Tatura's Blake Armstrong and Karramomus' Nathan Jones pose with the Rod Kilmartin Memorial Shield.
Photo by
Callum Farquhar
In the 11th annual Rod Kilmartin Shield, the playing XI from each of Tatura and Karramomus’ Cricket Shepparton Haisman Shield sides will be taking to the field with added purpose on Saturday.
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Honouring a local legend that left a legacy at either club, the colloquially coined ‘Killa Cup’ has become a mainstay on the Cricket Shepparton calendar for Tat and the Bloods.
Kilmartin’s tenure at Tatura included 175 A-grade games, the second-most in club history, as well as four premierships, two as captain.
Off the field, Kilmartin was club president for a six-year term.
Meanwhile at Karramomus, Kilmartin’s time in red and gold included 39 A-grade games, captaincy for two seasons, and is regarded as a club figure that drove Karramomus back towards success in Cricket Shepparton’s A-grade competition.
His sportsmanship, however, is perhaps the greatest attribute ‘Killa’ had before his sudden passing in 2015, with Karramomus and Tatura combining as opposition for a post-match drink to celebrate what Kilmartin always preached.
“It’s always a special occasion, and both sides get on really well so it’s a fun and competitive match,” Tatura coach Daniel Coombs said.
“For what Killa did for both clubs, and the personality of who he was, it’s always a privilege to play for him.
“All three grades from Tatura and Karramomus are playing one another this weekend, and we’re all in the one rough location so we’ll try get back to the rooms and make it a bit of a social function.”
“We always get a good turnout. Killa played such a big part in resurrecting Karramomus back into the successful club it strives to be, so hopefully we can fill the bus up and get a big crowd down there,” Karramomus coach Nathan Jones added.
While both sides enjoy the close-knit nature and friends shared between clubs, six crucial premiership points remain on the line for the Haisman Shield, and that isn’t something missed by both Coombs and Jones.
Tatura's Blake Armstrong and Karramomus' Nathan Jones.
Photo by
Callum Farquhar
Tatura feels it let one slip in its round one loss to Katandra and Karramomus also ended a four-game win streak in the Kilmartin Shield for Tatura last year, reducing its Killa Cup advantage of six wins to Karramomus’ four.
“It was a tough game last time out, they obviously made finals last year and started well with a win last week,” Coombs said.
“We were disappointed with last week so we’ll be looking to make up for that,.
“It won’t be an easy game, it’ll be determined by small margins here and there.
“We played okay cricket in round one, but we’ll need to be better than that to get a win this weekend.”
After firing to an impressive round one win over Shepparton Youth Club United, Jones’ Bloods are excited to potentially take a fifth Kilmartin Shield scalp.
“This is high on our list of games we like to play,” Jones said.
“We’ll catch a bus over to Tat and win, lose or draw we’ll celebrate with them.
“But they had the wood on us the last few times before last year, and we want another one to catch up.
“We want to play with our fierce high energy, and go about playing how we did last week.
“We’re certainly chasing a win on Saturday.”
The Rod Kilmartin Shield’s first delivery will be bowled at 12.30pm at Tatura’s Frank Howley Oval on Saturday.
