On behalf of the Committee of Moe Cricket Club, it is my pleasure to formally invite you to our Annual General Meeting (AGM).
The details are as follows:
Date: Wednesday, 25th June 2025
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Ted Summerton Reserve, Vale Street, Moe
Your attendance at the AGM is particularly significant as we will be reviewing the past season, discussing our plans for the future, and electing members to key positions for the 2025/26 season.
We would greatly appreciate your insights and support as we continue to develop and strengthen our club.
Should you have any inquiries or wish to add an item to the agenda, please feel free to contact us at moecc1881@outlook.com.
We are very much looking forward to your presence at the meeting.
Warm regards,
Ian Simpson
Secretary
Moe Cricket Club Inc.
MATHEW HIBBS joins the Den !!!!
The Moe Cricket Club is proud to welcome Mathew Hibbs to the Lions Den as our new captain/coach for 2025/26 and hopefully beyond.
A Newborough local originally, Mat progressed through the juniors to A Grade level at the Bulldogs before applying his trade at Casey South Melbourne in Premier 3rds & 4ths. Mat also represented Gippsland Pride in his progression in cricket. Hibbsy returned to the Latrobe Valley in the TDCA initially with Imperials & for the last eight seasons at Gormandale, making the A Grade Team of the Year on 4 occasions and was last season’s A’s Division Player of the Year.
Matt boasts a career record of 6000+ runs with over 3000 at A Grade level (2420 approx at Gormandale). No slouch with the ball either, Hibbsy has over 50 First Grade wickets also.
Along with Mat, we wish a big welcome to Mat’s wife Shinae and kids Joey & Zara to join the Lions Pride.
Lastly, we send thanks again to outgoing 24/25 coaches Steve Mesaric & Paddy Spiteri. Mez will be staying on as training co-ordinator
Welcome Mat!
A great night held at one of our main sponsors Moe Racing Club to cap off the 2024/25 season.
Congratulations to all award winners.
🦁 Life Membership – Patrick Spiteri
🏏 Best Club Person – Shannon Murphy
🦁 Senior Club Champion – Andrew Philip (10x)
🏏 Junior Club Champion – Kye Micallef
🦁 Premier A Batting Average & Aggregate – Andrew Philip
🏏 Premier A Bowling Average & Aggregate – Keenan Hughes
🦁 100 & 10WM – Keenan Hughes
🏏 Premier A Captains Award – Evan Sheekey
🦁 B Batting Average – Ash Savige
🏏 B Batting Aggregate – Mark Whitney
🦁 B Bowling Average – Aaron Johnstone
🏏 B Bowling Aggregate – Jarryd Atkinson
🦁 B Captains Award – Ritvik
🏆 B Grade Premiership Team presented with team photo & scorecard
🏏 Premier C Batting Average – Garry Edwards
🦁 Premier C Batting Aggregate – Craig Veenman
🏏 Premier C Bowling Average – Ron Whitney
🦁 Premier C Bowling Aggregate – David Biggins
🏏 CLV U15 GCL 6/32 match ball – Brady Cake
🦁 Premier C Captains Award – Brady Cake
🦆 Duck Award (4) – Ryley Semmens, David Biggins & Mark Whitney
🍺 Driven to Drink – Benn “I’m Unavailable” Zomer
🟡 Yellow Jacket – Ritvik
Milestones achieved received their certificates
🎥 First time we’ve used Frogbox highlights for presenting the awards which went over pretty well with a few tweaks in mind to go even better with them next year
🎥 Presentation Video Packages on YouTube (some are saying copyright flags for the music so YouTube may remove some, hopefully not).
Pictured is the Latrobe Valley Express’ article on our B Grade flag along with the match summaries & match reports in our usual socials format.
B Grade – 
Raiders vs Moe 
🎥 Match Highlights – https://youtu.be/xzXiB3KZLwM
Moe Innings
Our B’s won the toss and batted, losing Braden Finn (1) to a no-shot lbw early. Ash Savige (41) almost exclusively did the scoring in the 2nd wicket partnership before being bowled at 2/48, having scored 85% of the team total to that point. It was slow going for Mark Whitney, sticking around for a long period but struggling to score with a strike rate of just 4 after 50 balls. It increased slightly before being stumped at 3/66, out for 14 off 85 balls.
Jesse Pheeney & Michael Johnstone put on 70 for the 4th wicket, mostly having to run the runs, given they scored just 2 boundaries in that time. The score 4/136 after 42 overs when Pheeney was out for 41 off 40 balls.
The final 3 overs saw M.Johnstone (34 off 58) ran out, Aaron Johnstone (1) bowled & Haydn Edwards (1) lbw chasing quick late runs. Kye Micallef was 5*, Moe 7/146 from 45 overs.
Hardeep Rai (2/25) & Jeevan Varghese (2/32) took 2 wickets each with singles to Satwant Pooni (1/15) & Zoe Quinsey-Munro (1/20), the latter breaking Whitney’s long resistance at the crease.
Raiders Innings
The Lions got off to a fast start with the ball, Hill (5) lbw to Robert Blunt for his 200th club wicket for Moe. Aaron Johnstone sent Rai’s (4) off stump cartwheeling before taking a catch to dismiss Pooni 
for Blunt’s second of the day. Raiders 3/20.
After 2/9 from 4, Blunt’s 5th over went wayward, replaced by Haydn Edwards at the nets end and an average first ball turned brilliant with Arora caught behind on the leg side by Micallef.
Opener Rupinder Sidhu & Amal Joshy offered resistance in the form of a 30 run partnership to bring the home side back into the game. Enter Jarryd Atkinson, it had to be, breaking the partnership like he has done all year to dismiss Joshy (9) caught behind.
Sidhu was joined by veteran Jason ‘Jock’ Macfarlane and the former brought up his half century shortly later. Another partnership breaker throughout the season, Mark Whitney ended Sidhu’s knock, lbw for 64 off 70 (8 fours), Raiders 6/91.
Macfarlane did the heavy lifting from then on for the home side, and whilst losing partners along the way, the target required was rapidly closing also. Atkinson took his second to dismiss Berryman-Lambert (4), 7/102, 45 required. Ritvik had Varghese lbw for 7, 8/122, 25 required.
Jack Daddo added 18 with Macfarlane making steady progress, now 7 required with two wickets in hand.
Enter Ash Savige
40.1 Dot,
40.2 – Wicket – Daddo slashing at a cut shot, caught behind. 9/140.
40.3 – 1 run to Sandhu, 9/141, six required.
40.4 – Macfarlane 34* on strike, leg bye, 9/142, five required
40.5 – dot
40.6 – dot (no over call)
40.7 – WICKET! Sandhu goes for a slog, caught mid wicket by Aaron Johnstone. Moe win by 4 runs. Macfarlane stranded on 34*.
Man of the Match Ash Savige took 2/1 in what was the decisive 7-ball over to go with 41 with the bat.
Atkinson took 2/19 with two crucial middle order wickets. Blunt took two top order scalps in his 2/30. Ritvik (1/4), Whitney (1/10), Edwards (1/14) & Johnstone (1/21) all took one wicket each, all coming at critical times for the Lions.
* A.Johnstone caught the final wicket in both the semi final & the grand final.
* Aaron also played in Moe’s last second XI Premierships before this one, 15 years ago – 2009/10.
* Savige took the final wicket of the A’s 2021/22 Premiership and again in B’s 2024/25 flag.
* Savige & Blunt were the only two players from that A’s flag playing Saturday.
* First Moe Premiership for the vast majority of the lineup.
Our B’s now move back up to Premier B Division to try their hand at that level once more (we were in Premier B for 3 seasons between promotion as minor premiers in 2020/21 and relegation in 2023/24).
Premier C Grade – 
Ex Students v Moe
🎥 Match Highlights – https://youtu.be/aEmyxf17svo
Will keep this one reasonably brief. Commiserations to our C Graders who went down to Ex-Students who had only lost twice for the season and once since Round 2. Moe had ran them close in the January contest, going down by 15 runs.
Moe Innings
On Saturday, the Lions were off to a disastrous start, losing both openers for ducks, Shannon Murphy first ball of the day and Randy Straughair sixth ball faced.
It was a tough slog for Moe to get any scoring happening, Troy Oakley & Mustafa Glibanovic battling for 14 overs, adding 30 runs. The latter was caught for 11 off 46.
Semmens (4 off 15) & Biggins (3) became Michael Isles’ second & third scalps, both dismissed in the 24th over, 5/40.
Oakley & skipper Garry Edwards added 26 from the next 12 overs, Edwards bowled for 13 off 37 to finish the 36th over. 6/66, 4 overs left
Oakley was run out for 40 (119) in the penultimate over before Craig Veenman (11* off 10) took 10 off the last, to give Moe a little more to defend, but still only 7/83 from 40 overs. Manduci 3*.
Isles took 3/6 off 8 for the Sharks, with Bentley 1/9 off 8 & Kosterman 1/17 off 8 also bowling their full allotment with a wicket.
Ex-Students Innings
Steven Thomson (4 off 25) hung around at one end whilst Paul Hennessy (26 off 26, 5 fours) made significant inroads towards the target.
Thomson was caught behind off Brady Cake at 1/35, Hennessy caught & bowled by Cake 10 runs later. 2/45. That’s as good as it got for the Lions.
Marshall Cropley (10* off 18, including a six) played second fiddle to Jack Robertson’s powerful hitting (35* off 16, 2 sixes & 3 fours) hunting down the required total one ball into the 15th over.
Ex-Students won all Premier Division Premierships, with Premier B by one wicket late on Saturday and by 2 wickets in Premier A late on Sunday.
Unfortunately a bad result for our 3rd XI, hopefully we can return and go one better in 2025/26
LATROBE VALLEY EXPRESS ARTICLE ON OUR B GRADE PREMIERSHIP
Two more milestones were achieved in our final campaigns – one in C Grade’s semi final win & one in B Grade’s Premiership victory.
Milestone – 1500 Club Runs: Troy Oakley
In last week’s semi-final, Troy Oakley ticked over 1500 club runs, accumulated either sides of a stint at Newborough. Troy is also a Victorian rep player in the indigenous national championships (formerly known as the Imparja Cup).
After reaching the milestone in the semi final, Troy scored 40 more runs in the C Grade Grand Final yesterday.
Congratulations on the milestone Troyza! 
Milestone: 200 Wickets – Rob Blunt
Now a two-time Premiership player with Moe, B’s vice-captain Rob Blunt picked up his 200th wicket for the club with the first wicket of the bowling innings yesterday (clip shown).
Floating between A’s & B’s as required, Blunty took 27 wickets in all competitions this year including 4 in finals.
Rob now has 201 wickets at an average of 17.2 including two 5WI’s and a best of 7/23.
Congratulations Blunty!
The Moe Cricket Club is holding its Presentation Night for the 2024/25 season on Friday, April 4th, starting at 6:30 PM at Turfside Function Centre Moe.
All players, partners, life members, sponsors, and supporters are welcome to join us for an evening celebrating the past season.
Please contact Paul Kane on 0419 549 622 to secure your ticket.
With no fuss or fanfare but reserves of patience, Andrew Philip has become one of Victorian country cricket’s most prolific batsmen. And the Moe champion isn’t done yet.
4 min read
February 27, 2025 – 11:37AM
Moe Cricket Club champion Andrew Philip has scored 26 centuries in the first grade.
Andrew Philip says Moe Cricket Club’s record-keeping is “pretty good’’.
It has needed to be to keep up with his prodigious run-scoring for the Gippsland club.
With no fuss or fanfare but plenty of patience, Philip, 36, has built a remarkable record with the Lions.
When he hit a two to deep backward square last Saturday to take his score into three figures against Morwell, he reached his 26th first grade century for Moe.
Cricket Latrobe Valley president Brad Howlett took calls from the press last Sunday after a fight between players in an A-grade game.
But before he commented on the incident, he highlighted Philip’s latest ton.
Moe CC champion Andrew Philip – with the blade that does all the damage.
Howlett does not know Philip well, but he knows all about his batting and says he’s become an outstanding player in the history of Cricket Latrobe Valley and its antecedents.
“He just makes runs,’’ Howlett says.
“His achievements are next-level and he doesn’t get the accolades he deserves compared to other high-profile players.’’
Philip has played cricket only for Moe.
His parents, Alan and Francine, are both life members of the club and he joined them in 2021.
He had started with the Lions when he was “seven or eight’’.
“I wasn’t any good for a while. I don’t think I got a run in my first few seasons of cricket,’’ Philip says.
He says he figured out how to be “really difficult to get out’’ and to this day still tries to make bowlers toil for his wicket.
It has been a “constant’’ of his cricket.
“I’ve found that if I get through the first five overs or so, I’ll be OK,’’ he says.
“I have a more defensive mindset than most people have when they walk out. I keep it pretty simple.’’
Philip laughs as he relates how he’s frequently been called “the most boring batsman in Gippsland’’.
104 v St Vincents 2006-07
147* v Latrobe 2007-08
133 v Blues 2007-08
103 v Morwell 2007-08
143 v Newborough Bulldogs 2008-09
118 v Yallourn North 2013-14
157* v Latrobe 2013-14
104 v Newborough Bulldogs 2014-15
114 v Yallourn North 2015-16
113 v Jeeralang-Boolarra 2015-16
115* v Morwell 2015-16
110* v Trafalgar 2016-17
102* v Yallourn North 2016-17
128* v Trafalgar 2016-17
110* v Jeeralang-Boolarra 2016-17
129 v Latrobe 2017-18
147* v Latrobe 2019-20
134 v Morwell 2020-21
100* v Centrals 2020-21
105 v CATS 2020-21
122* v Morwell 2021-22
103 v Jeeralang-Boolarra 2021-22
114 v Trafalgar (GF) 2021-22
149 v Toongabbie 2023-24
114* v Toongabbie 2024-25
112no v Morwell 2024-25
He’s given the sledging a straight bat too.
“Run-scoring was never easy for me,’’ he says.
“I didn’t start clicking until I was in my 20s.
“There was a point – and I don’t when it was – when I was a little bit bigger and a little bit stronger and grew in confidence, and from when I was 18 onwards I was able to get scores of 50-plus, quite slowly. As I understood my batting a little better, I could start expanding and playing some more shots. In time I started doing it after 30 overs instead of 50 overs. And then in one-day cricket you have to start earlier than that.’’
Philip scored his first A grade century when he was in Year 12, against St Vincents.
“I’ll remember that one forever, I think,’’ he says.
“Couldn’t tell you who I made the second against but I’ll always remember that first one. Hit my first six in an A grade game that day too. I do recall playing a nice little loft over square leg from a full-toss. I was quite happy with myself.’’
Tons have come consistently in the years since. He set himself up for this season with a century in Round 2, 114 against Toongabbie, putting on 198 for the second wicket with Rob Phoenix (102).
Earlier this month he crossed 11,000 runs for Moe’s First XI.
Andrew Philip with parents Alan and Francine after he joined them as a life member.
Alan Philip played in Moe premierships in the 1980s.
His son played in eight flags in a row, a remarkable run at any level of cricket.
“While it was happening we figured it was pretty unusual,’’ he says. “They just kept coming for us. Rob Phoenix was in his prime them. Matt Clarke, Dave Kelly, Tom Long, ‘Tassie’ Johnson played in a couple, Dale Walsh kept in all eight I think … we had a very good team obviously.’’
Philip played in a ninth premiership in 2021-22, when Moe defeated Trafalgar. His part in it was a hand of 114 off 133 balls.
The flags go with go with 13 club batting awards, eight club championships and regular team-of-the-year selections. The number of trophies he’s won at Moe would fill a museum.
Philip had the chance to play Premier Cricket. In 2007-08 he came back from a stint overseas to peel off more than 800 runs, including three tons on the trot: 147 against Latrobe, 133 against Blues and 103 against Morwell.
Dandenong picked up word of his deeds and selected him in the First XI.
“I think they were churning through some players and seeing what else was out there and giving some country kids a go.
“But we were rolling into our semi-final so I didn’t take it. I thought I’d reassess the following season, see whether I’d go to Dandenong or another District club, but it didn’t eventuate. I didn’t try with it, to be honest. I got a job locally, got a girlfriend, life happened, it didn’t fit in with what I was doing. It was a long way while trying to keep a full-time job.’’
So he stayed at Moe and he made runs for season after season, the club’s key batsman and at times its senior coach and captain.
Andrew Philip with A grade debutant Jesse Pheeney in 2018-19.
His favourite shots?
“What, apart from the leave and the forward defence?’’ he says with a laugh. He eventually says he’s “pretty handy’’ on the straight drive and off the pads.
Loyalty has accompanied his consistency.
For a long time he took calls every winter from other clubs, but it never got to the point where he talked money or had meetings with them.
He’s always been happy at Moe.
“For a solid 10 years there I’d be getting half-a-dozen calls but it was never on my mind at any stage to change clubs,’’ Philip says. “I just can’t imagine playing anywhere else.’’
His family ties to Moe are getting stronger. His mother has just off a long stint as secretary, and he and his wife Emelye’s sons Loch and Callum are in the juniors (their sibling Louie is aged two and Philip believes he’ll be a little Lion too).
It seems the record-keepers at Moe might be logging the achievements of the Philips for a long while yet.
—
Paul Amy
Sports Reporter
Congratulations to Kye Micallef who made his official A Grade debut last weekend against Morwell (picture taken yesterday following match #2)
Kye started this season in C’s before moving up to B’s as keeper with Brodyn keeping in A’s. Kye’s continual development has been on show this season with him also posting his first senior half century in B’s a few weeks back.
Kye had sub fielded in A’s as 12th a couple of times earlier this season before making his official debut last week. Kye also played Day 1 against Students yesterday in his first official two day match in our 1st XI.
Congratulations Kye! We look forward to seeing you continue to progress year on year. 👏 🦁
It came down to the final results of the season last night, but Under 14’s have narrowly missed out on finals despite a big upset win to finish the campaign.
🏏 Rd 8 – February started with a blow to the 14’s finals hopes with a loss to non-finalists Latrobe, the Sharks passing Moe’s score in the 17th over. It was considered more of a blow given Moe’s tough run home, facing the top 2 teams in the last 2 rounds.
🏏 Rd 9 – Centrals started strongly with 0/23 before an outstanding patch of Moe bowling in wet conditions saw a collapse of 8/10. After an 8 run ninth wicket stand (9/41), Dissanayake 19* & Howlett 6 put on a vital 32 run pairing for the final wicket, Moe letting their Lion counterparts off the hook. Punishment was compounded for Moe as they fell to 3/7 very early in their innings. Boothman 17 offered resistance & hope but Moe ultimately fell 15 runs short.
🏏 Rd 10 – the final round saw Moe needing to defeat league leaders Ex-Students and requiring Gormandale/Rovers to lose to Centrals & Mirboo North to lose to Latrobe. Two out of those three things happened. Moe upset Ex-Students to give themselves a chance, Gormandale/Rovers fell to Centrals by just 1 run which was required, but Mirboo North defeated Latrobe by 17 runs to finish 4th. Moe finish 5th.
Henry Boothman took 4 wickets & Logan Walsh took 2 in restricting Students to 120. Some strong batting saw Moe post 5/157, with big contributions from Walsh 44, Adrien Nardone 26, Darby Higgins 19* & Blake Savige 18* – the latter pair hitting the winning runs early in their unbeaten 44* run partnership.
A fantastic finish to the campaign for our Lion Cubs. Congratulations on your efforts this season. 👏
A massive thank you to Jim Keltie for his phenomenal efforts coaching this season.
Also thankyou to our junior exclusive sponsors, Moe Racing Club, McDonald’s Moe & Domino’s Australia for their support this season. 💐
February started with a very narrow loss to Mirboo North, going so close to their first win. A bye followed before a loss to Churchill (with improvement shown, scoring 140% of their score from the last meeting).
J.Romyn, J.Mobourne & K.Grose had strong February performances for Moe’s side.
Monday saw Morwell & Moe play an additional game between 6th & 7th whilst the semi finals were also taking place. Their last meeting was a close 11 run win to Morwell and we are proud to say our team managed to flip the result this time around and Moe 12’s claimed their first win since February 2023. Congratulations team!!!! 👏
Our U12’s team photo is also below. See if you can spot the coach from the kids 😂
Thankyou to Jarryd Atkinson for his efforts in once again coaching the U12’s. You’ve done a fantastic job.
Thanks to Moe Racing Club, Domino’s Moe & McDonald’s Moe for being juniors exclusive sponsors in 2024/25. 🦁
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