Tough becomes one of the greats as RSL make it five in a row

Narrabri RSL Cricket Club skipper Jarrett Tough is one of the most respected cricketers in town, and on Saturday he became one of the most successful captains in Narrabri District Cricket Association history when he led his team to a fifth consecutive premiership.

Tough has been the heart and soul of RSL’s golden era since he took over the captaincy for the 2020/21 season and led the club to the first grade premiership for the first time since 2013.

Since then he has carved out a legacy that has seen him become the first captain to win five straight NDCA first grade premierships.

He has also been a key player for the NDCA’s representative side and for Town Heat in the Charity Shield match, but his leadership for the boys in blue and yellow is what has stood him apart across the past half-decade.

Two key decisions in the grand final on Saturday exemplified that as RSL took down the Wilga Hotel Razorbacks by six wickets at Collins Park.

Having identified that Razorbacks opening batsman and the competition’s top run-scorer Greg Melton has excelled against fast bowling this season, Tough made the call to keep his pace bowling weapons Nathan Trindall and Cooper Brayshaw in the duffle bag and instead open with medium-pace bowler Will Ford and spinner Jake Brayshaw.

That decision paid off as Melton departed for just four runs in the third over when he was caught behind from the bowling of Ford.

Tough then decided to open the batting with Trindall in the second innings, who has been mainly used as a tail-ender in recent seasons in both club and rep cricket.

However, Tough’s trust in his teammate reaped the rewards as Trindall scored an unbeaten match-best 45 runs to guide RSL to victory.

Following the six-wicket win against the previously undefeated Wilga Hotel men, Tough told The Courier that he could not have been any prouder of his teammates and his club.

“Five in a row is pretty bloody special,” the RSL skipper said.

“That’s the record here in town I’m told and we’ve tied it now. I’m pretty proud of the boys.

“I think we’re reaping the rewards of having a good club and good families involved.

“The boys all get along and no one’s bigger than the team. Everyone’s just always happy to do what they need to.

“It’s great to be a part of the RSL club.

“This year is the most important one for me, definitely. We’ve had it pretty well sown up in previous years, with a couple of close ones in there, but the Razorbacks fellas didn’t look like getting beaten all year (in the 40-over competition).

“That was a bit of a worry but the boys all believed in themselves. We’ve been here before and we handled the pressure really well. We still had to play well though and we did, which was really good to see.”

Tough said he thought the way his side bowled and fielded set the tone for the dominant victory.

“After Christmas we’d dropped off a bit with our bowling and fielding. I think everyone was just trying to get a wicket with every ball,” Tough said.

“The last couple of weeks though we’ve been building well. It was good to get a good win last week (against Tourist Hotel in the preliminary final) when everyone bowled well, and that was the same today.

“We’ve always had plenty of batting, but the Wilga fellas have a really good bowling attack, so we had to be on today.

“Both innings we just did what we needed to do.”

While Tough was full of praise for his RSL teammates, he also commended the Wilga Hotel Razorbacks, who he described as being RSL’s toughest opponents across the past five years.

“This was a good game and it was good to have a good tight grand final and a tight season,” Tough said.

“Tourist weren’t too far away and Tatts finished really well. Cricket is the winner this season.

“The Razorbacks; from being close to folding to having an undefeated regular season; that’s just great.

“We’ve been chasing them all year and they’ve had me worried plenty of times.

“I think they definitely have the best bowling attack we’ve had to face for a fair few years, and our team included, it’s the best bowling attack Narrabri has seen for a while.

“It was a good year for those fellas and it’s a shame they didn’t go all the way, but it was good for us that we were able to beat them.”