Sport
27 March, 2026
MDCA inducts two new life members
Laanecoorie Dunolly’s Ralph Williams and Maryborough’s Marc Cassidy were recognised for their incredible impact on local cricket with life memberships to the MDCA this week.
The pair were given a surprise induction at the MDCA’s Presentation Night on Monday, a crowning achievement deserving of their dedication as staples of the association for decades.
Starting in the 1976–77 season as an under 16 player, Williams has spent half a century with the MDCA. Following his playing career, Williams became coach of Laane’s under 16 squad in 1982–83, a role he would perform for 32 consecutive seasons, resulting in seven premierships.
Williams has also spent three years as the club’s secretary and 15 years as president, a driving force behind Laane’s second oval, which has subsequently been named in his honour and their electronic scoreboard.
At the association level, Williams was heavily involved in the MDCA’s junior representative program, winning six under 16 titles.
He also served as the association’s president from 2012 to 2014, with the one-day cup, premiership medallions presentations at Grand Finals and the Team of the Year all introduced during his term.
Williams said he was privileged to join an esteemed group of MDCA life members.
“When you look at all the other life members, you think, wow, you’ve been honoured with the same thing they have,” he said.
“I looked up to all those people when I was younger and now I’m one of them as well.
“It’s just the friendships you make from cricket that have been pretty big for me. You still run into those people you played against or coached years down the track now and they all want to have a chat.”
Joining Williams among the elite pantheon is Marc Cassidy, someone who has a cricketing resume that very few can match.
With 4500 runs, 250 wickets, two league champion player awards, a Country Week representative and a key contributor to an extraordinary 15 A grade premierships overall, captaining five of those sides, it’s hard to imagine Cassidy coming close to that impact off the field.
However, over his 25 years of service at Maryborough, Cassidy has been a cornerstone during stints as president, treasurer and vice president.
Cassidy also served as the MDCA’s vice president for eight years, starting in 2012, complementing his junior club coaching by leading several junior representative teams.
“To be honest, I always viewed the life members of the MDCA as the legends of the associations, so it’s an honour to join them,” Cassidy said.
“I certainly was surprised. I didn’t have any inkling of what was happening and I didn’t know that my family was there waiting to see it. It was a bit emotional to see everyone there.
“It’s been great to coach a lot of good young kids coming through at the country week level and seeing those kids turn into good senior cricketers.
“The best times in my junior cricket were playing representative cricket and getting to know players from other clubs. It was always great fun and I just wanted to give the kids a similar experience to what I had growing up.”