Mr TARZIA (Hartley) (11:00): I move:
That this house—
(a) congratulates the Adelaide Giants on their outstanding ABL Claxton Shield victory against the Perth
Heat;
(b) notes that this is the first win of its kind in 43 years for the Adelaide Giants; and
(c) acknowledges the significance of this achievement in bringing baseball to centre stage in South
Australia.
It gives me great pride to congratulate the Adelaide Giants on their victory. This is an absolutely tremendous victory from the Adelaide Giants. We are so proud of them, their players, their supporters and, of course, their owners as well. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Ross Pelligra and the ownership team of the Adelaide Giants. They have invested significantly in this state. Philanthropy is a big part of these teams doing well, and the Adelaide Giants would not have been, able to achieve what they did without the financial support of Ross Pelligra and the Pelligra Group, so congratulations to them as well.
While I am at it, I think Ross has also invested significantly in a Sicilian soccer team that I think has now gone up to Serie C. Hopefully, who knows, they might even keep going to Serie B or even Serie A, and maybe even challenge Napoli eventually, but I digress. I come back to this motion.
It gives me great pride to congratulate the Adelaide Giants on their absolutely remarkable victory this year in taking home the Claxton Shield at the Australian Baseball League championship series. This happened after 43 years. Our Giants have demonstrated an extraordinary degree of dedication, resilience and skill throughout the season and, of course, it was rewarded. They pushed themselves to the limit and now once again I am proud to say that South Australia is on top of the baseball stage nationally.
The significance of being the national champion of the sport is not lost on me, nor on this house, and it is definitely not lost on South Australia. It is an extraordinary feat that we now have a South Australian team that is the national champion. It is just an absolutely outstanding feat. The championship victory is not only a remarkable win for the Giants but is also a remarkable win for all of South Australia. It is testament to the unwavering support of their fans in the South Australian baseball community and, of course, the players' families and supporters as well.
If I had to showcase an Australian baseball league game to someone who had never witnessed or heard of ABL before, I would certainly show them this particular game. It was baseball in all its glory, with close scoring and all the dramatic moments that make a great game. It was a rough start for the Giants as the Perth Heat scored twice early on, but it was quickly addressed with Quincy Latimore striking a double and making it to second base, shortly followed by a home run by Jordan McArdle.
There was outstanding pitching from the Giants. There were notable performances from Austin Ross, Mitch Neunborn, Todd Van Steensel and the starter, Jack O'Loughlin, but certainly the highlight that sent waves through the baseball community was Anthony Quirion and that dive catch on a Perth Heat foul towards the end of the game, diving towards the Perth Heat dugout to land an incredible backhanded catch.
Baseball is an extraordinary game. It shares many similarities with our beloved sport of cricket. Some would say that cricket is even heading again towards the baseball way with the sort of striking that you are seeing these days. But it is an extraordinary game, extraordinary players as well—
An honourable member interjecting:
Mr TARZIA: Indeed. South Australia is now officially the best in the country once again. So I extend my sincere congratulations to the Adelaide Giants and, in doing so, commend the motion to the house. I do again want to pay tribute and acknowledge Ross Pelligra and the Pelligra Group as owners of the Adelaide Giants. Congratulations to the family. They should be very proud of what they have been able to achieve. And, of course, to the players, the supporters, the volunteers and the fans, this is your victory. Enjoy it and we are extremely proud to be members of parliament for this state and have our baseball team as national champions this year.
