With the completion of the 2019/20 season, the Leeming Spartan Cricket Club released a Yearbook to detail the many events that occurred during such a productive and successful cricket season.
In said Yearbook was a report from our President, Peter Coombs, that documented these events and a reflection on the season as a whole.
Please be sure to take a read of it below if you have not yet done so. It is also available inside our 2019/20 Leeming Spartan Yearbook which is available for free download here.
The 2019/20 season was certainly one that had it all – with premierships and fantastic events before everything was cut short due to the COVID-19 virus that left us all in isolation and pondering what could have been. Nevertheless, we walked away the best of all clubs in the competition as we won two First Grade flags (one shared with CBC), and another two one-day premierships!
The 2019/20 President’s Report is outlined below;
Dear Members, Sponsors, Supporters and the wider Spartan family,
Thank you for being a part of the Leeming Spartan Cricket Club in season 2019/20, for your efforts on and off the field and contributions to this great club. The 2019/20 season is now officially complete, and I think we can all agree that it will be looked upon with much interest and will not be forgotten.
You would not be wrong in thinking twelve months ago that this would be a quiet season off the field, as we looked to slow down and return to basics after the previous season and our incredible milestone one-
hundredth anniversary. As we know now however, that has certainly not been the case, and it is amazing to think that this 2019/20 season will be as remembered as the 2018/19 one that preceded it.
The season has ended in the most dramatic of circumstances with all grand finals called off in the wake of the global pandemic that is COVID-19, which at the time of writing still greatly affects us all and has the whole country in lockdown.
This was an unprecedented move that came at the worst possible time from a cricket and Club perspective, but a decision that ultimately has been the correct one as we combat this virus. It meant that all Grand Finalists were declared dual premiers for the first time in association history, and for the Leeming Spartan Cricket Club, meant we have won four premierships across our seven grades.
Our One Day ‘A’ and One Day ‘E’ sides both finished as premiers this season after also topping the table in the regular season for Minor Premiers. Our One Day ‘C’ side also finished as Minor Premiers but unfortunately lost a narrow semi-final the week before. On behalf of the Club I wholeheartedly congratulate these three sides on a phenomenal year.
Our First Grade have been absolutely sensational this season once again, after having won the Premiership in our one-hundredth year the previous season, they went one better this season in winning both the Two-Day and One-Day premierships.
This makes this the first side in Spartan history to go “back-to-back” in First Grade, and, the first time we have won both the Two-Day and One-Day premierships in the same year. This is an incredible achievement at such an amazing time at the Spartans, as we continue to ride the wave of the centenary year and move to continue our success and our presence in the community in the years to come.
I must also thank our extremely hard-working committee in Geoff Burgess, Glenn Hack, Paul Kalleske, Mitch Gardiner, Andrew D’Angelo, Jodie Rennie, Adam Morgan, Michael Bennett and Anthony McGhie who have been phenomenal this season behind the scenes, managing the Club and overseeing critical decisions and events. These duties require a great deal of time, effort and dedication, and those individuals have been more than up for the task.
A very special thank you must also go to Adam Seaward, who took over the registration and MyCricket role, along with placing updates on the website and social media. Also, a very special thank you to Ronny McDonald and Graeme Tysoe in assisting me in the weekly team selections.
To our two Coaches, Peter Waite and Nick Manifis and “Net Captain” Dave Blight – it is no coincidence that our First Grade side has played in the last four consecutive First Grade Grand Finals. Their efforts have been brilliant and also means that over the last three seasons in a combined 24 teams, 17 have participated in finals, 13 in Grand Finals, 5 were Minor Premiers and a record setting 11 Premierships have been won, including three First Grade premierships.
We are very fortunate to have dedicated individuals all throughout the Club, both on and off the field, and I would also like to extend my thanks this year to Graeme Ashley, Daniel Coombs, Josh Foster, Todd Gill, Daniel and Jack Reid, Sre Natarajan and so many more who all contributed during the season. Their ongoing contributions are crucial to our daily operations and allow us to achieve many things that other clubs could perhaps only dream of.
Our Captains and Vice Captains in Paul Kalleske and Ben Harris (First Grade), Adam Morgan and Peter Waite (Second Grade), Glenn Hack and Adam Seaward (Third Grade), Jordan McArdle and Jordan Jupp (Fourth Grade), Graeme Tysoe and Darren Woodward, Ronny McDonald and Peter Brown, and Chubba D’Angelo have all been fantastic this season, and it is their efforts also that help ensure we are not only competitive in all of our grades but also regularly challenging for premierships and having a great time on and off the field year-round.
In the furtherance of the ethos of the Spartan Cricket Club, we again undertook the controlling management of the Cricket West Inter Association competition on behalf of the SMCA. Along with attending to the SMCA Senior Side, the club orchestrated the re-birth of the SMCA Colts and Veterans side. With myself overseeing, the Senior side was managed by John Ipsen and coached by Peter Waite, the Colts were managed and coached by Daniel Reid and Paul Kalleske and the Veterans by Ron McDonald and Marc Dodds.
The end result was that the SMCA Senior side played off in the Grand Final at the WACA with Kodie McKrill, Benny Harris and Chad Forsyth being selected in the state team, and the SMCA Colts side being Premiers. This was a great success in breaking down barriers between clubs and individuals and show casing players from the SMCA and Leeming Spartan.
The season was not without its difficulties however, as we lost three great Spartans during the season, with Life Members Harold Bell (who is also part of our Team of the Century) and Maureen Preedy passing away. One of our current players in Julien McMahon also passed suddenly this season and this left us all deeply saddened and confused. It was however a testament to all Spartans past and present in the resolve that was shown during this time and the camaraderie and “banding-together” that came about. The losses of these three Spartans, all magnificent individuals, will always remain with us, and we will continue to honour their memories and remember the times we shared with them. We of course also pass our deep condolences to their families and offer my personal and the Club’s assistance in any form should it ever be required.
Clubs like ours play a critical role in the community, from mental health to forming lifelong friends and for many, create memories that last a lifetime. This is always at the forefront of our mind as we make any decisions within, and this is the ultimate goal of the Leeming Spartan Cricket Club, to provide the number one place for all people to come together and be part of this great team. In difficult times this really does shine through, and this season was great evidence of that.
We had some sensational individual performances to match the team efforts, with Kodie McKrill winning both the Reid Waterer Club Champion Medal and the Association Jim McKenna Champion Player award on the back of a terrific First Grade year.
Austin Maloney also took a hat-trick this season, Matt Jansen made his first century for the Club, and Brad Mant went past 14,000 runs. Furthermore, Graeme Tysoe played his 100th match, Josh Foster his 200th, Jordan and Callum Jupp set a new record for the highest partnership between brothers, Sean McGowan represented the state, and Sre Natarajan also scored his first ever ton and took five wickets in that same match, only the sixth person to do so in our history.
Off-field functions including our Christmas Party, Quiz Night, Spartan Cup, Country Week and more were fantastic in bringing the Club together as one during this season. Not only did they prove pivotal for our fundraising efforts but were equally important in creating many memories and laughs amongst all in attendance. To our sponsors also, our thanks as a Club is immeasurable and your support critical, we cannot thank you enough.
The Club continues to be financially sound which is now more important than ever given the ongoing uncertainty surrounding us due to COVID-19. It is expected that sponsorship and other functions will be harder to organise this off-season given the social restrictions in place across Australia, and as such we will need to look towards other means of raising funds, but given our extremely strong position and dedicated committee, I’m sure this will not prove a problem as we head into next season.
Finally, I would like to thank you personally for being part of the Spartan Cricket Club in one way or another this season – whether that be on or off the field – your support is crucial and the reason why we continue to serve as the perfect location for people to spend their summer. I look forward to the next season with great enthusiasm and seeing you all again later this year.
Kind regards,
