Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
The expectations are high in South Australia.
“A final, at least, if not another trophy,” South Australian coach Ryan Harris declared when asked what success in 2026-27 looked like.
The once-bottom feeder of Australian domestic cricket has become a juggernaut, winning successive Sheffield Shields and a One Day Cup title.
Jake Weatherald and Matthew Gilkes headline the additions, but Harris is most buoyed by the growth of hard-hitters Jake Fraser-McGurk and Mackenzie Harvey.
“We’re definitely after trophies, to sit back and not be in any of the finals – that to me means a fail,” Harris said.
“We strengthened our squad, we got more depth with Weatherald (returning from Tasmania) and Matthew Gilkes coming from NSW.
“We’ve got guys who have got better from last year in Mackenzie Harvey and Jake Fraser-McGurk, and we’ve got a couple of young guys as well who have improved.
“One of our rookies, Douwtjie Hoogenboezem, who came from WA, he’s got better, we’ve got more depth.
“If we’re not pushing for trophies, that to me in my mind would probably be a failure.”
South Australia started last summer slow out of the blocks.
Harris gathered the coaching group and implemented measures to quell the threat of complacency.
The 0-2 start to the red-ball season quickly turned into an undefeated stretch from mid-October to the final.
“Last year was a lesson for me, we didn’t have a great start, there was a little bit of frustration that crept into the group,” Harris said.
“I sort of identified that with our coaching staff and we hit it head on. We chatted to the group about it, it wasn’t just going to happen.
“We’re aware of that, everyone now knows what the feeling of winning (is like), it’s something we want to maintain.
“We’re making sure we’re talking about it and if I see something players aren’t doing, I call them out, and players are doing the same thing – they’ll call each other out too.
“There isn’t a massive focus, but it sits in the background that we’re making sure we’re getting better.”
Harris wants his players fit and causing selection headaches.
One player doing just that is Fraser-McGurk, who, as Harris says, is pushing to play both formats.
“(Fraser-McGurk) has been excellent this pre-season, he’s matured a lot this winter and worked very, very hard on his game,” Harris said.
“The reason he’s not playing the Second XI game is he tweaked a muscle in his foot in the one-day game against Tassie, so we had to pull him out last minute here.
“He’s been around this winter, he’s had time to work on his game with our batting coach Steven Stubbings.
“As I said, he’s shown a lot of maturity in his game and as a person, he’s got himself extremely fit and extremely strong.
“He’s pushing again, he wants to play red-ball cricket. He’s another one we’ve got to try and find spots for all these batters.
“He played really well in the one-day game. I just watched him bat in the nets, he’s batting very, very well.
“I see him, hopefully, depending on how he goes, getting himself into the red-ball team at some stage, but his white-ball form is really good.”
South Australia returns to Junction Oval on Wednesday to face Victoria in a rematch of the Sheffield Shield final.
