Delatite 7/164 def Rovers United Bruck 142 Grand Final rematches are always a highly anticipated affair, but this one had extra significance with only four games to go in the regular season and both teams locked on five wins, in second and third place on the ladder. Rovers won the toss and sent Delatite in to bat. WJ Findlay Oval's turf wicket has been redeveloped over the Christmas break, so no one was sure how it would play. Delatite's openers Mark O'Loughlan and Nathan Goodes got off to a steady start, despite lots of balls either missing the outside edge or taking the edge and falling short of the slips. Seeing off the opening bowlers, O'Loughlan tried to accelerate but was caught with the score on 39. Goodes continued along but lost partners on a regular basis until Pat Smith came in with the score on 4/71. Smith dominated from the first ball he faced, hitting some powerful drives and pull shots to top score with an unbeaten 51. Richy Philip played a nice cameo at the end of the innings with Smith, combining for a 46-run partnership and adding 24 himself. 164 looked to be a very competitive total on a wicket that was tricky to bat on. Delatite's opening bowlers Nick Hoskin and Cooper Martin have a combined age of 30, but showed maturity far beyond their years to get the defence off to a great start. Martin bowled his four overs for just eight runs, which created pressure for Hoskin to take advantage of at the other end. Hoskin bowled a terrific yorker to remove one of the Rovers openers lbw, and then a nasty short ball to take the edge of the other opener. Wickets fell regularly from that point, with Lochie Pymer (3/39) removing the league's leading run scorer Dean Shaw cheaply, and Mitch Purcell (3/35) bowling the ball of the day to remove Rovers captain Mark Drage's off stump for a first-ball duck. There were a few nervous moments when Susanka Gamage hit some late boundaries, but the resistance was snuffed out when Richie Philip had him caught by Martin. The win allowed Delatite to jump Rovers on the ladder, now occupying second spot and in the box seat for a home semi-final.
