Broes, Mitchell, Singh all depart as new era at St Pat's begins

Gone are the junior stars who lit up the BDCA over the past few years, but in comes a raft of new young talent plus a long-time district representative in Andrew Brown.

The former Centennials Bulls skipper came across to the Saints before the Bulls had made their commitment to join the new BOIDC setup, adding a much needed presence at opening batsman to replace the outgoing Nic Broes.

Broes, who racked up over 600 runs and 31 wickets over last season, has moved on to join ACT Premier Cricket for 2019-20 and his position is virtually impossible for arguably any other player in the city to fill.

Broes is following the path of Bathurst's Jono and Blake Dean in attempting to make his mark at Canberra.

Adding to the challenge for Pat's will be the loss of all-round enforcer Ben Mitchell and strike bowling option Tanvir Singh, both to NSW Premier Cricket clubs Sydney University and Western Suburbs respectively.

Adam Ryan returns to captain the Saints.

Ryan knows the path ahead is a daunting one not usually faced by defending champion squads but he believes the right pieces are still in place to challenge for finals cricket.

"It's a chance for our younger guys coming through to have a crack," he said.

"We're just hoping we can build on the players we brought through from last year because we've retained everyone else.

"Nicko really stole the show last year, winning everything, and it puts everyone else in the spotlight now and gives them a chance to have a crack."

With a squad featuring half of Bathurst's representative team, Pat's had the perfect championship window in 2018-19.

They utilised it to perfection with their grand final win over City Colts.

But has that window been shut?

Pat's will be keen to show they're not a top-heavy team in the new-look competition, turning towards a new collection of rising junior stars.

"Everyone seems really keen. It's great to see a lot of faces at our early training sessions," Ryan said.

"Ethan Ivory had his first full season with us last year and he shone most in the Bonnor Cup, because he didn't start in first grade but worked his way there through the season. He'll have the opportunity to open the bowling.

"Bailey Brien, who finishes school shortly, he'll be a full-time player for us towards the top of the order.

"One I'm earmarking to have a good season is Connor Slattery, after being in Nic's shadow with runs and wickets. He's got the tools in the shed to do it."

Brown will not only give the club some security at number one but he adds valuable match experience to the team alongside the likes of Ryan and Matt Fearnley.

"He really fills the void left by Nicko and he'll be able to lead from the front," Ryan said.

"He's originally a Pat's junior and when they didn't have a senior side he moved across to play with Centennials for a long time. He's done a great job captaining there over the last couple of years.

"After doing a lot of the work there he's looking to get some of his life back where he's not running the show, and just getting the chance to focus more on his cricket.

"He didn't know at the time whether Cents would have a team or not so that's why he's gone this way."

Pat's have something to look forward to over the Christmas break when they welcome back spearhead Ben Parsons from his year overseas.

Parsons will almost certainly come straight back in as first choice for opening bowler.

"He'll be a pretty big in once he's back," Ryan said.

"I think he'll be our biggest weapon in the team when he's in."

St Pat's Old Boys take part in the only cross-city game of the opening round on October 19, where they face Cavaliers at The Scots School.