NORTH Albury coach Gerard Midson believes the Hoppers can finish as high as third on the Cricket Albury-Wodonga ladder this season if they stick to their game plan.
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After a disappointing 2013-14, Midson said yesterday the traditional powerhouse was eager to make amends, with optimism growing after back-to-back wins against Belvoir.
They will start favourites against winless Tallangatta at Tallangatta on Saturday.
“Being such a proud club we were fairly disappointed with last season but we made a conscious decision to continue to rebuild and a lot of our younger players have a season of senior cricket behind them now,” Midson said.
“We reckon we were in every game except for one last year and I think we can finish top three if we stick to our plans.
“It’s an even competition as Albury showed at the weekend.
“I don’t think a lot separates many of the sides.”
Midson singled out Jarrod Featonby and Brandon Purtell as two players who had benefited from last season’s experience by making 35 not out and taking 5-60 against Belvoir at the weekend.
The arrival of Daniel Athanitis from Yarrawonga-Mulwala has been another plus, with the Rand-Walbundrie football coach scoring 63 in the middle order.
“Daniel will be very handy for us,” Midson said.
“He batted well at the weekend and bowls a heavy ball.
“I think being a footy coach will be good for the younger blokes in the side as well.
“Our batting depth is a lot better this season as we had Josh McNeill batting at No. 10 on the weekend, when he opened in the district competition last year for Dederang.”
While Midson was pleased with the effort in chasing down Belvoir’s 277 at Bunton Park on Sunday, he wasn’t as happy with the fielding performance.
“I think we dropped seven catches so there is a lot of room for improvement,” he said.
“You are going to get lapses in concentration with a young side, but we’ll keep working on that.”
North Albury youngsters Tyler Young and Michael Perry will be pressing for senior selection soon.