Willetton went agonisingly close to claiming the 2009/10 WACA 4th Grade Premiership losing by one wicket in a dramatic Grand Final at James Oval.
Having fought their way back from a first innings capitulation which saw the Dragons bundled out for 87 on day one, Willetton ran out of time to claim the final South Perth wicket which would have capped off a remarkable outright victory.
With South Perth needing to survive 54 overs or reach 133 to claim the grand final outright after they scraped over the line for first innings lead on day one, the Dragons could sniff victory only four overs into the second innings.
Led by 4th Grade Player of the Year Mick Carmody and livewire veteran Micky Jurss, South Perth were in disarray at 4/4, which soon became 6/24 on the eve of the tea break. Jurss was at his vintage best, drawing the edge from three left handed batsmen in the space of two overs to get the Dragons rolling.
Willetton were halted by South Perth captain Ben Berthon-Jones (38) and youngster Nick Mitchell (26 no) whose stubborn resistance halted the Dragons surge towards the premiership.
Carmody’s 14th wicket on the finals series removed Berthon-Jones before the fiery redhead was once again on a hat-trick claiming number 10 Ian Waugh LBW for the first ball duck.
After surviving the hat-trick ball, man of the match Matthew Boardman and Mitchell survived intense pressure from Willetton to see their team to stumps to complete a first innings win at 9/90 from 60 overs, despite the efforts of Carmody (4/29 from 20 overs) and Jurss (4/21 from 19).
The pressure of the grand final saw 39 wickets fall across two days despite James Oval producing a flat wicket perfect for batting.
In Willetton’s first innings of 87, opener Ben Witschge produced the only meaningful effort with 22. As it proved, Willetton were left to rue their first innings with the bat, which has been their achilles heal for most of the season.
The Dragons were able to bowl out South Perth early on day two for 105 after passing Willetton’s total six wickets down before late wickets fell.
Tim Edmunds snared 4/39 with Carmody taking 3/30 and Jurss 2/25.
Needing quick runs in hope of an outright win, the Dragons batted with purpose to make 151, a lead of 133 with Stefan Stacey top scoring with 31 amongst other useful contributions.
Despite a late season stumble and needing to win their final game to make the finals, Greg Elliot’s team produced their best cricket during the finals convincingly defeating top two sides Fremantle and Bayswater-Morley after finishing the season fifth on the ladder.
The Dragons will look to go one step further next season