By Tyler Lewis
Casey-South Melbourne isn’t shying away from that glorious ‘f’ word.
The Swans had a lean fortnight, losing successive matches to both Geelong, then Richmond, two teams alongside them in the hunt for finals cricket.
But on Saturday, the Swannies bounced back in supercilious fashion, off the back of another Luke Manders exhibition.
A total of 1820 days separated Manders’ first and second Vic Premier Cricket centuries, but just three weeks stood in the way of the enchanting openers second and third.
The right-hander was on 35 from 53 deliveries, before he flicked a switch, carving his next 65 runs off just 33 balls.
The opener continued on for a brief moment after reaching the triple-figure milestone, crunching another 16 runs from just 11 balls, before being dismissed for 116 from 97.
Manders knock – alongside Ashley Chandrasinghe (81) – guided the Swans to 6/275, before the bowlers all chipped in to complete the 72-run victory.
Casey-South Melbourne coach Will Carr wasn’t quite able to answer the question ‘where has Luke Manders been?’, but he was able to compare the two centuries his glittering opener has registered this summer.
“Yeah it’s a pretty good question,” Carr said with a laugh.
“It was four seasons ago when he last played at Casey and won the batting average, he hasn’t played a lot of cricket between now and then.
“He has had some injuries; work related and hasn’t played a lot of cricket.
“He has come back like he has never been away and he is just a class player.
“I probably think Saturday’s just eclipses the one against Essendon, the one against Essendon was from ball one… striking from 100 from ball one.
“But I thought Saturday’s was a bit more tempted, he had to dig in a bit. He was one off about a dozen balls and was probably disappointed with his two dismissals from his last two weeks.
“They were both outstanding hundreds, don’t get me wrong, but for a couple of different reasons I think Saturday’s just eclipses the one against Essendon,” Carr said.
The Swans now sit in ninth on the Vic Premier Cricket ladder, just one point behind Fitzroy-Doncaster in eighth.
With Greenvale Kangaroos, Ringwood and Kingston Hawthorn in its next three weeks, Carr is confident if his side can ‘tick all the right boxes’, then the results will fall his sides way.
“I think it goes without saying that that’s your aim, to play finals,” he said.
“You don’t not talk about it, but you certainly keep things in perspective. It may be a little bit cliché, but if we feel we tick all the boxes we want to tick and execute our plans then the results will look after themselves.
“There is certainly a log jam isn’t there, probably from fourth or fifth to bottom or thereabouts.
“I think in our last six rounds there is four or five sides currently below us, one side a couple above us, but on any given day it’s been proven that anyone can beat anyone, which is great for the competition.
“We just feel if we do all the things right, the results will look after themselves,” Carr said.
The Swans will welcome Greenvale Kangaroos on Saturday, a side positioned lower than them on the ladder, but also a side that has caught a few sides napping at times this season.
