Tara Murray
Caroline Springs has changed things up a bit as it sets about trying to win a third straight Victorian Turf Cricket Association women’s premiership.
The Falcons have kept their core group and added a few more local talent to the squad for the season which is now underway.
Coach Gary Pretty said they had been pretty happy with the off season.
“We’ve picked up a couple of new players, some fresh faces from the local area that haven’t played before,” he said. “We’ve also got a 14-year-old playing seniors for us.”
“We’ve lost a couple of players from our premiership side that are having a year off.”
Pretty said they were keen to have that pathway for the juniors to come into the senior side so it was exciting to see young players coming through.
While it’s a very similar group to last season, Pretty said they’ve made some changes to try and freshen things up with players having played similar roles the past few seasons.
Kyah Marum has taken over the captaincy role from Alisha Fowler.
Marum, a two-time premiership player, was a member of the club’s original girls team and has come through the club’s pathway.
Fowler will continue on as a player this season and has moved down the order from opening, to number four.
The Falcons started their season with a hard fought win against the Altona Roosters.
Caroline Springs made 2-154 with Caitlin Pretty scoring an unbeaten 95 off 60 balls.
“She rolled on from last season,” Pretty said of his daughter.
“She started off slowly which we’ve been trying to get her to do. Alisha Fowler in her new role at number four also batted really well.
Pretty said the Roosters had their noses in front at the halfway mark of their innings before finishing 8-110.
Carol Williamson and Amelia Sevior took two wickets each for the Falcons.
The Falcons had the bye on the weekend.
This Sunday they face Maribyrnong Park St Marys for the first time.
The Lions are one of two new teams in the competition, the other being Sydenham-Hillside.
Westmeadows, which the Falcons have played in the past three grand finals,is no longer in the competition in another big change.
Pretty said despite the competition changing, nothing changes for them.
“It’ll be good to get a gauge where we are in the next few weeks,” he said. “We want to win the premiership again.
“There’s no shying away from what our expectation is.”
