THE even nature of this season's Whitney Cup competition was clearly evident on Saturday, when Souths moved off the bottom of the ladder courtesy of a 139-run win over previously unbeaten ladder leaders Newtown.
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Defending their massive day one total of 4-342 the Hornets were never really in danger, despite Newtown opener Wayne Dunlop piling on a classy century.
Dunlop (103) combined with his captain Mat Skinner (68) for a 139-run third-wicket partnership but outside of that pair no Tigers batsman was able to reach double figures.
Their cause wasn't aided by being two players short, but according to Souths skipper Tim Berry the win was perfect for his side heading into the Christmas break.
"We will take a lot of confidence out of winning that game. It was a great way to end 2014," he said.
"You look at the ladder and we were running last and they hadn't been beaten so I think the result shows that you need to turn up every week. For us to dominate them like that shows any team is capable of beating anyone else.
"We've put ourselves back in the hunt for a spot in the finals with that win, so now we need to enjoy our break but also make sure when we come back after Christmas we're ready to go."
New recruit Ricky Sharma played a key role for Souths on Saturday, taking the key wickets of Steve Skinner (8) and Mat Skinner, as well as running out Dunlop shortly after he had reached his century.
Combined with Adam Wells' day one century and three-wicket haul on Saturday, Berry admitted it was pleasing to see a solid team effort.
"One of the things I'm really trying to do with the side is make people aware of their jobs. If you bat in the top order, we want you to make runs and if you bowl early we want you to take wickets," he said.
"Obviously 'Wellsy' was great with bat and ball but we had a heap of other guys chip in and contribute, and that's what we want.
"Wayne and Mat obviously batted well for them on Saturday but there was no real stage I felt we were in trouble.
"We had some guys missing from this game and we've got some guys just getting back in to cricket as well so hopefully after Christmas we can get our best side on the park consistently and really push for a spot in the top three.
"The first game back against Macquarie will be big for us because they're placed pretty similarly to us on the ladder and it is a game that can help us set up some momentum for the second half of the season."
