Werribee has aced the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association east-west group regular season.
The Tigers secured top spot and a double chance in the finals.
But their aura of invincibility may be slipping.
They seemed unstoppable while putting together an 11-game winning streak to start the season.
That might have been 13 had it not been for two similarly close losses in the final two rounds of the season to premiership contenders Oakleigh and Bayswater.
Twice the Tigers were in winning positions in run chases and twice they suffered worrying lower-order batting collapses.
Tigers captain Shaun Dean said his side should be judged on 13 rounds, not just on recent form.
“At the end of the day, we’ve finished on top and you can’t be dissatisfied with that,” he said.
“The last two rounds haven’t gone according to plan and the way we’ve lost has been quite disappointing.”
The Tigers slumped to a six-run loss to Bayswater on home turf at Chirnside Park in a one-dayer on Saturday.
They were set what Dean felt was an attainable 161-run victory target in 45 overs.
The Tigers started slowly to be 3-24 but got back on track through in-form Tim O’Brien (78) and Wade McCall (15). The pair put on 46 for the fourth wicket.
The Tigers needed just 13 for victory, but O’Brien’s wicket triggered a 5-6 collapse to be all out for 154.
“It’s two games in a row that we’ve had a big collapse,” Dean said. “I put myself in that because if the top three contributed a little bit more, it wouldn’t have happened.”
Lightning struck twice for O’Brien.
The No. 4 made consecutive hard-fought half-centuries only to end up on the losing side.
“Under extreme pressure, I take my hat off to him for what he did,” Dean said. “It was almost the best innings he’s played for the club.”
The Tigers will need to reload fast for their quarter-final against western rivals Altona at Chirnside Park this weekend.
