Cricket Shepparton, Goulburn Valley Playing Area geared up for grand finals

By Bransen Gibson

Mar 12, 2023

Finale: Katandra’s James Dawson and Ben Clurey and their teammates will face off against Central Park-St Brendan’s in the Haisman Shield grand final. Photo by Megan Fisher

It all comes down to this.

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One final game at the end of the season to see who will write their name into the history books. One final game to see who will earn the right to lift the premiership trophy.

Grand final day.

The venues for the Cricket Shepparton and Goulburn Valley Playing Area grand finals have been locked in, with the finales across the senior grades set to be played on Saturday, March 18.

Deakin Reserve in Shepparton will host the Haisman Shield decider once again, with Central Park-St Brendan’s and Katandra set to face off.

Meanwhile, Stanhope Bowls Club will be the venue where the GVPA’s division one and two premiers are crowned, with Shepparton Golf and Kyabram squaring off and Kyabram battling it out against Euroa respectively.

“Deakin Reserve has been the host of the grand final for a number of years now, we are very excited,” Cricket Shepparton president Brandan Reilly said.

“Grand final day is a very big occasion for Cricket Shepparton and we are very much looking forward to it, considering the start to the season we had with the floods and our clubs’ perspective by floods.

“To finally see the light here at the end of the tunnel, we weren’t sure how the season was going to shape up back in October, it is very exciting for all our clubs.”

Coverage of the A-grade decider will be live-streamed on the Cricket Shepparton Facebook page and YouTube channel.

The B and C-grade grand finals will be played at Vibert Reserve in Shepparton, while the D-grade decider will be played at Lemnos Recreation Reserve.

The E-grade final will be at Katandra West Primary School.

In the lead-up to grand final day Cricket Shepparton will also host its league presentation night on Wednesday, March 15 at the Sherbourne Terrace, with the Lightfoot Medal to be awarded to the A-grade player of the season.

“We are very much looking forward to presentation night on Wednesday night there at the Sherbourne Terrace, it is going to be a really big night,” Reilly said.

“We are expecting somewhere around 170-180 people to attend the night, and we are going to be in for one of the best medal counts that I have been involved in in a long time.”

Grand final day: Kyabram's Glenn Fields and his Bombers will take on Shepparton Golf for the Allan Matheson Shield. Photo by Rechelle Zammit

In bowls, Shepparton Park Bowls Club will host the division three, four and six grand fianls, with the division five and seven finales at Avevel Bowling Club.

Goulburn Murray Bowls Region secretary Stephen McGregor said having the grand finals at smaller clubs was a key focus for this season.

“We have spread the grand finals around this year and get them out to some of the smaller clubs, which they have been very appreciative of,” McGregor said.

“Every club in the region is equal, in our view. The main thing is supporting and showing every club that they are a valued member and a valued asset within the region.

“We are supporting smaller clubs in the region and the playing area that are supporting us. We have had some very good comments from the sides that have been playing about how good the greens were.”

The bowls division one grand final will also be live-streamed on Facebook.