With a busy weekend ahead for the cricketers in Griffith, Exies will be looking to head into the Christmas break on a high when they take on Leagues under lights on Saturday night.
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Having lost their last two games on the trot after winning the first six games but captain Phil Burge isn’t too concerned by those results.
“We just came up against two sides who were in form on the day,” he said.
“Hanwood and Coro did well in those two games, and nothing should be taken away from them.”
Heading into the Christmas period, Burge had admitted he was uncertain about how the side was going to line-up heading into the final game before the break.
“We might be short a few players this weekend,” he said.
“It is always difficult with guys having Christmas parties and family things on, but we should still have a pretty good side.”
Leagues have had issues of their own in recent weeks with Ben Leach still missing due to a knee injury while Paul Plummer has also missed the last few games.
The Panthers will be looking to take confidence into the clash with the top of the table Exies side after they were able to find form with the bat last weekend against Hanwood which had been missing in their last couple of games.
There will be a family feel; for the Panthers who have named three Mathesons (Connor, Logan and Reece) alongside three Greenaways (Liam, Ryan and Tom) for this weekend’s match.
This weekend will also see the Exies side try to defend their Twenty20 title when the Don Coleman Shield goes up for grabs on Sunday afternoon.
Burge said their side would have a mixture of youth and experience.
“We will be looking for some of the young boys to step up and have a bit of fun on Sunday,” he said.
The first-grade sides will each play two games before the final between the top two sides is played out at 6.30pm on Sunday.
Exies were able to come away with the title last season after coming away with a 20-run victory over Coro.