Tom Byrnes put St Michaels in a strong position following an impressive century at Robertson Oval on Saturday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The ladder leaders finished their 80 overs at 9-311 as Brynes led the way at the top of the order.
He scored 119 off 189 balls, with his innings featuring seven boundaries and a six.
Coach Ryan Forsyth was impressed with the youngsters efforts.
“It was awesome,” Forsyth said.
“There was times he had to work hard, get through some tight bowling and every time he got himself into a situation where he could have been frustrated and got out he worked through it.
“He hit the ball so well and didn’t give a chance.”
Eventually dismissed after giving South Wagga captain Joel Robinson a catch off his bowling, he was a cornerstone for the Saints innings.
Forsyth gave him plenty of support, making 40 before falling to Robinson, while Angus Le Lievre made 39 down the order.
Byrnes has only played four matches since returning to his junior club but has been making an impact.
After a short stint in Sydney, Byrnes made 60 in his first match before bringing up his century on Saturday.
Despite missing out on a couple of good starts Forsyth has been impressed with each of the innings.
“He started well and even the couple of innings where he hasn’t made runs he’s been hitting the ball well and looked in form,” he said.
“I know you want to see blokes scoring runs but he has come back and been on the verge of something special.
“(Saturday) was that day for him and it was awesome to see.”
While setting South Wagga a big target for victory, Forsyth has first hand experience of chasing down a big total on the ground this season.
The Saints chased down 320 against Wagga City leading into Christmas and he is looking to back up the effort with the ball.
“We are in a position to be really competitive but we have seen that at Robertson Oval big totals can get chased down,” he said.
“We are definitely wary of that but 311 is a really good effort and more importantly just batting out our 80 overs was a good.
“We wanted to make sure we got to 80 as that is the sort of thing you need to be doing coming into finals.
South Wagga used nine bowlers as they attempted to breakthrough.
Nathan Cooke and Mitch Sykes were the most successful, each picking up three wickets, while Robinson claimed the two most important scalps.
The Blues haven’t won this year and are in danger of missing out on a finals berth.
