The women’s CTPL season comes to a head as North Hobart is set to make the journey up north to face the Greater Northern Raiders in a one-day Grand Final on Sunday.
Greater Northern ensured it would host the decider at Invermay Park in Launceston with last week’s win, earning a double bonus point to pip their rivals to finish in first place.
The Raiders will be full of confidence following the convincing 10-wicket win over their Grand Final opponents, while also welcoming back middle-order batter Montana Bradley to the winning side.
In contrast, North Hobart will be licking its wounds, but the imminent return of star veteran Elyse Villani will be sure to give the team in red and blue something to raise their spirits.
Villani has played only four games for the Demons this season, making her mark with two half-centuries and a massive 154 not out off 141 balls against Clarence in January.
The final will be the eighth meeting between the two means, with Greater Northern holding a 5-2 lead in the season series, a figure which will mean nothing to the Demons if they are able to win on Sunday.
The Raiders are aiming to correct their failures from the T20 Grand Final earlier this season, where they fell to New Town by 41-runs, while North Hobart will be eager for another opportunity at the trophy, having won it last season by default when the final was abandoned.
A host of high-level talent will be playing at Invermay Park on Sunday, including Elyse Villani, Naomi Stalenberg, Nicola Carey, Clare Scott, Melodie Armstrong, and Molly Strano for North Hobart, and Emma Manix-Geeves, Ruth Johnston, Ava Curtis, and Montana Bradley for Greater Northern.
In the men’s competition, Lindisfarne and the Greater Northern Raiders will play off for a place in next weekend’s semi-finals across Saturday and Sunday in Round 25 of the CTPL season.
The Raiders currently four points ahead of their opponents in fourth place but will need to avoid losing this weekend to ensure they remain in the competition for at least another week.
Having defeated University outright last weekend, playing-coach Alistair Taylor is proud of his team for earning a golden opportunity.
“The boys are really excited going into this weekend,” he said.
“We’ve got ourselves a chance, which is great.
“We’ve just got to take that opportunity this weekend.”
Taylor is not buying into any hysteria surrounding the game, insisting what his side need to do is “pretty simple.”
“We know if we win, we’re in, and if we lose, we’re out,” he said.
“It’s not up to anyone else; it’s all pressure on the eleven that go out there on Saturday and Sunday.
“We’ve just got to be better for longer periods of time over the course of the two days and put our best foot forward.”
The two sides have met just once this season, a one-day match in October in which the Raiders won by 207-runs.
Aidan O’Connor, who took five-wickets last weekend against University, made 65 off 55 balls in the victory.
The Lindisfarne team did not feature any of the three stars that have taken the competition by storm recently, a fact which Taylor is not taking lightly.
“It will be a fairly different team to what we played against in October,” he said.
“They’re riding some momentum like us.
“The likes of Mac Wright, Charlie [Wakim], and Jarrod Freeman are the keys for them.
“Keegan [Oates] has had a fantastic season as well in his own right, taking a lot of wickets and scoring hundreds.”
University can retain its place in the top two, and thus host a semi-final, if it defeats Glenorchy at Uni Oval across the weekend, as it attempts to stave off New Town in third.
The once all-conquering Lions have looked shaky in recent weeks, losing three-in-a-row for the first time all season.
Despite this, Ben Hilfenhaus’ side will play finals, mostly due to their fantastic start to the season which saw them raise two white-ball trophies before Christmas.
Glenorchy can end its season on a high note with a final round victory, having won just twice all season.
Kingborough will enter the finals as the top dog, regardless of its result against New Town this weekend, while the Bucks will be desperate to leapfrog University to finish in the top two.
New Town’s season has provided many highs and lows, but to host a final would put it in an excellent position to challenge for the premiership in a few weeks’ time.
A difficult outright loss to Clarence significantly dented the Bucks’ optimisms of a top two spot, but Uni losing to the Raiders has surely restored some hope to the dressing room.
South Hobart-Sandy Bay’s season may be over, but it has the power to take Clarence down with them as they do battle at Kangaroo Bay Oval this weekend.
The Sharks’ inability to defend 400 against Lindisfarne last weekend has seen them drop out of contention for the top four, while Clarence has won three consecutive games to move within touching distance of the final’s places.
The Roos have defeated Lindisfarne, Greater Northern, and New Town in their last month of cricket, and now sit just four points behind the fourth-placed Raiders.
With veteran fast-bowler Sam Rainbird taking a monstrous 24 wickets across those three games, an outside chance is all that Clarence will feel they need to make a serious push for the finals.
Rainbird now leads the competition in wickets taken at 47, at an average of just 15.55.
All men’s games this round are set to be played across Saturday and Sunday, as the semi-finals will be taking place next weekend.
In junior CTPL action, Clarence have been crowned one-day champions of the Under 18’s, following a narrow 25-run win over University, while Glenorchy has defeated
Kingborough to take out the Under 16’s premiership.