Connor Slattery has been a part of each of Bathurst's four successive Western Premier League grand final wins, but he rated the latest as something special.
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Slattery was one of the few regulars in a much-changed Bathurst side which defeated Dubbo by 12 runs in a classic grand final at No. 1 Oval on Sunday.
The youthful defending premiers posted 219 when batting first - an innings highlighted by half centuries for Brien brothers Bailey and Cooper - and then showed great fight with the ball late on to knock over Dubbo for 207.
Regular captain Adam Ryan missed the decider due to family commitments while the likes of representative stars Nic Broes and Qureshi brothers Jameel and Imran weren't part of the side this season.
Despite that major absences, Bathurst maintained their fine record over Dubbo and made it four straight grand final wins over their western foes.
"We all show up and are really keen to win," Slattery said of each time they face Dubbo.
"It was good to see with the new faces in the side, as well. They really showed up today and did really well and that's really pleasing."
Matthew Holmes was one of the newcomers who was key on Sunday, making a crucial 20 not out from low in the order before holding his nerve and taking 1/44 from 9.3 with the ball.
Jonah Ruzgas took 3/42 and scored what turned out to be an important 9 not out from number 11 while young quick Tait Borgstahl bounced back from a couple of expensive overs to finish with 0/40 from seven.
"Those younger players have been great and they've stepped up all year," Slattery added.
For Dubbo captain Marty Jeffrey, he said his post-match chat felt like the same conversation he and his teammates had been having for a number of years.
The hosts had their chances in the match.
Bathurst was 7/173 at one stage and seemingly wobbling before Holmes steadied the ship while in the middle stages of the run chase a set Thomas Nelson helped get the required run rate back below six an over.
Nelson showed great determination at the crease but was bowled by Ruzgas for 63 in the 46th over and that proved a crucial moment as an under pressure Dubbo lost their last four wickets for just 17 runs.
Mat Skinner was the last man out, run out with nine balls in the match remaining.
"We're in the same position after going down in a hard one," Jeffrey said of the post-match feeling.
"Credit to Bathurst, they played a good game of cricket but we fell just short and that hurts.
"I think the plans we had were fine and they had similar plans but I think they executed better than us.
"I think we bowled a bit too wide early and in the middle overs we gave them that bad ball an over that allowed them to get to that 220.
"We've got the depth and we know we've got the side to win it but it's about executing on the day."
While the newcomers were key for Bathurst, it was some familiar faces who were decisive.
...this is probably one of the better ones.
- Connor Slattery on Bathurst's four grand final wins
Bailey and Cooper Brien made 54 and 53 respectively to help set the platform after Andrew Brown (19) and stand-in captain Ryan Peacock (0) fell early.
Slattery's 31 was part of a key 69-run partnership for the fourth wicket while the all-rounder again made a real impact with the ball.
After taking a five-wicket haul in Bathurst's 2020/21 decider win at home, he tied down Dubbo in the middle over last season and took 2/22 from 10 overs in a rain-affected match Bathurst won via the Duckworth-Lewis method.
On Sunday, Slattery did the same and his miserly 2/19 from 10 overs put the Dubbo batting lineup under a huge amount of pressure.
"It's been coming out pretty good lately. You have your good and bad patches with the ball and I guess I'm going through a good patch at the moment," he said.
"I don't really turn the ball heaps so I'm just trying to hit the stumps every ball. Hopefully I can get it up there above the batter's eyeline sometimes and some other times there's a quick ball but I just try and hit the stumps more times than not."
The four straight titles cements Bathurst's status as the premier side in the region and Slattery is one of the few players who's been a part of each win.
"This is pretty good," he said of the most recent title.
"I think in the last few finals we've been pretty much the same but we came up here without 'Ryano' as captain and that so this is probably one of the better ones."
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Nick Guthrie
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
