To quote Boys 2 Men – “we’ve come to the end of the road”. The dream of back to back Premiership’s for C Grade is over, being beaten by a very good Yarram side, who will really challenge Ex Students CC in next week’s C Grade Grand Final.

The lads bowled first at the quaint Tarraville Oval, dripping with history and memorabilia of Imps Coach Leigh Farley, who judging by the memorabilia displayed on the wall, terrorised Alberton League attacks in the early 90’s. The common consensus was that the wicket of league leading run scorer Josh Dunkley might hold the key to the match, and in terms of stopping Josh, the Imps lads did a far better job than the Brisbane Lions midfield did the night before, with Luke getting him out early for one.

Yarram then progressed to 1/34, before quick wickets to Ray and Johnny Downs, saw them reduced to 3/38. The lads continued their tight bowling, and at the half way mark of the innings, Yarram were 4/65, and it looked like we would be able to contain them to a very gettable total. While we had success in getting Josh Dunkley out, we weren’t so lucky getting his father Andrew out, and he was the only batsmen all day to continually find the boundary, and his 55 not out got Yarram to 164 off their 40 overs. Johnny, Luke, Ray and Eggy all took a wicket each.

164 doesn’t sound like a huge total in C Grade terms, but there’s probably not a batsmen on earth that could cover drive a boundary along the ground at Tarraville, and the 164 total was equivalent to around 230-250 at Jack Maskrey.

We started off the run chase in style, with Gus smashing the first ball he faced for six, but apart from that it was tough going facing the Yarram openers, with Ray and Gus both gone with only 21 on the board. From there, we just couldn’t form a big partnership, with plenty of blokes getting a start, but not going on with it. Jenno looked dangerous making 22, Trent batted really well for 15, Johnny with a typically aggressive 14. We were dismissed for 99, 66 short of victory.

Disappointing result, but the C Graders should be proud of their efforts over the last two seasons, with today’s loss only their fifth loss over the last two seasons combined. Credit should go to Mick McNulty as Captain, who has done a great job.

Although we are finished with the playing side of things, there are still a couple of big social events coming up in the next few weeks.

Devils Draw – originally due to be held tomorrow, it was thought that we would reschedule this to next Sunday, given the weather forecast, and there was a chance the C Graders may have had to play tomorrow, if washed out today. The Devils Draw will now be held at the Clubrooms next Sunday. There are still a limited amount of tickets available. Comment below, or contact Scott Aitken, if you are after a ticket.

Lastly, we have our Senior Presentation Night, to be held at the Traralgon RSL on Saturday the 26th of March. I don’t believe there is a TDCA Presentation Night this season, so we will devote 45 minutes on the night to hear Eggy’s TDCA League Aggregate Award speech.

Once the season ends, there is little time for reflection before planning for next season, which is already occuring. We’ve lost a lot of depth in the last 12-24 months, and recruiting will be crucial this off season, so this will obviously be a high priority in the coming months.

Thanks to all the playing group, Committee Members and volunteers who have devoted their time and efforts to the Club this season. Looking forward to a big 2022/23 season.