Sport
6 February, 2026
Maryborough seeks retribution against Laane
Maryborough hopes their second contest at the revamped Princes Park fares better than their inaugural affair, commencing their shortened two-day season against Laanecoorie Dunolly.
There were several bright spots from Maryborough’s performance with the ball last Saturday, especially from their newest arrival, Tate Williams, who thrived in Owls feathers with 3/36.
However, an 8/40 collapse doomed Maryborough to defeat against Beaufort, a slump reminiscent of their only meeting with Laanecoorie Dunolly this season.
The Owls were in a dominant position halfway through that round four encounter, with a Jason Hunt and Jasper Trickey led attack bowling Laane out for 139, a total heavily carried by a Matt Smith 50.
With a fruitful chance to knock out a league heavyweight in their first season back in A grade, Maryborough quickly fell to 5/33 at the hands of Will Chamings and Josh Fitzpatrick, eventually losing by 19 runs.
Chamings and Fitzpatrick have bolstered an already talented pace attack consisting of Sam Bartlett and Joe Lovel, but during Laane’s recent two-day victory over Clunes, the quartet were limited to 32.3 overs, with Fitzpatrick accounting for 14 of those overs.
Instead, the reigning one-day premiers relied heavily on the spin duo of Alex Cook and Amar Ullah, which proved advantageous with Ullah taking 4/27.
Even with Saturday’s weather forecast to be slightly more suitable for seamers to thrive compared to the sweltering heat Laane bowled in a fortnight ago, Cook and Ullah could be called upon to damage the Owls like Beaufort’s Lachlan Oddie and Brandon Walsh delivered last Saturday.
The Bulls pairing removed seven Maryborough batters as part of their aforementioned collapse, the turning point in the Owls’ 43-run defeat.
A 66-run second-wicket stand between opener Ben Hoban and Liam Radlof will be the blueprint for Maryborough batters to follow against the Laane bowling attack as they attempt to collect a major scalp ahead of an expected finals berth.