WODONGA Raiders have taken the first steps in their bid to climb off the bottom of the Provincial ladder by signing explosive batsman Darren Petersen as captain.
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Petersen returns to Cricket Albury-Wodonga from Wangaratta and District club Rovers United-Bruck.
The 40-year-old will be joined at Birallee Park by Richard Harvey, who has taken on the Raiders’ coaching job.
The Raiders have won just two matches in the past three seasons but the experience of Petersen and Harvey will be crucial to the development of teenagers like Josh Barrett, Nick Bracher and Tory Wallace.
Petersen knows what it takes to deliver on the big stage after playing in three premierships at North Albury and one flag at East Albury.
“I’m excited about it and I’m looking forward to playing with the Raiders,” he said.
“The main thing is to get the club moving in the right direction and hopefully win a few games.
“They’ve got plenty of young fellas there, it’s just a matter of getting something out of them.
“(Being captain) will be a new experience for me.
“I’ll try to let my bat do the talking.”
Harvey spent time with the Raiders as bowling coach in 2014-15 and takes on the top job for 2016-17 with flags at Bruck and Yackandandah on his coaching resume.
The long-time Baranduda player said he had a simple goal for the Raiders – to earn the respect of the competition.
“The guys just need to get in and have a red-hot crack and believe in themselves,” he said.
“They just need to focus on training, focus on match-day and who knows what can happen.
“Training is going to be full-on to start off with to get them in the right mindset to move forward and compete.
“It’s going to be all about winning respect and showing lots of character for us because Provincial cricket is a tough gig.
“We will look to play an accountable, positive brand of Australian cricket.”
Meanwhile, St Patrick’s all-rounder Jon Shaw has taken over as coach of Rovers United-Bruck.
Xavier Mardling
Xavier started at The Border Mail in Albury-Wodonga in 2001, covering sport and general news before moving to the subs' desk. He was editor of his hometown masthead from 2016 to 2020 before swapping the Murray for Merewether. He returned to The Border Mail as editor in 2023.
Xavier started at The Border Mail in Albury-Wodonga in 2001, covering sport and general news before moving to the subs' desk. He was editor of his hometown masthead from 2016 to 2020 before swapping the Murray for Merewether. He returned to The Border Mail as editor in 2023.
