Cats under-18s lose second straight grand final

GEELONG’S under-18 Premier men’s side have suffered a heartbreaking loss in a rainy grand final clash against Melbourne.

The Cats fell short of their target score by 57 runs to make it back-to-back grand final losses.

In the DLS-affected match, Geelong won the toss and opted to send Melbourne in to bat.

Melbourne were able to face a full 50 overs as the rain held off and finished at 8/300. Cats captain Liam Biddiscombe, Charlie James and Oskar Granberg took two wickets each.

As the rain began to fall at Junction Oval, Geelong were set the target score of 220 and had just under 33 overs to reach it.

They started the second innings strong and were 2/91 when Hamish Craig was run out.

From there, Melbourne steadied and forced two quick wickets and the Cats were all of a sudden at 4/93.

This burst slowed Geelong’s momentum massively and saw them finish their innings at 163 runs with four wickets in hand.

Vice-captain and opener Santhosh Ramireddy top scored with 45 runs, while Harry Emerson added an unbeaten 24 as he desperately tried to hit the winning runs for his side.

Despite the shattering loss, Geelong enjoyed a strong under-18 campaign, finishing third on the ladder with a 5-1 record.

Many of the squad will now make the transition into senior Premier cricket in the 2026/27 season.