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Following the retirement of the Club’s 8th President, John Ipsen, the 2013/14 season marked a new period for the Leeming Spartan Cricket Club, although it can be said that this era did not quite live up to expectations.

Nevertheless, there were still a number of positives to take out of this particular chapter in Leeming Spartan history, particularly on the field, with a number of premierships coming in just the two seasons comprising this era, but certainly with our centenary rapidly approaching, it was a less than ideal time for the Club off the field.

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Ipsen had left the Club in enormously good stead, implementing a number of enormously successful advances that still exist to this day, thus providing an extremely solid foundation for the future.

The appointment of Shayne Hersey as the Club’s President was well received. Shayne has been a member of the Club for over two decades, having previously served as Vice President, is a recipient of Life Membership, and his skills as a cricketer at the Club are almost unparalleled.

Unfortunately however, the immediate seasons following Ipsen’s retirement were tumultuous on the Club’s corporate level, and the platform that was set was not utilised to its full potential.

It must be said that there were significant difficulties that developed on the Committee and behind-the-scenes operation of the Club throughout this period, meaning this era was a somewhat challenging time for all Spartans, but the solid performances in all grades did well to mitigate those effects.

The years of 2013, 2014, and 2015 saw three different Presidents take the reigns – a first in the Club’s 98 year history – and it wasn’t until 2016 did a President since Ipsen serve more than two terms, the incumbent Peter Coombs

In summarising this chapter of Club history, it is some of the outstanding on field performances that are to be commended, and despite the difficulties which arose on the Committee, there were a number of highlights that will be celebrated for many years to come.


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 Next Chapter (The Coombs Years 2015-Present) 


Leeming Spartan Pre-Season Training in 2015.


2013-14-season-banner

2013/2014 Season – New President At The Helm

President: Shayne Hersey (1st Year)
Senior Vice President: Adam Seaward (3rd Year)
Junior Vice President: Sean Wright (1st Year – 5th Overall)
Secretary: Lisa Seaward (1st Year)
Treasurer: Steve Murfitt (3rd Year)

The season started with a new President, with Shayne Hersey taking the reigns as the Club’s ninth, following the retirement of John Ipsen.

Unfortunately, the on field highlights were not quite as expected following the unavailability of some senior players and injuries throughout the season.

Nevertheless, the season was highlighted by an incredible One Day Premiership victory in the 6th Grade, along with hat-tricks to new President Hersey (becoming the first Spartan to take a hat-trick whilst in the top job), and Anand Mavani.

Furthermore, overseas player Kyle Stuart and Gavin Poller both took 10 wickets in a match.

Outstandingly, Rhys May won the Jim McKenna Medal for best player in the Cricket & Football Shop SMCA First Grade Competition – an association-wide award, making him just the third Spartan to achieve those honours.

Matt Milton, Rhys May, Sean Wright, Ben Rushton, Wade Maxwell, and Blake Carter, all won Association trophies for batting and bowling in their various grades (given to the best performers for wickets and/or runs in that competition in all sides).

Dallas Eparaima scored four hundreds, and Carter and Rushton each took four 5-fors during the course of the season.


2013/2014 Award Winners
Graeme Ashley

Best Club Person Award

Read/Waterer 

Club Champion Award

Adam Seaward Wade Maxwell

Life Membership was awarded to David Abercrombie, a well deserved inductee for his outstanding long-term service to the Leeming Spartan Cricket Club.


1st Grade:

Captained By Paul Kalleske

The First Grade performed strongly all year, finishing in second position at the conclusion of the regular season, but were unfortunately defeated by East Fremantle in the semi-final.

Rhys May returned to the club and had an outstanding season, culminating in winning the Jim McKenna Medal. He scored 501 runs (including a century) and took 19 wickets.

Newcomer Matt Milton (who has since gone on to captain the side) was also a great contributor with the bat, scoring 548 runs (including a century) first up. Matthew has been a longtime WACA-grade player for Fremantle, joining the Leeming Spartan Cricket Club in this 2013/14 season, has been a mainstay ever since.

Craig Pereira had a good year in scoring 333 runs, and the newly promoted First Grader Matt Walters got 250.

Import Kyle Stuart took 34 wickets, including a hat-trick and ten wickets in a match. Mark Elvidge took 20, wickets with Andrew Gibbs and May also contributing.

Unfortunately, the season wasn’t to be when we were ultimately defeated in the semi-final, but nevertheless, the side had much to be pleased about this season.


2nd Grade (SMCA 3rd Grade):

Captained By Ian Murfitt

This side had a disrupted season, with three captains during the season, before finally settling with Ian Murfitt, finishing the season in seventh position.

Unfortunately they didn’t set the world on fire on the field, but a good base of upcoming junior players were introduced to higher grade senior cricket, and it proved dividends for the future.

Occasional Captain Peter Philips had a good season with the bat, scoring 231 runs. Mitch Wake, Ryan McLeod, and Mitch Lane were also contributors with the bat. Youngster Sheamus Byrne led the way with the ball, taking  22 wickets.

Iain Lockyer, and Anand Mavani also made solid contributions with the ball, with Mavani taking a hat-trick late in the season.


3rd Grade (SMCA 5th Grade):

Captained By Sean Wright

Overall, this side had a reasonably successful season – they finished the home and away in fourth place and defeated East Fremantle in the semi-final to set up another Spartan v CBC Grand Final.

Unfortunately CBC turned the tables on the past two season results and we were defeated.

Brad Mant again led the way with the bat, scoring 323 runs, with Jason Cunningham scoring 301 (including a century), Sean Wright making 258, and Jay O’Neill with 200 also put in a solid performance.

Bowling wise, Wright had an outstanding season, leading from the front and taking a massive 48 wickets. Sre Natarajan took 24, Sumeet Panasar took 20, and Shannon Davies also provided important assistance.

They achieved above and beyond their fourth-position placing, reaching the Grand Final and unfortunately couldn’t achieve the result we were after.


4th Grade (SMCA 6th Grade) – One-Day PREMIERS!

Captained By Dale Putland

The 6th Grade had an outstanding season, finishing second overall and winning the One Day final.

They followed up this mid-season premiership by defeating Armadale in the semi-final of the two-day competition, but unfortunately couldn’t overcome Cockburn in the Grand Final.

Captain Dale Putland and Ben Rushton combined for a grade record 6th wicket partnership, and Adam Seaward took a grade record 29 catches.

Dallas Eparaima led the batting with 630 runs (including 3 hundreds – four overall for the season), well supported by Putland who made 508 runs, son Mitch Putland with 381, Darren Usher‘s 326, and Rushton’s 281.

Rushton also led the bowling with a fantastic 48 wickets, Gavin Poller took 34 (including a 7-for), Geoff Burgess took 26, all of whom were supported with useful contributions from Steve Murffitt, Dale’s second son Jayden Putland and Mitch. 

The partnership between Putland and Rushton helped the team score an SMCA 6th Grade One-Day record 5/286 against Armadale from their 40-overs.


The One-Day Premiership Victory:

Led by Adam Seaward in the absence of injured skipper Dale Putland, we won the toss and batted first.

The Spartan 6th Grade scored a defendable 169, with even contributions from Darren Usher, Mitch Putland, Glenn Hack and Dallas Eparaima.

Cockburn got off to a good start, but when Jayden Putland bowled Ferraro to take the first of his four wickets, the rot set in and batsmen fell on a regular basis.

Jayden was supported in the bowling by Geoff Burgess and Mitch Putland. 

The Premiership Team (In Batting Order): M. Putland, A. Seaward (Captain), D. Eparaima, W. Maxwell, D. Usher, G. Hack, T. Fryers, B. Rushton, J. Putland, G. Burgess, S. Murfitt.

6th-grade-2013-14

Click to view a larger version.


5th Grade (SMCA One-Day ‘A’ Grade):

Captained By Jason Sweetman

The Spartan One Day ‘A’ grade had a fairly successful season overall, finishing the qualifying rounds in fourth place, before losing the semi-final to top side Thornlie.

New recruit Wade Maxwell took all before him in scoring a grade record 819 runs (including 2 hundreds) and taking 40 wickets to claim the Read/Waterer Club Champion Award.

A very even contribution with the bat by Glenn Hack, who scored 376 runs, Stuart Hennessey, who made 360, Captain Jason Sweetman‘s 340, Anthony McGhie‘s 290, and Neil Hewson‘s 232 runs (including a century).

In addition to Maxwell, Dean Brown took 40 wickets and Sweetman claimed 21 to help assist in the bowling department, with Hewson also helping out.

The team scored a one-day grade record 4/374 against Canning Districts.


6th Grade (SMCA One-Day ‘C’ Grade):

Captained By Nathan King

Were thereabouts all season, just missing the four in the end to come a creditable fifth place. The side had some extraordinary wins, but couldn’t string enough together overall to sneak into the four.

Paul Popiel had a great season with the bat, scoring 569 runs. Clint Gandy made 317 (including a century), and Steve Ockenfels‘ 285 runs alongside Captain Nathan King‘s 221 also helped considerably, with further contributions from Matt DeLaurentis and Scott Lougher.

Wickets were harder to come by for this side, with the main contributions coming from Brandon Green, DeLaurentis, King and Popiel.


7th Grade (SMCA One-Day ‘D’ Grade):

Captained By Ry Shaw

This side, like the one above it, also just missed out on finals, finishing in fifth position.

Josh Foster led the way with the bat scoring 520 runs (including a century).

Following Foster’s efforts, it was a very even batting performance, with eight players scoring in excess of 200 runs. Beau Carter made 382, Michael Simpson scored 354, Blake Carter with 292, Matt Scarterfield with 247, and Josh’s brother Steve Foster scored 247. Furthermore, Captain Ry Shaw made 232 runs for the season, and Brett Allen scored 207.

Blake Carter had a fantastic season with the ball, taking 41 wickets, with four 5-fors. Andrew Ballanytne took 26, with assistance from Josh Foster, Steve Foster and Michael Simpson.

Furthermore, Ballantyne and Josh Foster scored a grade record 5th wicket partnership record of 153.


8th Grade (SMCA One-Day ‘E’ Grade):

Captained By Peter Coombs

Surprised Captain Peter Coombs, now on the wrong side of fifty, was given the role when he came down to the Club at the start of the 2013/14 season with his two sons to have a “bit of a hit”, and ended up taking the reigns for this side! Peter is a successful WACA-grade cricketer, playing over 400 games for the Perth Cricket Club (coincidentally captaining our Club coach Mark Atkinson in his first A-Grade WACA game!).

Coming down to the Club just to play cricket with his sons, Peter found himself captaining the side, and funnily enough, he now serves as our Club President, taking charge in 2015!

Peter had a very inexperienced side who continued to put in for the entire season, doing very well to avoid the “spoon” in the end.

Coombs played a fairly lone hand in the batting stakes, scoring 251 runs, despite only playing a handful of matches due to overseas work commitments (and injury!), with help from both Chris Edwards and Ryan Miller.

Mark Pearce, Ryan Miller, Matt Haines, and Anthony Agostino all managed to get into double figures with wickets.

Coombs and Greg Dudley scored a grade record 5th wicket partnership, and Peter also combined with Chris Edwards for a grade record 6th wicket partnership.


2014-15-season-banner

2014/2015 Season – Seaward Leads The Ship

President: Adam Seaward (1st Year)
Senior Vice President: Jeff Tuthill (1st Year)
Junior Vice President: Jason Sweetman (1st Year)
Secretary: Lisa Seaward (2nd Year)
Treasurer: Steve Murfitt (4th Year)

Due to work commitments, Shayne Hersey was unable to continue as President, and as a result, Adam Seaward took charge for the first time, serving as the Club’s tenth leader.

The season produced a reasonably successful year on the field, with Premierships to the 5th Grade (in the 40-over format) and the One Day D’s proving the highlights.

There were a record fifteen century-partnerships, including an incredible three grade records for the highest partnerships amongst them.

There were eleven hundreds scored, with Jason Cunningham having yet another standout season with the bat, recording two centuries himself.

Sean Wright took a brilliant 9/35 with the ball, one of four performances of six wickets or more for the Club this season.

Individual achievements were obtained by Josh Foster (One Day ‘B’) and Darren Hewson (captain of the One Day ‘D’ side), who won Association trophies for being the leading wicket taker and run scorer in their respective grades.

The Graeme Ashley Award for the Best Club Person was won by Vice President Jeff Tuthill, for both his monumental efforts as selector and his work on the Committee.

Josh Foster capped off a memorable year by taking home the Read/Waterer Medallion for Club Champion, just edging out First Grade captain Paul Kalleske by a solitary vote. 

Brad Mant went past 11,000 runs for the Spartans, with other milestones for runs coming from Andrew Walker (6000 career runs), Cunningham (5000), and Sean Wright and Mark Atkinson with 4000 career runs each.

In the process, Wright joined the elusive 4000 runs/400 wickets brigade.


2014/2015 Award Winners
Graeme Ashley

Best Club Person Award

Read/Waterer 

Club Champion Award

Jeff Tuthill Josh Foster

1st Grade:

Captained By Matthew Milton

The Leeming Spartan First Grade were consistent throughout the season, once again finishing inside the four to play finals.

Unfortunately however, they did not progress past the semi-final, defeated by Cockburn.

They also played off in the One-Day Final, however were defeated by Kardinya Lakes (with current Spartan Marc Dodds scoring 85 to help chase down the 5/188 set earlier by the Spartans). Craig Pereira top scored for the Club with an unbeaten 45.

Paul Kalleske (‘PK’) led the way with the bat, scoring 562 runs, including an unbeaten century, in what was truly an outstanding season.

PK and captain Matthew Milton amassed an incredible 199 run opening stand (a grade record for all wickets), with Kalleske recording an unbeaten 104 at John Connell!

He was ably assisted by Mark Atkinson with 500 runs, Captain Matthew Milton‘s 421 runs, Matt Walters‘ 316, and the consistent performer in Pereira, who made 294 runs for the year.

Mark Elvidge and Walters shared the bowling honours with 26 wickets each, whilst ‘Mr. Reliable’ Andrew Gibbs finished the season with 20.

A highlight of course was the 199 opening partnership between Paul Kalleske and Matthew Milton – a new grade record.

The grade record 199 run opening stand between Kalleske and Milton. You can click the image to view the full scorecard.


2nd Grade (SMCA 3rd Grade):

Captained By Mitch Lane and Michael Brown

It was a quiet season for the two’s, with a seemingly revolving door of players coupled with a multitude of injuries making it hard to pick a consistent team.

They missed out on finals in both the two-day and one-day competitions.

The highlight for the side in this season was Dean Brown and Michael Brown (no relation) coming together to score a grade record 5th wicket partnership of 138.

Batting achievements were led by Michael Brown’s 259 runs, Sre Natarajan‘s 220 and Russell Lee‘s 215.

Logan Wake took 17 wickets for the season, with Dean Brown and Sheamus Byrne taking 14 wickets (the latter recording a best of 6/48), and Sre Natarajan’s 10 making them the pick of the bowlers.


3rd Grade (SMCA 5th Grade) – One-Day PREMIERS!

Captained By Dale Putland

2014/15 proved to be a very good season for the Spartan 3rd’s.

They won the One-Day Final and were runners up to East Fremantle in the two-day Grand Final.

The highlight of the season was an outstanding 9/35 taken by Sean Wright against the eventual East Fremantle.

It proved to be an outstanding game for the side, with Ben Rushton scoring 105 not out and Jason Cunningham making 75, to allow the side to reach 7/307. Kevin Poller and Ben Rushton shared a grade record 136 run partnership for the 8th wicket.

With Wright destroying their batting the following weekend, East Fremantle were never on track.

For the season, Jason Cunningham led the way with the bat to record 506 runs, and was assisted by Brad Mant with 376, Captain Dale Putland with 326, and the always entertaining Darrin Usher, who accumulated 215 runs.

Gavin Poller had an outstanding season with the ball, taking 35 wickets, and Ben Rushton took 26.


The One-Day Premiership Victory:

The Thirds defeated Thornlie in the One Day Final mainly due to Jason Cunningham’s 57 runs and Jayden Putland’s 5 for 29.

Despite these outstanding performances, it truly was a team performance, with the side producing one of their best team efforts of recent years to record victory.

The Premiership Team (In Batting Order): B. Mant, D. Usher, J. Cunningham, D. Putland (Captain), A. Walker, S. Wright, K. Poller, G. Poller, J. Putland, B. Rushton and J. Sweetman.

Click to view a larger version.


4th Grade (SMCA One Day ‘C’ Grade):

Captained By Ry Shaw

A good consistent season by the fourths resulted in them playing in the Grand Final.

Unfortunately they couldn’t overcome Hilton Palmyra.

They did start the season in a blaze of glory, restricting Willetton Crows to just 36, thanks mainly to Shannon Davies taking 6/19 and Gary Beange‘s 4/17.

There were four century-partnerships scored during the season, with Beau Carter and Josh Foster each featuring in two of these.

Josh Foster won the Read/Waterer Champion Player Award on the back of a great season with both bat and ball, scoring 575 runs (including 111 not out) and taking 29 wickets.

Michael Simpson also had a good double with 520 runs and 24 wickets.

Other prominent performers with the bat came in the form of Beau Carter (with 372 runs) and Steve Foster (with 271).

Shannon Davies took 31 wickets to lead the Spartan wicket takers in the grade.


5th Grade (SMCA One Day ‘D’ Grade):

Captained By Darren Hewson

The Spartan One Day ‘D’s or the ‘ODD Squad’ as they came to be known, had capped off a fantastic season by annihilating Kenwick’s top side in the Grand Final.

Incredibly, forty two players moved through the side during the season.

A feature was the late season batting of captain Darren Hewson. He scored 103 not out in the last round-robin game against Forrestdale, then followed it up with 97 not out in the Semi Final against Thornlie.

In a low pursuit in the Grand Final, he once again led the way with an unbeaten 37.

As the side was only chasing 57 to win, the opportunity for a third consecutive big score from Hewson was not possible.

Darren finished the season with 617 runs, with other contributions coming from Glen Harris with 334, Graeme Tysoe‘s 320, and Geoff Burgess who nudged 267.

Nathan King was the star with the ball taking 21 wickets. Glen Harris also contributed well, taking 16 for the season.


The Premiership Victory:

The Spartan One Day ‘D’s defeated Kenwick – their second top side – in the grand final, a 40-over affair.

Kenwick won the toss and elected to bat, but were rolled for just 56, with Vice-Captain Nathan King taking 5/11!

With the damage having been done with the ball, it left little work for the side in their batting innings, although Darren Hewson once again found time to post a notable score, making 37 not out.

Incredibly, having easily chased the score down in ten overs for the loss of one wicket, they were back at the Club celebrating by tea time at 3:00pm!

The Premiership Team (In Batting Order): S. Ockenfels, G. Burgess, D. Hewson (Captain), G. Tysoe, G. Harris, P. Popiel, T. Warner, S. Byrne, N. King, S. Haq, J. Tuthill.

Click to view a larger version.


6th Grade (SMCA One Day ‘F’ Grade):

Captained By Ron McDonald

The side played extremely well throughout the season under the expert captaincy of stalwart Ron McDonald, their success culminating in a second place position, finishing runners up to Armadale in the Grand Final.

Armadale were the form side of the competition all season and it was always going to be a big ask to knock them off.

A highlight during the season was the bowling of Ken Boyes (son of Life Member Gary), who took 6/29 against Willetton Crows.

Sebastian Quirk led the batting with 431 runs (including a massive 102 against Hilton Palmyra), closely followed by Matt Hosking with 379, with Darren Woodward also making 201 runs for the season.

Youngsters Sean McGowan (23 wickets) and Shaun Byrne (21) led the bowling.


7th Grade (SMCA One Day ‘G’ Grade):

Captained By Peter Coombs & Chris Rajandra

The Spartan One Day ‘G’s were comprised of a young side made up mainly of newcomers to the Club and/or cricket generally.

Peter Coombs was once again roped into leading the side, although work commitments overseas prevented him from playing all games, and as such Chris Rajandra completed the role in his absence.

Forty-two players played in this grade during the season, which made it hard to fix on any regular pattern amongst the team.

Andrew Horsfall and Coombs led the batting, with Clint Holden taking the bowling honours.

Despite the fact that the side won few games, it proved to be a great learning experience for a number of new players, many of whom will no doubt go on to bigger and better things in future seasons.


The Mitch Gillam Cup, held in December 2014.


The Era In Review:

The years between 2013 and 2015 marked a difficult period for the Leeming Spartan Cricket Club, and saw two Presidents in as many years. It was a time met with instability and struggles within the Club’s administration, and now serves as a reminder of the unrelenting commitments required to ensure that we continue to set new benchmarks.

Tellingly there had only been seven Presidents in the ninety-six years pervious, signifying what had become readily apparent – that the Spartans were struggling and there was the very real possibility of no centenary celebrations.

A series of massive victories on the field, as well as a number of Premierships in a variety of grades had helped mask the fact that the Club was underperforming on a corporate level, so much so, that preparations were being made for the closure of Leeming Spartan.

At the conclusion of the season, Adam Seaward, the Club’s 10th President, announced his retirement from the position due to family and work commitments, leaving a major hole in the Club’s structure, coupled with the fact that many Committee members stood down from their respective positions.

The Club was struggling financially at the end of the season, numbers had dwindled, and the overall enjoyment of players at the Club was poor. This led to a number of senior figures searching desperately to find someone to lead the Club in a new direction in what was amongst its darkest days.

Of course, there is no individual responsible for the massive downturn the Club had faced, it was caused mostly by stagnation and poor decisions at vulnerable times. Nevertheless, it was realised that a refresh of the Club’s structure was paramount to ensuring its sustainability – particularly on the eve of its one hundredth anniversary.

Peter Coombs was appointed to the role of Club President in the months leading up to April’s Annual General Meeting of 2015, and, as identified in the next chapter, had an immediate and everlasting effect.

The 2013-15 era, despite its flaws, was a highly productive one on the field for the Club, with an expanded focus on the lower one-day grades producing a record number of Premierships and Grand Final appearances, despite the fact that the period itself lasted only two seasons.

Time will only tell how this era is looked upon in the future decades, but perhaps the best description is one that portrays major successes on the field, but off it, certainly one that produced a less than satisfactory performance.



Chapter Thanks:

A special thank you to Graeme Ashley and Daniel Coombs for the countless hours they have spent in compiling the historical information regarding the Leeming Spartan Cricket Club during this chapter and preparing it for our website. This incredible effort is part of what makes us the premier social sporting club south of the river.

Adapted and updated with new content for the new Leeming Spartan Website in December 2016. Last updated in August 2017.


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Sunset on Burrendah (2013). A match played by the Spartan One Day ‘D’s.


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