Tucabia sets sights on grand final

Michael Summers lines up a delivery outside off for Brothers at McKittrick Park.

IT’S BEEN a fairytale ride this season for Tucabia Blue and Matt Kroehnert’s men are not finished yet.

A win against Brothers this weekend will see them edge a step closer to a first-ever grand final appearance.

Kroehnert was contacted Friday afternoon and confirmed his side is ready to put up a good fight.

“We will do our best to win and if we play to our full potential there is no reason why we can’t advance to next week...we will certainly be putting up a fight,” Kroehnert said.

“It’s been an amazing year for our guys and our main aim this weekend is to be competitive and have a good game.”

Getting players to net practice is always a concern for captains but on Thursday the Tucabia players turned up in full force.

“We had a good turn out at training this week. I think 10 out of the 11 players turned up,” a surprised Kroehnert said.

“Some of the guys looked good and in form. We have a few players from down river and they made the effort to get there.”

Kroehnert pointed out Mick Summers and lower-order batsman Troy McLaren as obvious dangermen.

Midway through the season questions were asked if the Tucabia batsmen have the necessary application to bat out the overs. Semi-final cricket is a different format with teams facing 100 overs and is something Kroehnert said he has addressed with his players.

“I’ve discussed it with the team. Yes we do need at times to bat less aggressively and look at the situation of the game. But in saying that certain players have to play their natural game,” he said.

Tucabia Blue and Brothers have met twice this season with one win a piece. Both teams boast potential match winners however Brothers have the luxury of a genuine allrounder in their captain Brad Robertson.

Robertson is fresh from a ton last week against Coutts and has been in devastating form with the ball.

The game promises to be an intriguing battle with both sides evenly matched.