Tassie preview: Tigers maintain push for title success

Women's state previews: QLD women | SA women | NSW women | WA women  | TAS women | ACT women

Men's state previews for 2024-25: QLD men | SA men | NSW men | WA men | TAS men | VIC men

Beware, Tasmania is not taking a backward step as it attempts to win an incredible fourth-straight WNCL title this season.

With a revamped preseason, the ‘look’ of a champion on the training track and the rise of a speed machine, the Tigers are prime for another top-notch season.

The Tigers have boosted their squad with the inclusion of up-and-coming Hobart Hurricanes all-rounder Ruth Johnston, who has jumped ship from Queensland to join the island state full-time.

Last season, the Tigers dropped two games for the campaign with their loss to Western Australia on February 1 breaking a 13-game win streak. The other loss came against Victoria in the final home-and-away match of the season where experienced campaigners Molly Strano and Elyse Villani were rested.

On the flip side, the Tigers were the only side, apart from South Australia, who were able to get past Queensland who proved to be the next best team in the competition. The Tigers got past the Fire on two occasions, in fact, after defeating them by six wickets in the final to claim the title.

The Tigers will need to find an immediate replacement for leg spinner Amy Smith as she battles a knee injury while the departure of all rounder Sasha Moloney to Victoria will also open up a spot in the XI for the opening game. With some strong depth, however, including an array of spinners to choose from, the Tigers should be in a strong position to fill the void. 

The Tigers season will begin on the road with away games against Western Australia and South Australia. 

2024-25 squad: Nicola Carey, Julia Cavanough, Maisy Gibson, Heather Graham*, Ruth Johnston, Lizelle Lee, Emma Manix-Geeves, Tabatha Saville, Hayley Silver-Holmes, Amy Smith, Lauren Smith, Naomi Stalenberg, Molly Strano, Rachel Trenaman, Elyse Villani, Callie Wilson.

In: Ruth Johnston (QLD)

Out: Sasha Moloney (VIC), Clare Scott.

* Denotes Cricket Australia contract

Last season

WNCL: Champions (10 wins, 2 losses, 1 no result)

Possible XI for first match

Lizelle Lee, Elyse Villani, Nicola Carey, Heather Graham, Emma Manix-Geeves, Naomi Stalenberg, Lauren Smith, Ruth Johnston, Maisy Gibson, Julia Cavanough, Molly Strano.

Aussie player availability

Tigers all rounder Heather Graham is the state’s only Australia contracted player.

Graham is with the national team taking on New Zealand in a three-match T20 series in Queensland but is set for a return to the Tigers for the opening matches of the season.

Inside word with head coach Jude Coleman

The pre-season

“It’s been a really good pre-season. We have done a few things differently this year and I feel like it’s been a nice mix where we have seen some really good development with our younger players but our senior players are feeling quite fresh and energised and ready to go for another season.

“We trialled like a tiered-return approach to our preseason which I think they do in the AFL. So we based it on the number of years a player has been in a full-time program. So the zero-to-three years came back after a six-week break and did a really solid five-week block of strength and conditioning (S&C). And then we had the four-to-seven-year players come back after an eight-week break and again, another S&C block, and then old girls, the ones who have been in programs for over eight years have an extended break and slightly shorter preseason.

“It was actually really great to see the younger players have their own chance to lead in different ways because the older players weren’t around. It was actually really good – it’s been a nice chance.

“And then we had eight players go up to Queensland to play in the T20 Max, two weeks of solid game time which then led into our preseason camp on the Sunshine Coast where we had another two 50 overs and three T20 practice games. So yeah, feeling like it’s been a jam-packed pre-season but I think it’s got us ready to go for the season ahead.

Injury update:

“We've obviously got a squad of 16, 17 if you include Heather. But injury wise, out of those 16, we've got 14 available for selection so we've only got two injuries in the squad. Rachel Trenaman continues to have trouble with her knee, but hopefully she'll be pushing for WNCL potentially in the back end of the season, so January, February time.

“And then Amy Smith is our other injury at the moment who's just had a stress related injury of a lower leg, but she's on track for a return for WBBL.

Players to watch

“It’s hard to go past our key players who have been standouts for us in past seasons like Nicola Carey, Molly Strano, but I think the one to watch this year is Elyse Villani. She had, by her own admission, a little bit of a lighter season last year in the runs department but she is just looking… it’s the best I’ve seen her look with the bat in the preseason and without putting too much pressure on her, I’m really excited to see how she goes this season. And another young player who has done a bucket load of work through the preseason is Hayley Silver-Holmes, I’m really excited to see how she goes this season as well.

Biggest strength

“I think we're pretty evenly matched from the batting and bowling point of view, but I think our strength is probably our ability to play at Blundstone. I think we have a really big home ground advantage here and our style cricket really suits this ground. I know it's only half of our season that we get to play at home, but I think it's a big strength of ours. And then we've obviously got quite a large number of spinners in our group so I think that's probably something that’s been a big part of our success over the past few years.

Areas for improvement

“It is a bit of a tough question. I think it's not necessarily an area to improve because we're definitely a group who just never stops wanting to improve, it's probably just the whole, when you're on top and the other teams are always chasing you. That's probably the area that's a big focus for us. Being the hunted is never easy so I think that's just an area that we always talk about. We always want to continue to grow to make sure that we're not letting the other teams get any closer to us.

Young guns

“It's probably Hayley Silver-Holmes is probably a big one. She's been around for a while now, but she's still only 21 and has had a fair bit of injury over the past few seasons. I think she'll have another good season this season, but one that might be on the radar that people won't have heard much about, has again, had a run of injuries in the last couple of seasons, but could potentially get an opportunity through the season is a young fast bowler, Callie Wilson. She's originally from South Australia, has been contracted here, this is her third year contracted in Tassie. At this stage, she's fit and has had a really good preseason, terrorized some players up on the Sunshine Coast, I think she took four wickets in one of our practice games against New South Wales. She's an exciting prospect who bowls some serious with some serious pace.

Key players

“Oh gosh, there's a fair few to pick from. I hate to put pressure on players by saying that, but I think that's the beauty of our squad, because, yes, we've got some key players, but even on their worst day, we've got plenty who can step up as well. I think it's just our senior players, the likes of Elyse Villani, Nicola Carey, Molly Strano. They're always going to be key to any team, but the beauty of our squad this year is we've got so many people who can actually step up and put up their hand to do the job if one of those players may be having an off day. That’s a big part of our success is the depth of our squad.

Team to beat

“Every WNCL team we play against is always really hard to beat. That's the beauty of the competition. That's why it's the best domestic competition in the world I believe. You can't have an off day because any team can beat anyone. But I think Queensland’s still one of our strongest oppositions so they'd be my team to beat, I reckon.”

Schedule:

September 24 v Western Australia, WACA Ground

September 26 v Western Australia, WACA Ground

October 4 v South Australia, Karen Rolton Oval

October 6 v South Australia, Karen Rolton Oval

December 14 v NSW, Bellerive Oval

December 16 v NSW, Bellerive Oval

January 12 v Queensland Fire, Allan Border Field

January 14 v Queensland Fire, Allan Border Field

January 30 v ACT Meteors, Bellerive Oval

February 1 v ACT Meteors, Bellerive Oval

February 19 v Victoria, Bellerive Oval

February 21 v Victoria, Bellerive Oval