Macquarie will welcome back a pair of premiership stars when it tries to win back the RSL-Whitney Cup title it relinquished last season.
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A year after their drought-breaking title win, the 2015/16 first grade premiers were knocked out at the semi-final stage by Souths
But with all-rounders Daniel Medway and Angus Cusack returning to the fold to replace the departed duo of Anthony Heraghty and Ben Taylor, Blues captain Keiran Brien believes his side has covered its losses through the off-season.
“You don’t like losing good players, but getting ‘Fuzz’ and ‘Cuey’ back is massive for us,” Brien said.
“Angus was big for us when we beat Souths in the grand final two seasons ago, and he will carry a load with the ball and the bat.
“And ‘Fuzz’ is a bloke who is capable of batting anywhere in the lineup, and he will do a job with the ball as well.
“In the two-dayers he’s capable of tying up an end and allowing you to rotate your other bowlers from the other end, so we’re stoked that both of them are back.”
Macquarie opens its campaign with a two-day clash against Newtown starting this Saturday, and Brien said early-season wins in a format that suits his side’s style of play could be vital.
You don’t like losing good players, but getting ‘Fuzz’ and ‘Cuey’ back is massive for us.
- Keiran Brien
“We are a side that plays good two-day cricket, but there’s not many two-day games in the season so we have to make the most of them,” he said.
“If we can get wins in these first two rounds before we head into the one-dayers then it will put us in a good position.
Not surprisingly, Brien said he expects last season’s grand finalists RSL-Colts and Souths to be the hardest teams to beat again in 2017/18, but he anticipates Rugby, Newtown and CYMS to all be competitive.
“Souths have been the benchmark the past couple of years but have fallen at that last hurdle both times, and Colts are always around the mark.
“I think Ben Patterson is back for Rugby so that will strengthen them, and even though Steve Skinner will be missing for a while for Newtown they are always pretty competitive and play hard.
“CYMS need to improve a bit but they have some handy young kids in their side who will get better.”