Even with a rare Saturday off, Northern Suburbs captain Michael Wilson was always going to be more than an interested spectator in the final round of Maitland first grade cricket.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Wilson admits he fully expected top-two rival Raymond Terrace to find form and beat City United to claim the minor premiership.
By 5.30pm he couldn’t resist sending off texts to get the latest news from around the grounds and the news just kept on getting better.
Terrace’s poor run into the finals continued and City United had beaten them despite only posting 9/128 and a new-look Norths had claimed back-to-back premierships.
While not one to give away any advantage to rival teams, he no doubt was equally pleased that Norths had also dodged form side of the competition Thornton at the semi-final stage.
Not that last year’s grand final conquerors City United are an easy match-up come finals, but City and Terrace have hardly charged into the finals and Norths were beaten by a red-hot Thornton in round 11.
“We didn’t even play and we got the minor premiership, how good is that?” Wilson joked on Sunday.
“It was a fantastic day across the board by the look of things.
“If Raymond Terrace had won, we would have finished second and Kurri Weston would have made the finals.
“Thornton are flying and they have got a really happy side, well led by Jake Moore and with good experience throughout the side.
“They certainly gave us a good beating a couple of weeks ago and I think they’ll be a good match for Raymond Terrace in the semi-finals. In fact I’d be very surprised if they don’t win.
“We’re delighted to get the minor premiership that’s six of the past 10 that we’ve taken out. It’s a real testament to how we continue bring through juniors into our senior sides.
“The team that takes the pitch next week against City in the semi-final will have seven new faces from the one that played City in the grand final last year.
“To lose that many players and win the minor premiership and hopefully go on and challenge for the major just goes to show the ability we have across the club and the faith we have in our youngsters.”
The new faces include Luke Stewart, Cael Smith, Jordan Callinan and teenagers Callum Gabriel, Rex Greaves and Logan Smith.
Wilson is looking forward to a good final series after an incredibly tight season.
“We’ve lost four games this season and still won the minor premiership, that’s how well balanced the competition is,” he said.
Norths (first) play City (fourth) and Terrace (2nd) meet Thornton (third) in next weekend’s two-day semi-finals. The grand final is on the following weekend.
