Nagambie has made one thing clear this season: missing out on finals again is not an option.
The Lakers fell short of the mark last campaign, but now find themselves second in the Haisman Shield standings after cutting down their third consecutive challenger at the weekend.
Mark Nolan’s charges carved through Karramomus for a six-wicket win on their home deck, tightening the screws after losing the toss and serving up a loose early spell of bowling.
“It was a good win, I thought the first five or six overs we didn’t bowl or field very well at all and then from that point on we controlled the match,” Nolan said.
“It was just a good all-round performance from the six-over mark.”
Posting first, Karramomus cruised to 0-29 before losing a trio of batters in rapid succession.
The Bloods slumped after being pinned back by Nagambie, losing 3-20 with any flow of runs clotted after Sam Green, Jayden Dhosi and Cooper Delahey walked for a combined nine runs.
Skipper Mitch McGrath dug the heels in, but was uprooted for 34 and though Lachie Keady matched his total without losing his wicket, Karramomus would have a meagre 6-129 to defend.
Out came Nagambie swinging hard, with Blair Taylor-Lloyd and Jonathan Moore taking to the Bloods’ openers with a slew of boundaries.
“We got off to a bit of a flyer with Blair and Jono up the top,” Nolan said.
“I think we were 0-40 odd after about four (overs), so when you’re chasing low totals it always helps to put a dent in it real quick and get the opposition on the back foot.
“Blair batted exceptionally well, he’s sort of been in B-grade his whole time, but we always knew he was capable to play A-grade ― he just needed a bit of confidence.
“It was a very good innings, he batted well and played some good shots.”
Taylor-Lloyd carried his bat as Nagambie chased down the runs in 24 overs, hitting 59 not out while thriving alongside cameos from Nolan (26 runs) and Zac Winter-Irving (20).
It means that in the opening block, the Lakers have lost just 12 wickets ― the least of any side to play the full complement of three games.
Nolan touched on this, hinting at a new resolve in Nagambie’s desire to avoid throwing wickets away.
“We’ve got a lot more depth this year in the batting line-up,” he said.
“In the first three weeks we’ve nearly had five or six changes every week, so to be able to manage to be three and zip with so many changes and so many people unavailable early on, it’s been really pleasing.”
THE GAME
Nagambie 4-132 (B Taylor-Lloyd 59*, M Nolan 26, L Keady 1-21) d Karramomus 6-129 (L Keady 34*, M McGrath 34, B Biggs 2-24)
STAR PLAYER
Blair Taylor-Lloyd (Nagambie): For a man who did not play a single A-grade game last season, Taylor-Lloyd looked right at home in the middle against Karramomus. He remained composed while striking at 86, etching his name in red ink to stake his claim for an opening spot for the rest of the season.