ADCA 2023-24: Full strength Royals up for battle with Collingwood Park in A-grade preliminary final showdown

After an intense battle of 21 rounds in the Albany and Districts Cricket Association A-grade competition, the stage is now set for a thrilling preliminary final clash between Royals and Collingwood Park on Saturday. The Lions will be looking to make their fourth-straight grand final appearance while Park are hoping to challenge for the premiership for the first time since their 2013 loss to North County. The winner will face minor premiers and winners of the past two A-grade titles, Mt Barker, in next week’s grand final. After being the Bulls’ bridesmaid in the past two grand finals, Lions captain Mitch Green believes his squad’s continuity makes them poised for yet another decider appearance. “We have been here before and we’ve done it and we will use the last two years of experience for these big games,” he said. “We have had the same consistent core group for the last three or four years so we are looking forward to the challenge. “It is important for the group to stay together and build that camaraderie. “We’ve lost the last two grand finals and the boys are pretty hungry.” Green said it was easy to get lost in the hype of finals and his side must remain focused on “doing the basics right”. “You can overcomplicate finals, but I think, it’s really about doing the basics right,” Green said. “If we bat first, form those partnerships, if we bowl first, we just have to bowl good areas and put pressure on. “We have been focusing on building partnerships as a batting group and we got that right on the weekend. “When we bowl, we just have to be consistent and build pressure.” While Green admitted Park boasted a superb bowling attack, he insisted his full-strength side would be up to the challenge. “They’re a formidable opponent with a really good bowling attack so we have to be good up the top,” he said. “We feel our bowling attack stacks up well against their batting line-up, but certainly bowling is their strength and we have to come with our A-game. “We will have 13 guys fit into 12 spots so there will be a hard luck story, but it has taken that whole group to get where we are.” All-rounder Jack Hastie hurt his hamstring in round 20 and played B-grade for the Lions last week but is the one putting pressure on to get back into his side’s best 12. Park captain Mitch Jackson said his side was fuelled by the prospect of playing in their first grand final since their 2013 defeat to North County, which Jackson played in. “This would be huge for the club and there is so much anticipation,” he said. “There is an expectation of us to make it through, but ultimately the club is super excited with our progression. “We just have to be better for longer and we know what they are capable of, but the guys have been fine-tuning their skills to maximise their output and we are really excited.” Ben Grey looms as a likely replacement for WA-contracted quick Bryce Jackson, while Kobus Wessels and Jarrad Fuller will compete for the final spot as WA second XI regular Fraser Hay’s replacement. Though not having the luxury of selecting both his former Melville teammates, Jackson insists the club is better for the experience they provided. “We won’t really be filling a void, they brought so much knowledge for the younger players which they can use in the finals,” Jackson said. “Exposing these younger players is really our long-term goal and any finals exposure for younger players is good and it will really galvanise our group for the future. “Them (Bryce Jackson and Hay) coming in allowed some players to go back to B-grade and really get their confidence up ahead of the finals.” The preliminary final starts at noon at Turf North on Saturday.