By Russell Bennett and Nick Creely
The Cardinia Cricket Club celebrated its 50th year gala at Amberlee Receptions in Cranbourne recently, reflecting on the proud history of the club and some of its finest ever players.
And what a half-century it’s been for the Bulls, with plenty of premierships and champion cricketers coming out of the club.
In what was a special night for the Bulls, a selection committee made up of club legends Wayne Snooks, Trevor Hobson, Ian Campbell and Dave Webster chose the best of the decade teams from the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and 2010s in addition to a team of the first 50 years. Current club president Gary Glen also provided significant assistance.
Lis Webster and Janine Hobson – wives of Dave and Trevor – also contributed greatly to the event through their own tireless hours of research.
Dave Webster, a life member who has been a loyal Bull from the formation of the club back in 1969, said the gala was the culmination of more than eight months of tireless hard work from the likes of Hobson, Snooks, Campbell, and also master of ceremonies Matthew Argoon and Adam Hobson.
“We didn’t want to leave any stone unturned – we wanted to do it right,” he said.
In a club crammed with so much history in such a short period of time, Webster – who has had three stints as president, and also served as secretary and a committee member too – reflected on just what Cardinia means to him after being there from the start.
“I’ve been there right through the decades,” he said.
“I can remember when I was only 11 or 12 filling in for these abattoir workers in the seniors.
“It’s just the people and the people we seem to be able to attract to the club.
“You build up a lot of friendships over so many years.”
Webster said it was great to see current Kooweerup captain-coach Mark Cooper return to the Bulls for the event, lauding his performance over his time at the club.
“Every club needs a leader, and we were fortunate enough to have one of the best in ‘Coops’,” he said.
“We were just so fortunate to have a player of his stature come to our club and really bring it along. He did a fantastic job.
“He’s got to be the number one, as far as a leader and opening bat is concerned – in my opinion.”
Webster was also quick to heap praise on champion spinner Dwayne Doig, for his role in shaping the recent history of the club.
“You won’t see a better bowler (than Doig) – he’s just a champion and a champion bloke too,” he said.
“Coops and Doigy, along with Steve Paterson, took our club to the next level.
“That’s why the night went so long – there were a lot of players to get through, to acknowledge the impact they had on our club.”
Here are the respective team of the decades, announced on the night:
Team of the 1970s
Bill Blackwood
Len Webster
Harold Alexander
David Webster
Peter Webster
Ray Hobson
George Harvey
Charle Morley
Kevin Gray
Ian Murphy
Bill Toner
Alan Wright
Wayne Snooks
Team of the 1980s
Ian Campbell
Leigh Cookman
Gary Quinlan
Jeff Bailey
Peter Van Steensel
Ben Sargent
Chris Gunton
Trevor Jury
Keith Scharenguivel
Adam Ryan
Wayne Snooks
Andy O’Brien
Vin Feehan
Team of the 1990s
Michael Paulsen
Wayne Snooks
Ben Darose
Brian Van Den Berghe
Greg Gill
Mick Andrew
Dean Pipicelli
Andrew Wall
Chris Remy
Luke Rus
Keith Peut
Cameron Haynes
Rod Mills
Team of the 2000s
Mark Cooper
Steve Paterson
Troy Darose
Ben Darose
Dwayne Doig
Luke Turner
John Grogan
John Nooy
Chris Remy
Adam Hobson
Daniel Strahan
Jamie Glen
Justin Berry
Team of the 2010s
Ben Darose
Mark Cooper
Dwayne Doig
Luke Turner
Neil Barfuss
Troy Darose
Dean Henwood
Simon Parrott
Mark Andolfatto
John Nooy
Alex Nooy
Travis Wheller
Ricky Campbell
Team of the half-century
Mark Cooper
Mick Andrew
Michael Paulsen
Ben Darose
Steve Paterson
Dwayne Doig
Luke Turner
Wayne Snooks
Chris Remy
John Grogan
John Nooy
Neil Barfuss
Trevor Jury