd (Wright), he’s had a really good year and is one of those guys that can take the game away from you in about 10 overs,” he said.
“We will finish third or fourth if we win, but for us it is all about coming away with the points this week, we aren’t looking too much further ahead.”