Tara Murray
It was a disappointing end to a season of so many positives for Melton in the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association east-west.
One of four teams fighting for the last finals spot, the Lions needed to beat Williamstown and hope results went their way on Saturday.
While results did go in their favour, the finals bound Seagulls were way too strong.
Williamstown made 8-197 from its 45 overs, with Brad Jones taking three wickets for Melton.
The Lions started poorly and never recovered, bowled out for just 98.
Alex Kerr top scored with 21.
Lions coach Mitch Stephens said the match was definitely not the way they would have liked to have finished the season.
“It was a bit of tough luck,” he said. “Our boys have been good all year, but it was a disappointing way to end it.
“We started well with the ball with [Brad] Jones, [Stephen] Wiig and [Josh] Luca, but then we sort of shot ourselves in the foot.
“We were 4-4 before we even got started.”
Stephens said the early order collapse again showed that they had to improve their one-day cricket.
He said they were able to play some good two-day cricket, but struggled at times in the shorter format.
“It’s one of our focus areas,” he said.
“Our red ball cricket is okay, while the white ball we still have to work on a few areas. We need to work on our field and we need to get a bit more depth.”
Despite the negative end to the season, the season as a whole has been a successful one. Their first XI side didn’t win a game last season, but this season they were pushing for finals.
Their third and fourth XIs finished on top of the ladder, while their under-18s made a grand final and their Victorian Turf Cricket Association Sunday side also made finals.
“From where the club has been it’s been a really positive season and we’ve still got a couple of teams in finals,” Stephens said.
“It was tough to finish like that, but you could see the disappointment on their faces, it shows how much it means to them.”
From a coaching perspective, Stephens said it had been challenging at times having been thrown into the role at the last minute.
He said one of the biggest positives this season was the leadership shown throughout the grades to help him and Joel Mitchener get the job done.
“Benny MacRae in the ones has been massive for us, in the lower grades through [Anthony] Butch Gale, Chris Hope, Matt Stead and John Jensen, has allowed myself and Joel to concentrate on our games as well.
“Now we’re in the reflection stage and there’s some really good ideas that I want to share with the group.
“All round it’s been a pretty successful year overall for the club.”
