Hawks out to defend white-ball title

It’s one thing to win a premiership, but defending it is a whole other issue. That’s the situation Rovers United Bruck find themselves in ahead of the 2025/26 WDCA season, with the Hawks primed to defend their white-ball title when the season kicks off this Saturday against Benalla Bushrangers. RUB picked up both the long form and one-day premierships last season, but a bevy of personnel shifts over the off-season means their title defence is far from assured. Former captain Paddy McNamara, Luke Whitten, Dan Jones and Lucky Shantha have all departed WJ Findlay Oval, leaving the door open for those plugging away in the lower grades to put their hands up for an A grade spot. Standalone captain Jeremy Wilson said they were still working out what their best XI looked like. “You’re never fully prepared for round one, but we’ll hit round one in reasonable shape,” he said. “We’ve been training for probably the last six weeks, mostly on Sunday afternoons so you have plenty of light. “We’re in a transition period where a few of the younger blokes who have plied their trade in A reserve and B grade over the last few seasons will get opportunities,” he said. “Will Graham will get opportunities – he took the most wickets in A reserve last year, so he’ll get his opportunities in A grade this year – Ryan Parsons will get his opportunities in A grade this year, Reid Mac [McNamara] is still a young kid who’s playing a lot of cricket at high levels, he’s going to be back. “Ryan Collier is back from England, that’s a good return for us, he had a really strong season over there and he’s hoping to produce similar this year. “We’ve got a few new blokes – Susanka Gamage from Benalla has come across, Michael Honman from Benalla has also come across, he moved to Wangaratta and wants to play with us. “We’ve picked up a bloke called Ryan Barnes from Kerang, and he’ll slot into the A grade, handy with bat and ball, but he’ll miss this week anyway. “We’re scrambling a little bit for our best side this week, but that’s par for the course with cricket in the early parts [of the season].” Up against RUB this weekend is a Benalla outfit eager to showcase improvement. The Bushrangers struggled in season 24/25, managing just a single win from 12 starts, with only one player, Brayden Stepien, finishing in the top 10 performers with bat and ball across the league “They finished the season quite strongly last year, even though the results didn’t go their way,” Wilson said of Benalla. “They’ve got big Steppo [Brayden Stepien] up the top of the order and he bowls some handy spin as well, so he’s obviously the key, but they’ve got some good young kids coming through as well. “It’s a bit of an unknown, we haven’t heard a lot about them or what they’ve done in the off-season – they might have some recruits they bring out in round one. “For us, it’s a matter of playing our game, focus on what we do best, and making sure we’re up and about. “It doesn’t matter who you play, it’s always a bit of an unknown, everyone’s a bit rusty - the basics will be the key this week.” Rovers United Bruck host Benalla Bushrangers from 12.30pm this Saturday at WJ Findlay Oval.

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