The 1961 Tongala Goulburn Valley League premiership line-up (from back left) R. Rawson, M. Croft, I. McGregor, A. Cahill, K. Davis, R. Hicks, B. Campbell, D Roberts; (centre) S. Florence, R. Florence, M. Jeavons, A. Murphy (captain-coach), A. Harrison, L Barmby; (front) J. Patrick, G. Vick, J. Phyland and H Boyd. Mascot: Peter Campbell. Absent: R. French, N. Walsh and D. Rawson.
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Another link in one of Tongala Football Club’s four premiership teams from its Goulburn Valley League days has been severed with the recent death of Adrian Cahill in Nathalia.
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Cahill played on a back flank in the Blues’ Allan Murphy-coached side which defeated Shepparton 11.12 (78) to 9.11 (65) in the 1961 GVL grand final at Shepparton’s Deakin Reserve.
Only Alf Harrison, Spud and Stewart Florence, Ian McGregor, Barry Campbell and Don Rawson still survive from that side.
Ten of Tongala’s 1961 premiership-winning Goulburn Valley league team at a reunion in 2023. Pictured are (from back left) Stuart Florence, Barry Campbell, brothers Bob and Don Rawson, Ron Florence, Ned Walsh; (front) Alf Harrison, Adrian Cahill and Ian McGregor. Unable to attend was Max Jeavons, 92.
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Cahill nullified one of Shepparton’s star players, Kyabram-born Barry Vagg when he played on a back flank. Vagg went onto play 115 games with Melbourne Football Club and kick 132 goals.
Vagg was a member of the Demons 1964 premiership side and was the club’s top goalkicker in the 1965 and 1966 VFL seasons.
Cahill also loved his cricket and captained a Wyuna side to a flag in the former KDCA’s B-grade competition in the early 1970s
A big crowd of mourners attended his funeral at the Kyabram Cemetery.
Mueller makes his mark in the history books
Kyabram Cricket Club’s batting genius Kyle Mueller became the third highest runs scorer in a season in Cricket Shepparton’s modern era with his innings of 130 against top of the ladder side Central Park St Brendan’s on the first day of the final home-and-away round last Saturday.
Unless he gets another trip to the batting crease this Saturday which is unlikely, he will slot in behind Numurkah’s sporting great and current Murray Rangers Under 18 football coach Mark Brown and Sam Ahmet as the highest run makers in the competition for at least the last 50 years.
Brown set the benchmark of 849 runs in the 2012-13 season.
Mueller’s 130 on Saturday - his fourth century this season - took his run tally for the season to 762 runs behind Brown and Central Park’s Ahmet who tallied 831 runs in the 2006-7 season.
Mueller on Saturday edged past Mooroopna’s Brad Lowe with 751 runs and Central Park-St Brendan’s champion Rohan Larkin (749) in the top five run scorers in the competition in the last half century.
Mueller made 600 runs prior to the festive break and didn’t bat when the season resumed on January 8 due to commitments with the victorious Victorian side at the National Country Cricket Championships.
But with a general bye in the competition over the Australia Day weekend and Kyabram then having a bye in the following round Mueller had only two chances to overhaul Brown’s record after the festive break.
His 762 runs have come from 11 innings’ and with four unbeaten knocks he has finished the home and away season with a better average than Bradman (108.85)
Bush Bash bids fairwell
I’m sorry to learn stumps have been officially pulled on the Goulburn Valley Bush Bash League cricket competition.
The brainchild of former long serving Cricket Shepparton president David D’Elia the region’s premier T20 competition will not resurface in the 2025-26 season after going into recess for the current season.
Intentions were for the competition to come back bigger and better next season but when the logistics were calculated it was decided it was not viable to continue.
However, there have been some positives out of the competition with the emergence of a regional women’s 50 overs league.
The GVBBL mainly showcased the best players in the region who played with a franchise in the four team competition which introduced a lot of top country players to representative cricket over a five-year period.
With the Bendigo and Melbourne Country Week competitions no longer supported by the Goulburn Murray and Cricket Shepparton competitions, Kyabram and district cricket fans at least had a representative side to follow in this competition with Kyabram’s Brenton Sheppard fielding a team called Hurley’s Hotel Hounds which performed well every year and won the competition in the 2023-24 season.
In my opinion there is no better challenge for the top country cricketers to test themselves out against each other and that’s what the GVBBL delivered.
Let’s hope someone may resurrect a similar type competition in future because the district and its top players need it.
60-and-over tournament coming to Campaspe Shire
The upcoming annual 60-and-over cricket carnival hosted by Goulburn Murray Cricket will go ahead despite a setback.
A yearly $5000 grant from the Shire Of Campaspe to help stage the five-day carnival has been reduced to $2000 after some hard bargaining by Veterans Cricket Victoria and GM Cricket officials after the shire had withdrawn its usual grant.
VCV and GM Cricket hierarchy were quick to point out the carnival brings about $1.5 million into the Echuca-Moama economy and it was money well spent.
Goulburn Murray Cricket grounds are used in the carnival and host clubs also are reimbursed for their work preparing to stage games.
This year’s carnival will start on Sunday March 16 and conclude on March 20.
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