Poowong-Loch cricket back from recess

POOWONG-LOCH Cricket Club will re-enter the Leongatha and District Cricket Association competition this season.

Despite winning the B2 grand final in 2021/22, the club made the difficult decision to go into recess in late 2022 due to a shortage of players.

Plenty of hard work has gone on behind the scenes to revive the club, and the community will be looking forward to seeing a B2 team on the field come October 3.

Efforts to keep the club alive were spearheaded by club vice president Matt Hancock, who did not want to see the club’s legacy end.

“We went quiet for a couple of years, and we didn’t have many people at our first (annual general meeting), so they were looking to shut the club,” he said.

“I asked for a month to postpone the AGM and that was accepted. We started making some calls and we had a lot of interest come in pretty quick.

“It was massive to get Matt (De Grandi) jump on board as president and Brad (Monson) as coach.”

Because of the interest, the meeting was pulled forward to form the committee.

Hancock has been involved with the cricket club since his junior days.

“The club started back in 1991, and I’ve played here since I was a junior. I’ve got my kids now and they’ll be the next to come through. It’s just a great place to play cricket,” he said.

“It’d be sad to let it go. It’s a good venue and the town is in a good position now with tourism and attraction.

“It’s a lot more than it used to be with the rail trail opening and we get a lot of people camping here. It brings outside interest to the club.”

Hancock said the decision to return was now or never, and the club was backed by new and returning players.

“The AGM this year was to make a decision about whether or not to keep going or fold the club. It was a make-or-break decision,” he said.

“It would’ve been sad to watch it go downhill knowing that I could have done something.

“We’ve got the one team this year, but our aim is to get two senior teams next season and then get a junior program running so we can have a future for the club.”

The junior program will be pivotal to club growth in the coming years.

“We’ve definitely been thinking about the future as much as the present, especially in terms of recruiting for this season and next season,” Monson said.

Monson praised Hancock for his determination to reinstate the club.

“If it wasn’t for him, the club would be under by now. The committee was going to shut the doors, and it was (Hancock) who put his foot down and made it happen,” he said.

Preseason training has kicked off with Tuesday night sessions at the Korumburra Indoor Centre and Saturday morning sessions at the Loch Recreation Reserve.