Sport
17 October, 2025
Laane eye finals revenge against Carisbrook
Carisbrook will attempt to replicate their memorable semi-final triumph from last season this Saturday versus a Laanecoorie Dunolly team searching for vindication.
While they would’ve liked a better result than their eight-wicket defeat at the hands of Maryborough, a positive from Carisbrook’s season opener was the performances of some of their developing talent.
The Brookers were in serious trouble at 6/92 with under 10 overs remaining until Atticus Cullinan, who had a breakout season in 2024/25 with the ball, flashed his batting prowess with a flourishing 51 that included five fours and two sixes.
After surrendering some early extras, Cullinan regrouped quickly to allow only 26 runs from his eight overs as part of a bowling attack that was led by teenage leg-spinner Axel Purcell, who recorded his first two A grade wickets.
Following his remarkable A reserve season in 2024/25, where he scored 360 runs and took 11 wickets, Atticus’ younger brother Elliot Cullinan also showed promise against the Owls, particularly with the bat.
As Carisbrook’s new generation was getting more accustomed to the A grade level, Laane’s established core was getting the job done against Clunes.
Alex Cook and Joe Lovel combined to take seven wickets before a striking innings from Tom Hart made severe early inroads into their target of 108.
The reigning one-day premiers will be slightly perturbed by their batting collapse against the Magpies, derailing a fast run chase led by Hart and Josh Fitzpatrick by losing five wickets for 18 runs.
Laane recovered quickly enough to complete a three-wicket victory, and with players like Cook, Fitzpatrick, Tom Hannett and Nafis Shaikh at their disposal, they will be confident that collapse was a blip on the radar.
Laane are well aware of how dangerous their weekend opponents can be after Carisbrook produced one of the greatest shocks in MDCA history by snapping Laane’s long-standing 60-game winning streak in last season’s semi-final.
Led by a remarkable 74 from Dean Nalder, the majority of Carisbrook’s bats contributed to their final total of 233, setting the stage for a unforgettable innings where the Brookers bowled the then five-time reigning premiers for 121.
Carisbrook were exceptional patient waiting for their oppor-tunities to make runs during that semi-final, a luxury they cannot take advantage of in Saturday’s one-day encounter.