ABOVE: The Boundary Bears (back from left) Dean Moore, Andrew Brownlie, Matt Foster, Duncan Lance, (front from left) Lach Fulloon, Shaun Brennan and Henry Cupitt with their Premer 7s trophy and winners’ t-shirts. Photos: Grant Robertson 230912GRB16
THE BOUNDARY Bears lived up to their name yet again at the Premer 7s on the weekend.
The Armidale-based side was back at the tournament after a few years off and took the silverware again with a dominant performance in the final.
They beat a team called the Regulators, made up of players from as far as Melbourne and Sydney, thanks largely to a great start from opening batsmen Lach Fulloon and Andrew Brownlie and some superb bowling throughout the run chase.
“It always helps when you get off to a good start,” captain Shaun Brennan said.
“Our openers were probably getting 15 to 17 off the first three or four overs.
“That laid the platform.”
The Bears finished with a score of 90, which was a pretty handy total off just six overs.
But they needed to bowl well to defend it and couldn’t have asked for a better start when they had the best batsman in the opposition side caught first ball.
There wasn’t an over where the Regulators got on top and the chase could only muster 51.
“Everyone bowled well,” Brennan said.
“Getting their bloke first ball who had been getting runs all weekend took the wind out of their sails.
“It was a good bowling performance,” he said.
“You have to bowl pretty full and straight, and we took our catches too.
“Henry Cupitt is a bowler but the rest are pretty much batsmen.
“But we can all bowl.”
It’s the third time the side has won the event, although the faces have changed and even the name.
The Boundary Bears won it in 2006 and the bulk of that side also won it as the Eastern Cods a year later.
“Matty (Foster), Lachie and I are the three originals,” Brennan said.
“Then we picked up Dean and Henry and Duncan Lance came this year.
“He was our best bowler over the weekend.
“It’s a good bunch of blokes.
“There’s no pressure to win.
“We just have fun.
“We’ve played here four or five times and we’ve won it three times, twice as the Boundary Bears and once as the Eastern Cods.
“We didn’t have a name this time so we just went back to the original name.”
The consolation final was a lot closer, with Pilliga chasing down 86 to beat Quirindi side Burgo’s with a couple of balls to spare.
With five grounds used, such as the “MCG” and the aptly- named “sandpit”, and 29 teams in attendance it was another big weekend at the annual charity event.
Money raised will be split between a number of Premer and Tambar Springs community organisations, while there was also an unveiling of a seat and plaque dedicated to the late Stuart McLeod, a founder and long-time servant of the
tournament.