NATIONAL LEAGUE

Victorian Nuggets almost sweep board

in 2007 National League

Blair Trewin

AFTER a decade of dominance by the Canberra Cockatoos, the Victorian Nuggets had the best of the 2007 National League, taking out three of the four competitions. Only in the Junior Girls, which was taken out by the Queensland Cyclones, did they fall short. Victoria’s senior victories were largely a product of their superior depth. They had no superstars, except when Troy de Haas was around at Easter, but were able to put competitive teams out in virtually every race. No other State was able to do this for the women with any degree of consistency, and the Nuggets had that title virtually wrapped up with several rounds to go, although the Southern Arrows trimmed the margin a little at the end. In contrast, the Victorian men were pushed almost all the way by the Arrows, who led for much of the season but did not have the depth to cover the loss of Simon Uppill (at JWOC) and Kerrin Rattray (injured) for the final rounds. The NSW Stingers finished fast and pipped the Arrows for 2nd, but paid the price for fielding some under-strength teams mid-season and fell five points short. After being beaten only once in thirteen years, the Cockatoos crashed, often struggling to field full teams, especially in the men’s competition where they took the wooden spoon. Queensland’s depth saw them comfortable winners in the Junior Girls; Victoria were their only challengers, but any chance they had disappeared through being unable to cover the loss of Belinda Lawford to JWOC. The Junior Boys was fought out by Victoria and Tasmania, both spearheaded by two JWOC team members, but the Victorians had slightly superior depth which gave them the edge. A hot streak mid-season in which he won six out of seven races, combined with the failure of Dave Shepherd or Julian Dent to post eight scores, made Matt Crane a comfortable individual winner, despite returning to Britain before the final rounds. Grace Elson had to work harder before securing her title but still

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Bruce Arthur manager of the victorious Victorian Nuggets seen here finishing 13th in the Australian Champs. Photo: Rob Preston

finished 19 points clear of Kathryn Ewels. Heather Harding was a similarly comfortable winner in the Junior Girls. The most interesting competition, thanks to the erratic performances of the contenders, was in the Junior Boys, which came down to the last control of the season. There were nine different race winners, and the points Tristan Lee put on the board during the Easter carnival were almost enough to get him across the line, but Kieran Sullivan – who was the only person to win three times during the season – came 3rd in the Australian Long-distance Championships, 5secs ahead of 4th, to score by a single point.

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