Sport
7 November, 2025
Bulls horns sharpened for visiting Laane
As the only unbeaten team left standing in MDCA’s A grade, Laanecoorie Dunolly will attempt to keep their perfect start rolling when they travel to Goldfields Recreation Reserve to face Beaufort.
Laane’s undefeated distinction was placed under immense pressure last weekend, with Maryborough and Colts Phelans asking some serious questions of the one-day title holders.
However, as the old saying goes, great teams find a way to win, and Laane’s plethora of impact players makes them such a great team.
Despite persistent breakthroughs from Maryborough, a gritty 50 from club stalwart Matt Smith clawed Laane to a reputable total of 139.
Laane’s talented bowling attack did the rest, with a three-wicket maiden from Will Chamings coupled with multiple wickets from Steven Dellavedova, Josh Fitzpatrick and Alex Cook getting Laane over the line by 19 runs.
After Saturday’s gripping encounter, Laane found itself in another nail-biter on Sunday away to Colts Phelans as they attempted to chase down 185.
While Laane’s established stars were able to get their team on the verge of victory, headlined by Nafis Shaikh’s 66, it was the burgeoning young trio of Chamings, Thang Nguyen and Lachie Condie who were the heroes, with Nguyen scoring the winning runs on the second last ball.
While not perfect, Beaufort’s double-header showcased a clear step in the right direction towards contending for finals.
In their first home game of the season, the Bulls were given a target of 130 by Carisbrook, who threatened to add valuable runs at the death before a four-wicket spree from Benjamin Grant dismantled the tail.
The trio of Kriss Ellis, Joshua Lofts and Lyle Aichroth put the Bulls ahead of the curve before Brandon Walsh and Nick Stabbins surpassed 130 with seven balls to spare.
Beaufort followed that up with a 32-run defeat to Maryborough on Sunday that had areas of weakness, especially in the bowling department, but displayed that building blocks were taking shape.
While his economy rate surpassing eight an over was concerning, Theo Trevelyan-Clark is starting to find his stride with the ball, taking four wickets, including a late hat-trick.
Their innings with the bat brought about more positives, with star all-rounder Lachlan Oddie smashing his early-season woes with the willow by scoring 74 with nine boundaries.
After threatening to make a big score in his first two innings, Jarrod Blandford generated a well-made 55, while Walsh built on his fast start to the year with score of 31.
Beaufort’s batting performance last weekend will give them confidence that they can put up a stronger fight than their round three clash with Laane, where they were bowled out for 96.
A combined six wickets from Fitzpatrick and Sam Bartlett chopped through the Bulls’ top order, allowing Laane to take home a seven-wicket victory.
