Roxburgh Park Falcons love going local

vtcaroxsyd: Roxburgh Park Vs Sydenham/Hillside, Roxburgh Park's Nathan LynchPicture Damian Visentini

Roxburgh Park Falcons have made themselves right at home in the Victorian Turf Cricket Association.

Having made the move from the Victorian Sub-district Cricket Association in the off-season, the Falcons are performing with renewed purpose.

President Tyson Sinclair said the move had been positive.

The club struggled last season in the VSDCA, and after losing a number of players decided to change competitions and the club’s goals.

“You couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season,” he said.

“We’ve gone with more local players, giving players a chance to play in the VTCA.

“We found it easy to get players once they knew [about the switch]. We’ve got two teams and about 15 of the players are new.”

As well as having two senior sides, the club’s junior program is thriving.

Pushing players from the juniors to the seniors has been a key Falcon aim.

“Slowly word is getting around that the club is still here,” Sinclair said.

“We want to push our under-16s into the seniors teams and give them a chance. If they perform, they will get the chance in the ones.”

Jordan Krake and Jaimon Macmullan are under-16 players who have been given opportunities in the seconds.

On field, the Falcons started the season with a win against Caroline Springs.

At the weekend, they performed in day one of a match against Sydenham/Hillside and in a catch-up one-day game against Sunshine.

On Saturday, Sydenham/Hilliside made 248 batting first.

In reply, the Falcons were 1-5 off three overs.

Sunday’s match against Sunshine ended in a draw. Sunshine made 7-199 from its overs.

The Falcons were 0-4 when rain halted play. Players didn’t return to the field after that, with all matches in the division washed out.

Sinclair said that at this stage of the season, it was hard to gauge what the competition would be like as three of the Falcons’ first four opponents were new to the VTCA.

“The playing standard has been really good and it’s been healthy competition,” he said.

“We’re in a new competition and got new players. We’ll play hard cricket and go from there.”

For more pictures from Saturday’s game, CLICK HERE