Marulan Mad Bulls primed for 2021/22 with more players and a new pitch

Leading into last season, club president Rob Collins' only goals were to ensure the senior team had enough players every week and a home ground on which to play.

Just days out from the beginning of the 2021/22 summer, the Mad Bulls have progressed further than Collins had ever hoped they would.

With two teams in this year's GDCA competitions, the club has nearly 30 registered players and seriously considered entering a third side.

"No, definitely not [expecting those numbers]. I would've been content just to retain our team from last year and go from there," Collins said.

"This year, it's overwhelming. I don't know if it's because of COVID, that no-one's been able to get out of the house, but it's just good for cricket in general."

Many of the new players, Collins said, came over to the club at the suggestion of Dan Cooper, who until last year played for the Tatts Stags, and was the president of the Marulan Cricket Club prior to its closure nearly a decade ago.

"Dan Cooper, he's one of our originals," Collins said.

"Last year, I went up to him and told him I want to restart the cricket club and asked him for the keys. He said to me 'I'll come back once you've got the club up and running again'.

"He kept his word, and he's come back and brought a few players from various clubs."

Among the arrivals at the Mad Bulls are a number of players from the old Stags team, some from Hibo, some from the Southern Highlands, and a smattering from the other GDCA clubs.

So, with Marulan's boosted numbers in 2021/22, the club intends to field one First Grade team and one Second Grade team.

While the Second Grade side will largely be the same lineup as last year, the First Grade outfit will feature some of the better players in the competition, and Collins believes they can "definitely contend for the title".

Additionally, Marulan will unveil its newly-prepared turf wicket this weekend, which is the result of dedicated upkeep from vice-president Dave Insley and the generous input of the International Greenkeepers Association.

"[The Greenkeepers] actually got quite a few companies involved," Collins said.

"It was about 15 or 20 grand's worth of work they donated to us. They came down, dug up the old wicket, recycled the soil, relaid it and got it level, and donated some couch turf.

"They did a little bit of work on the outfield for us as well. They were amazing, they came down in the one day and got it all done for us."

For their contributions to the new pitch, the club thanked Darryl Davidson, Sports Turf Australia, Damien Curtis, Mick Stutton from AusGAP, Dan Studdon from Ground Solutions Australia, Ventrac, International Greenkeepers, Musturf, and Nuturf.

The club has also had a magnetic scoreboard donated, which Collins hopes will make for a better spectator experience.

The new pitch will host its first game this weekend, when the Mad Bulls play the Knight Riders in Second Grade from 1pm on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the First Grade team will get its campaign underway with a clash against MBK United at Prell Oval, also starting at 1pm on Saturday.

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