And if you had of told Mooroopna’s Luke Zanchetta that his side would sit fourth after seven rounds he would have gladly taken it.
“To be 4-1 at the Christmas break, especially with the opposition that we have faced, I am very happy. It’s really pleasing,” Zanchetta said.
The playing coach was on song in the encounter at the Numurkah Showgrounds and walked away with a superb 5-31 haul.
Under overcast conditions, the opening quick starred early and dismissed the Blues’ opening pair of batters before the score reached 20.
Numurkah reached 65 for no more loss of wickets but a brilliant piece of work behind the stumps from Brady Mulcahy helped dismiss Bailey Smith.
The hosts’ Michael Eckard flew the flag and led the way with 37 runs.
Zanchetta returned towards the end of the innings and ripped through the tail-end.
With help from Simon D’Elia (2-11), Jake Wright (2-32) and Jack Gaskill (1-35), Mooroopna restricted the Blues to 136.
Numurkah’s final six wickets fell for 28 runs.
The Cats’ coach applauded his bowling line-up for the way they performed in the win.
“It’s always nice to grab a few but it’s hard to get luck without the bowler at the other end bowling strongly, which is what has been the case this year,” Zanchetta said.
“Will (Dundon) has been able to do that which makes it easier for me.
“I feel a little bit for my opening partner, he has bowled superbly without any reward.
“The pleasing aspect for me was the fact after we got a little bit loose we were able to pull them back.
“Jake, Simon and Jack were all enormous and they did a huge job in those middle overs.”
Mooroopna was able to make light work of the run-chase, with Ethan Anderson unbeaten on 45 when the winning runs were hit in the 38th over.
Opener Corey Windridge provided support with 26 runs, while first-drop Jac Smith-Williams chimed in with 24.
“Ethan did an amazing job; it was a real mature innings and we felt very confident when he was at the crease,” Zanchetta said.
“Corey got us off to a strong start and he laid down the platform for our innings. It’s good to see guys finding runs.”
THE GAME
Numurkah 136 (Michael Eckard 37, Jahlan Lau 21, Luke Zanchetta 5-31, Simon D’Elia 2-11, Jake Wright 2-32) lt Mooroopna 4-137 (Ethan Anderson 45 not out, Corey Windridge 26, Jac Smith-Williams 24, Aaron Harding 1-9)
STAR PLAYER
Luke Zanchetta (Mooroopna): The playing coach capped off a brilliant start to his Haisman Shield campaign with a classy five-wicket haul. Two early important wickets were followed by his work late in the innings to clean up Numurkah’s tail. The gun talent now has 17 wickets to his name from five matches.
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