WAGGA cricket powerhouse Kooringal Colts are back at the top of the tree after an upset victory over South Wagga in the grand final at Robertson Oval.
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Colts capped off a stunning finals series by again standing tall when it counts as they recorded a 35-run win over minor premiers South Wagga.
Colts made 215 on Saturday and then were successfully able to defend the total as South Wagga were dismissed for 180.
South Wagga looked on top on a couple of occasions during the run chase, at 0-61 and 3-122, but Colts were able to break a couple of key partnerships and take multiple wickets in short periods.
David Bolton proved the match-winner with five wickets.
He claimed Joel Robinson and Mitch Sykes in successive balls that turned the match on its head and swung it Colts’ way.
Kooringal Colts captain Keenan Hanigan struggled to come to terms with the premiership win.
”It’s an absolutely amazing feeling,” Hanigan said.
“We’ve worked so hard, not just this year but the last three or four years to really turn this club around and be successful and it’s finally paid off for us today.”
Colts went into the match knowing it could knock over the Blues.
“You’ve always got to be confident going into a grand final,” he said.
“You’ve got to be in it to win it , you’ve got a 50-50 chance so you’ve got to be confident.
“We knew we were up against it against South Wagga, they’ve got a great list, they bat all the way down.
“We knew we had to work hard for it.”
Kooringal were never far off the mark during the season but was clearly the best team during finals.
“From the very first final against RSL I thought we were on from the start,” he said.
“We had two losses coming into finals but we really turned it around.
“The boys were really up for the challenge and I couldn’t be prouder.”
Hanigan believes Colts’ fielding won them the grand final.
“To be honest, our fielding was outstanding today,” he said.
“We created chances, we got a run out there near the end that changed the game, I really think our fielding was top notch today and anyone watching would have been real impressed by it.”
“They were going alright there at 3-120 and I turned to Dave again and he came on and got two quick wickets with two balls,” he said.
“He got Joel, who is a class player, then Sykesy first ball so that really turned the match a bit.”
Andrew Dutton top scored for Colts with 55.