ALLANSFORD’S growing pool of talent has been reminded it must treat each match as a crunch final despite boasting one of the most gifted playing lists in the region.
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Gators coach Dan Schuppan says Allansford will give opponents “nothing but respect” despite adding to its talent pool in the off-season.
Schuppan is a former Victorian Premier Cricket fast bowler with Carlton.
He has also secured the services of Grampians legend Heinrich Joyce to bolster the Gators’ top order and wicketkeeping stocks.
While confident about his side’s prospects, Schuppan was wary of complacency.
“The one thing I’ve said at training was that we have to respect every single club we play because we’re not in a position to do otherwise,” he said.
“We want to be up there with the Woodfords, the Russells Creeks, the Port Fairys. We know we’re going to be up against it every single week.”
The 31-year-old, however, is under no illusions of the talent he has at his disposal ahead of Allansford’s season-opener against Nestles on Saturday.
“I went through our list with (captain) Chris Bant the other night and we think we’ve got 17 division one cricketers at the club,” Schuppan said.
“We’ll have unavailability at times but we’ll have some more experienced players with the younger guys in the twos.
“To have those older heads around them is going to be fantastic. We’re in a good position.”
Allansford is vying to improve on its ninth place finish in 2016-17. Ben Boyd has remained at the club in a co-coaching role.
