If there had been any doubt the current Rivergum team was one of the best in the history of the North Metro Cricket Association, there certainly isn’t now.
After playing in the previous four Jika Shield grand finals and winning the past two, the Kookas had the opportunity at the weekend to become just the fourth club to record a three-peat.
And the result against North Brunswick/Rosebank, the same side they had played in the previous three grand finals, was the same as in 2014 and 15 … a win to the Kookas.
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The match didn’t start the way Rivergum would have liked, though, with the Rosellas winning the toss at Bundoora Park.
“It’s never good when the opposition win the toss in a grand final and they’re going to bat,” Kookas captain-coach Gary Bell said.
“But they were never going to punish you too much; they were going to try to bat for their 80 overs and be real disciplined and play your boring cricket.”
In fact, the Rosellas posted just 128, with Sean Neary taking three wickets.
Although the target appeared puny on paper, it proved to be a tricky one and at one stage the Kookas were in trouble at 4-41.
But Matthew Perri and Jarrod Bannister settled the innings, and when Bannister went Perri was joined at the crease by Bell.The two got their side within six runs of the target before Perri departed.
His 40 was enough to get him man-of-the- match honours for the second time in three grand final wins.
“He loves the pressure these days,” Bell said.
“When I first got hold of him 10 years ago I didn’t think much of him as a cricketer. He struggled in the first few finals series he played in but now thrives on the pressure.
“He’s the big wicket, bowls all day and fields well; he’s the all-round cricketer.
Bell said after the match the premiership win was every bit as good as the previous two.
“I was pretty emotional afterwards as we’re a tight-knit group,” he said.
“A lot of people think we have a lot of talent, but talent alone doesn’t get you over the line. It’s a lot of meetings and hanging out together, which I think is crucial.
“We always look after each other, have each other’s back, and I think that’s what got us over the line today and yesterday in the field when they were on top of us for a while.”
Bell says he hopes Rivergum can continue its run at the top.
“It’s amazing to think where we’ve come from when I first got here,” he said.
“We were nobodies; people thought we were irrelevant.
“My young fellow plays at Rivergum and it gives him something to aspire to, something for the younger players at the club to keep going.”
