Victorian NICL winners head to Adelaide for Finals Series

Victoria will have two sides competing across each division, and will be looking to add to the trophy taken home by the Cranbourne Kings in last year’s tournament who defeated fellow Victorian rivals Springvale Scorpions in the 2017 Women’s final.

The Women’s draw includes all five zone champions. Each team will play one another in a round-robin format, with the top two teams going straight to the final on Sunday afternoon at 12:00pm. There are no second chances.

With only four group games compared to five last year, there is little room for slow starts in both Men’s pools. The top two from each group will go onto the knock-out semi-finals on Sunday followed by the final on Sunday afternoon at 2:00pm.

Each team has already claimed $1,500 for winning their zone final. A further $5,000 will go to the runner-up whilst the champions will take home $10,000.

Victoria West Men’s Rep: Northcote Knights

Division: Victoria West
How they got there: Defeated Melton Falcons 86 (4) – 43 (0)
Season Record: 18 matches – 16 wins, 2 losses
2017 NICL Finals result: Group stage
2018 NICL Finals group: Yellow Pool
Group opponents: Townsville Wildcatz (North Queensland), Toombul Tigers (South-East Queensland), Macarthur Raptors (NSW Metro), Eastern Shore Bombers (Tasmania)

Squad: Alex Jesensek (c), Cale Volitakis, Sean Neary, Steve Mitchell, Jacob Carruthers, Robbie Bullock, Adam Hall, Aaron Amos, Dan Fielding

Fixtures:
Friday 31 August:
Vs Wildcatz at 8:30am
Vs Tigers at 1:45pm
Vs Bombers at 7:45pm

Saturday 1 September:
Vs Raptors at 12:00pm

Victoria East Men’s Rep: Croydon Raiders

Division: Victoria East
How they got there: Beat Bobo’s Diner (Frankston) Sharks 117 (3) – 108 (1)
Season record: 12 matches – 11 wins, 1 draw
2017 NICL Finals result: Group stage
2018 NICL Finals group: Green Pool
Group opponents: Wolves (ACT), Western Stars (NSW Country), Seamer Snakes (WA), Pink Panthers (SA)

Squad: Justin Perkins (c), Kieran Perkins, Travis Baker, Kris Krolikowski, Chris Pahi, Benn Zomer, Mark Appleby, Andrew Keane, Geoff Latham, Aaron McKenzie

Fixtures:
Friday 31 August:
Vs Wolves at 4:15pm

Saturday 1 September:
Vs Stars at 8:30am
Vs Snakes at 1:45pm
Vs Panthers at 7:45pm

Victoria East Women’s Rep: Monash Tigers

Division: Victoria East
How they got there: Defeated Cranbourne Kings (2) 105 (3) – 82 (1)
Season record: 9 matches – 8 wins, 1 loss
2017 NICL Finals result: Did not play
Group opponents: Toombul Tigers (South-East Queensland), Croydon Raiders (Victoria West), Stepney Thunder (Tasmania), Macarthur Raptors (NSW Metro)

Squad: Jaide Anthony (c), Annecy Homberg (vc), Alexandra Elliot, Ashling O’Farrell (injured), Erin Carroll, Sonia Khanna, Madeleine White, Simran Gandhi, Ellen Williams, Ella Hayward

Fixtures:
Friday 31 August:
Vs Thunder at 12:00pm
Vs Raiders at 6:00pm

Saturday 1 September:
Vs Raptors at 10:15am
Vs Toombul Tigers at 4:15pm

Victoria West Women’s Rep: Croydon Raiders

Division: Victoria West
How they got there: Defeated Cranbourne Kings 126 (1) – 104 (3)
Season Record: 8 matches – 6 wins, 1 loss, 1 draw
2017 NICL Finals result: Did not play
Group opponents: Toombul Tigers (South-East Queensland), Monash Tigers (Victoria East), Stepney Thunder (Tasmania), Macarthur Raptors (NSW Metro)

Squad: Laura Shaw (c), Hailey Ferris, Brylee Barker, Amy Jennings, Elly Donald, Jess Adams, Lani DeJong, Adelaide Campion, Deb Loughnan

Fixtures:
Friday 31 August:
Vs Toombul Tigers at 12:00pm
Vs Monash Tigers at 6:00pm

Saturday 1 September:
Vs Raptors at 4:15pm

Sunday 2 September:
Vs Thunder at 8:00am

A number of matches will be live-streamed across the Finals Series, from 10:15am on Friday 31 August and Saturday 2nd September, and from 8:00am on Sunday 3 September – including all finals fixtures.

To tune in, or for full fixtures and more details, visit www.nicl.com.au or the CricketAusIndoor Facebook page.