Nagambie father-son duo Jeremy and Ryan Ezard share a brilliant summer of cricket and golf

Jeremy, an A-grade player with Eastern Hill decades ago, thought his playing days were over. But he couldn’t pass up the chance to play with his son.

Six months later, the Ezards had a premiership to their name.

The pair combined for Nagambie’s Cricket Shepparton E-grade flag, chipping in handsomely as the Lakers defeated Katandra by 57 runs in the March grand final.

Ryan Ezard had the wood over his dad with the willow in the 2023-24 season, chalking up 322 runs to his dad’s 258-run season contribution, while the teenager also claimed a stunning 35 wickets.

However, in April’s Nagambie Golf Club Championship, Jeremy took the reins back.

Ezard rallied from behind to shoot a three-round total of 224 to collect his 12th consecutive club championship.

The talented multi-sportsman trailed Michael Roberts by a single shot after the first round, swung into a co-lead position at the end of round two and flew home in the third and final round to hold a five-shot margin and make it a dozenth for the cabinet.

“I was a bit fortunate; I chipped in for an eagle on the first which helped of course,” he said.

“I wasn’t happy with my lie, but I thought ‘I’ll just try and get it on the green’ and sure enough it went hop, hop into the hole.

“I was just pretty solid all day really; I putted pretty well, drove the ball well and probably just put enough pressure on the other two and managed to pull away a little bit on the back nine.”

However, while Jeremy was the main toast of the club, Ryan wasn’t in the shadows.

The youngster one-upped his father’s comeback with a from-the-clouds revival in the B-grade event, making up a nine-shot lead on round two leader Don Hughes to win the grade by three shots with a 211 nett total.

Both Ezards bumped into each other on the course throughout the day, with the pair sharing words of encouragement to fuel their respective victories.

“It certainly helped; I know there was a few times where I looked over and he gave me a hand signal one way or the other,” Jeremy said.

“Or we’d meet up somewhere on the course and I’d ask how he’s going, so I was probably focusing on him more than my game to be honest.

“It was pretty exciting to see him come back from as far down he was.”

Ryan has played competition golf for three years, winning Nagambie Golf Club’s Finnigan four-ball event in his first year at age 11.

Jeremy’s path was similar, though he first swung the club around the back paddock as a pre-schooler and continued to play the sport until cricket became more of an interest in his middle to late teens.

“I played back in Seymour playing A-grade with Eastern Hill over the late ’90s-early 2000s,” he said.

“Looking back now, you think of the players I used to play with; Matty O’Sullivan, Rick Hager — they’re certainly legends of the club.

“I think they’ve probably won 10 or 12 flags between the two of them. I was catching the end of that era, but those guys were bloody awesome to learn from.”

Cricket had become an afterthought for Jeremy for a long while, but a past passion stirred when the 2023-24 season rolled around.

Nagambie breezed the regular season and punched its ticket to the big dance, where the Ezards combined for 22 runs on the post.

The Lakers scored a modest 106, but Ryan’s 3-11 with the ball restricted Katandra to 49, justifying his dad’s return.

“I’d sort of passed on my cricket; I played a lot when I was a junior, but I came back to help out because they said they were struggling with numbers,” Jeremy said.

“I obviously took the opportunity to have a hit with my young bloke.

“On the day, batting we didn’t get as many runs as we would’ve liked, but our bowling was absolutely amazing.”

While father and son don the whites on Saturday, mother Sandy is a Sunday operator.

She was a pioneer for Nagambie’s female cricket side, which made its inaugural tilt in the 2023-24 season, and also currently plays football for the Lakers’ ladies.

Her eldest son Blake Ezard is also no stranger to the Sherrin, winning the Kyabram District League under-18 best-and-fairest in 2023 as a crafty midfielder who sneaks forward to kick goals.

So when it comes to sport at Nagambie, you can bet an Ezard is in the game.