Young gun and Collingwood Park captain Buddy Robinson claims prestigious Joe Menegola Award as top junior

Promising Collingwood Park talent Buddy Robinson claimed the most coveted junior trophy in the Albany and Districts Cricket Association, taking home the prestigious Joe Menegola Award last month. The award recognises the top junior player for the 2024-25 season and was presented this year by Wayne Harrington. Robinson, 17, said he was proud to be recognised among a talented junior competition after captaining a strong Collingwood Park side through to the grand final in both the one-day and T20 formats. “It’s a big, big award to win, a really special award, and there’s a lot of backstory about Joe Menegola as well,” he said. “I was really surprised, but ultimately really happy that I won it for this season.” Park enjoyed a stellar season, winning the T20 competition with a four-wicket grand final victory over Manypeaks. However, the two teams met again in the one-day grand final on March 23 and Peaks brought home the flag in a crushing end-of-season twist for Park. Robinson said the final result was disappointing, but he felt overall the young team played a season to be proud of. “It was a good season for the team, I think I started off a bit slow, but by the end of the season we were playing really well,” he said. “It was unlucky we couldn’t get the win in the end, but it was good fun.” Robinson’s highest score for the season came in round 10 against Royals, with the young all-rounder star making 115 not out in a memorable partnership with his younger brother Max Robinson, who made 15 not out. The pair made the major contributions with the bat before they ripped through the Lions’ batting line-up in 25 overs to claim a thumping 157-run victory. In the under-17s competition Robinson made 464 runs at an average of 66.29 and also snared 11 wickets at 9.55, including finals. He also impressed at A-grade level for Park and was a valuable contributor for the ADCA at country week. In the other ADCA under-17 awards, fellow Park player Dash Germinario took home the batting aggregate award with 434 runs and Peaks’ Max Osborne claimed the batting average award with 319 runs at a 106.3 average. Mt Barker’s Beau Loton claimed both bowling awards with 17 wickets at a 10.71 average for the season and Peaks captain Oliver Douglas won the all-rounder of the year title.