NESTLES coach Gary MacLean has emphatically backed his young charges to reap the rewards of exposure to first-grade cricket.
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The youth-laden Factory side is set to become the first club to lock horns with Nirranda on the Knights’ new turf pitch at Port Campbell on Saturday.
Nestles has eight players under the age of 20 in its division one side, with several division two youngsters also pressing for top-grade selection.
They head into the clash upbeat, despite two close-shave losses to Port Fairy and Brierly-Christ Church in recent weeks following strong Twenty20 form in October.
“I think early on the boys were playing good cricket. Twenty20s can be a little bit hard to gauge form on, because if you bat or bowl well for two or three overs it can completely shape the game,” MacLean said.
“The young guys have been adequate all year. They’re having real hit and are learning on the go so to speak.
“As the season evolves I’ve been saying to them that they can take this challenge. They’re good enough to take the next step but they need to do it as a team as well as individually.”
The club coach said the players were excited to venture south-east to Port Campbell.
He said they were interested to see how the Port Campbell pitch played.
“It’s nice to be a part of Nirranda’s first match on turf out there,” MacLean said.
“We’re heading over on the bus and we’ll make a bit of a day of it. It’ll be a bit like travelling to Portland used to be.
“Hopefully we can get some points out of it. That’s what we’re aiming for.”
MacLean believed his side had been unlucky in recent weeks but would learn lessons from the talented opposition it had faced.
“A few sides have been batting quite well against us. The young fella Jason (Perera) got going for Port Fairy the other week, and we came up against a really good Nathan Murphy the week after,” he said.
“We’re showing real enthusiasm and work ethic at training and as a coach that is all you can ask for. They turn up, give their all and want to learn.”
Elsewhere, Port Fairy’s bid to keep pressure on Russells Creek will take it to Dennington on Saturday.
The Dogs will welcome star footballer Liam Youl back to the fold for the game, while Terry Beks and Sam Worden will also return to division one.
Shaun Ploenges has been promoted to Port Fairy’s division one after a half-century knock in division two last weekend.
Allansford has been dogged by bad luck and weather conditions and is desperate to get its first win of the season against an in-form Brierly-Christ Church.
