Captain Mark Ulcigrai said the return of ex-Sydney grade player Kerrod White is driving Lake Illawarra towards a new era of South Coast premiership success.
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The Lakers are unbeaten heading into the final pre-Christmas round, with five one-day and three Twenty20 successes.
They face battling Oak Flats in another short-form match on Saturday, before chasing the first silverware of the season in the one-day final on Sunday against The Rail.
White is back in the fold at Lake Illawarra after a stint with Bankstown, where he scored more than 2000 runs and won a Sydney first grade premiership.
While White adds obvious class to their South Coast campaign, Ulcigrai maintains the rest of the squad has lifted their level to lead the Lakers back to the top of the ladder.
Brother Brendan fired with the bat in Saturday’s Twenty20 victory over Kookas, hitting six sixes in an unbeaten knock of 79, including three in a 32-run over, as Lake Illawarra reeled in 3-165 with three overs to spare.
“He’s in quality touch,” Ulcigrai said.
“Having his brother back has been great for him and for us, I think it’s fired us all up a bit to do more at training and play well.
“It’s shown in how we’ve played so far, hopefully we can keep it going and stay unbeaten into the New Year.”
Scott Ulcigrai has made 150 this season, while Jarryd McMahon piled on scores of 84 and 91. Kerrod White made a stunning 125 after opening the batting when Lake Illawarra last won the one-day title in 2013-14, chasing down Oak Flats total of 7-256.
South Coast has had an annual recent shift in power, with Kookas claiming a treble last season, Oak Flats winning all three in 2015-16 and The Rail in 2014-15.
Sunday’s finalists met on the opening day of the season, with Lake Illawarra chasing down 182 runs, where The Rail were bowled out for 182 in 39 overs.
The Rail were in deep trouble at 3-30 and 6-67, before producing a lower-order rally led by Rohit Sharma (46 not out), Mark Damoiseaux (38) and Joel Willstrop (31).
The White brothers made short work of the reply though, Kerrod making 64 and Brendan 78 not out, as Lake Illawarra won by six wickets in just 27.4 overs.
The Rail beat Oak Flats, Kookas and Shellharbour along the way to qualify, but lost their last one-dayer against Gerringong.
SOUTH COAST
One-day final
Sunday (11am)
LAKE ILLAWARRA v THE RAIL
Howard Fowles Oval
Twenty20, round 10
Saturday (12.30pm)
OAK FLATS v LAKE ILLAWARRA at Geoff Shaw Oval, THE RAIL v GERRINGONG at Croome Oval, KOOKAS v SHELLHARBOUR at Oakleigh Park.
Ladder: LAKE ILLAWARRA 94.5, THE RAIL 64.5, KOOKAS 56, SHELLHARBOUR 44.5, Gerringong 37.5, Oak Flats 31.
Tim Barrow
When it comes to sport - at professional and community level - in the Illawarra, I'm here to provide insight, context and opinion, as well as the latest news you won't find anywhere else.
When it comes to sport - at professional and community level - in the Illawarra, I'm here to provide insight, context and opinion, as well as the latest news you won't find anywhere else.
