Gordon District Cricket Club Inc. 113TH ANNUAL REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2017-2018 SEASON FOUNDED 1905 2 GORDON DISTRICT CRICKET CLUB INC. ANNUAL REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2017-2018 GORDON DISTRICT CRICKET CLUB INC. 3 Message from the President I start the President’s Report this year with a brief tribute to our club legend Dick Guy who has recently passed away. We were all in shock when we heard the sad news, however this allowed us to reflect on his contribution to our club. Much will be written about Dick over the coming months, but in a world where “legend” is used too often, Dick was definitely, a Stags legend. He loved the club and it paid a huge part in his life. Dick was President of the club when I first came to play grade, and I missed his extraordinary feats as a bowler, but he was always there to provide support and encouragement. I always found him a respectful person who appreciated my contribution to the club as player and administrator. I feel fortunate that Dick attended Mark Geoff Hickman Taylor Oval at Waitara in October 2017 to come and watch our new English leg-spinner Matt Parkinson. I was acting manager for the day and got to spend some time with him, which was fantastic. We will all miss Dick, but on behalf of the club, we are very fortunate to have him involved in our club and helping him create the history that is Gordon Cricket. Season 2017/18 was overall a successful season for our club. Our playing performances were strong with us making qualifying finals and better in seven out of the ten competitions we competed in. We were unable to turn any of these qualifications into a premiership so, in that respect, it was a little disappointing. However, the mark of success should not be just about premierships and therefore I would contend that we have made positive strides in our endeavors to continue improving as a club. After a disappointing first half of the season, when we were well and truly in the bottom half of the club championship at Christmas, we came home strongly to finish 6th and only two places lower than last year. However, there seems to be a gap between the top clubs and ourselves and an honest appraisal is that we need to improve our on-field performances across all grades if we want to achieve the holy grail, being the club championship. One of the most pleasing aspects of last year was our strong performances in Poidevin-Gray and Green Shield, where we made the final in PG’s and semi-final in Green Shield. It was a credit to all the players, coaches, managers and supporters. It shows we have strength in our junior ranks and this hopefully will be the foundation that will allow us to continue to improve over the coming seasons. First grade had another successful season making the finals, playing some great cricket in the run- up to the finals and qualifying after their season seemed gone early after Christmas. A tough played draw against eventual premiers Parramatta saw them eliminated, but with two of our key bowlers not playing it was always going to be a tough job bowling Parramatta out on a very good Old Kings wicket. Congratulations to Parramatta on their premiership, it was well deserved. Our three lower grade teams, 4ths, 5ths and Colts all made their semi-finals but unfortunately all three teams lost. Whilst they all played some great cricket during the season, ultimately their batting let them down when needed. Something to focus on for next season. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our coaching staff and in particular Trevor Chappell and Mark O’Neill for their hard work and contributions to our performances last season. ANNUAL REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2017-18 4 GORDON DISTRICT CRICKET CLUB INC. There were many outstanding individual performances during the season, of which I would like to specially mention a few as follows: • Axel Cahlin had a wonderful season in 1st grade scoring 971 runs at an average of 51.11 and in doing so broke the club aggregate record for 1st grade held previously by Craig Simmons. Axel is an example of a young player who came to Gordon to play Green Shield and has improved dramatically year by year. It shows that with talent and plenty of hard work you can achieve your goals. Axel is a Axel Cahlin wonderful ambassador for our club and we are very proud of his achievements. In between scoring 971 runs he captained our Poidevin-Gray side to the final and represented NSW in two Futures League matches. With another year of PG’s to go we look forward to his continued development over the coming seasons. • Dillon Amjad, a new player to our club had an amazing season and deservedly won the Smartline Player of the Year award. One could argue he played below his true grade, as due to a mixture of circumstances he played Dillon Amjad primarily in Colts all season. He scored 680 runs at 61.82 and took 40 wickets at 10.55. He did all that could be asked of him and I am pretty confident he will be playing higher grades next season. • Charlie Stobo with a NSW contract on board continues to develop as a player with great potential for both NSW and Gordon. Charlie has always remained loyal to our club and we look forward to watching his future development over the coming seasons. Charlie Stobo • Steve Colley led 1st grade into the finals for the second season in a row and was a great contributor to the teams results with 795 runs at an average of 46.76, including a brave 126 against Parramatta in the qualifying final. • Michael Roberts who put his gloves aside this season and had a great season with the bat to win the Under 21 Player of the Year award scoring 568 runs in grade and another 164 in PG’s. Michael showed what a competitor he is featuring in two record partnerships during the season. The one of 126 for the 9th wicket in 3rd grade with Chris De Krester got the team an unlikely win after all seemed lost. Steve Colley As President, I fully understand what is involved in running a grade cricket club. The amount of work involved and the commitment from our volunteers is immense. I would like to especially thank the club’s executive for all their dedicated hard work this season and the support they have provided to me. To Peter Klemt, Michael Cant, Tim Cubbage, Geoff Keevers, Andrew Falk, Marshall Rosen, Paul Stephenson & Vaughn Michael Roberts Richtor thank you for your contribution, also a big thanks to Jim Cattlin who continued as Secretary of the club. ANNUAL REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2017-2018 GORDON DISTRICT CRICKET CLUB INC. 5 As a club we are blessed to have some wonderful volunteers, who consistently amaze me with the amount of work they do on behalf of the club. It is the reason why club’s like ours survive as without it, we would not be able to keep running our club at the level we need to remain a competitive club in the NSW Premier competition. However, having said this we desperately need more volunteers to help spread the workload more evenly. Therefore, my challenge to parents, supporters and past players is to put your hand up and give back to our club and I promise that you will get great personal fulfillment from your contribution. Also thanks to our wonderful support base consisting of parents, past players and people just interested in supporting their local club. You are an important part of our club and we always appreciate your support. Special mention should be made of the Selection Committee that have the hardest job in the club trying to select sides and keep everyone happy. Based on our results they have done a pretty good job. Thanks to Mark Carmichael, Bob Thomas and Tony Wilson. Thanks also to our Player’s Committee for their contribution last season; it is very much appreciated. I would like to make special mention of our club captain Tym Crawford, who has done an amazing job as club captain, assisted with coaching of our Poidevin-Gray and Green Shield as well as running our Junior Academy sessions. I would like to sincerely thank our Platinum sponsor Beastwear who have again provided us financial support to assist run our club. Aden is a tremendous person to work with and I would like to see us continue to grow our relationship into the future. Beastwear are providing us with all our playing and training gear and I believe the standard has been very high and taken our club to a new level of professionalism. I would also like to thank all our Gold sponsors: • Savills – Craig Marshall • Hickman & Ritchard Financial Planning – Shaun Trimnell-Ritchard • Riboni Constructions – Marshall Rosen • Smartline Mortgage Advisers – Stuart Craig • Insurance AdviserNet – Peter Hankinson • The Great Northern Hotel – Alysse (new sponsor) A lot of these sponsors have helped us for a considerable time, and their support is one of the key reasons we can keep the club going, as the performance expectations for grade cricket rise along with increasing financial challenges. We thank you and hope you will continue our association into the future. I encourage all our members to utilize their services and ensure we support these businesses that are such great supporters of our club.