It was no different in the inaugural Shepparton News Fantasy Sports competition, with Ashleigh Williamson taking the crown by two points over the plucky Kasey Duncan.
The race to the finish came right down to the wire — with the leading duo overtaking Paul McInnes and Aiden Blizzard in the grand final round — but in the end it was Williamson’s decision to captain Katandra’s Jedd Wright which netted him five more points than Duncan’s side and the eventual swing he needed to jump from fourth to first in the space of one game.
‘‘My tactic each round was to have an all-rounder as captain to give me two chances of getting double points either batting or bowling,’’ Williamson said.
‘‘That tactic didn’t work too well for me until ‘Wrighty’ fired in the grand final and I would have scored much more if I had gone with ‘Riordo’ (Andrew Riordan) as skipper.’’
Duncan’s team — ‘Duncman’s Dogs’ — also had Wright in, but the captain’s armband was placed on Luke Nolan.
Williamson’s ‘I Don’t Like Cricket, Oh No!’ — like almost all entrants in the grand final round — had Nolan in as well, but the difference in captaincy options gave his side 12 extra points and the title of inaugural champion.
‘‘Even though I scored the most points in the semi-final round and climbed the ladder, I never expected to pinch first overall after the grand final,’’ Williamson said.
‘‘I thought ‘Jockey’ McInnes had been consistent all competition and would score enough points to win overall. Especially given there was only two teams to pick from and most people had a lot of the same players in their side — such as Wright, Riordan and the Brett brothers (Joel and Mitch).
‘‘I think the fantasy concept definitely added a new element of interest to the Cricket Shepparton T20 competition.
‘‘Being a five-week competition, it was easy to pick a team each week without it dragging on like an AFL or Big Bash fantasy league.
‘‘No doubt the Shepparton News sports team is already looking at ways to improve next season’s T20 fantasy competition and I look forward to defending my crown.’’
With only the Northerners and Katandra to choose from in the Cricket Shepparton A-grade Twenty20 decider, many fantasy teams looked similar in the final round — but as well as different captains Duncan and Williamson had four opposing players in their sides.
Duncan selected Tyson Sidebottom (four points) as a batsman, while Williamson had Glen Davidson (two).
In the bowling department it was Corey Hickford (30), Grant Hutchins (25) and Trent Sidebottom (42) who gave Williamson victory over Duncan’s Zane Newbound (29), Josh Sidebottom (61) and Hadleigh Sirett (18).
But perhaps the strongest hard luck story of the competition was that of Rising Star Abe Lake.
Despite missing the first round of action Lake was undeterred, and went about reeling in those above him on the table in Terminator-like fashion.
Lake ousted Williamson for round honours in the grand final week by a solitary point, and eventually finished ninth on the overall table ahead of the likes of News disappointments Alex Mitchell and Tyler Maher and first-round leader Cooper Daniels.
In fact, Lake was only 590 points behind Williamson when the dust settled — and when you take into account that the average score in round one was a whopping 577 it means the young Shepparton United speedster could have been a morale beaten on the line.
Lake’s United teammate James Jarrett comfortably snared the title of Best Battler of the season after being down for the count with an initial score of 31 before knocking out 612 the next week.
Those who Failed To Live Up To The Hype were certainly Maher and Mitchell.
For two blokes running their own competition, finishes of 12th and 10th respectively left plenty to be desired.
And for Most Consistent, McInnes gets the nod.
Up until his grand final score of 332 — largely let down by point of difference picks Tyson Sidebottom (without Luke Nolan) and Ryleigh Shannon — McInnes had not dropped below 429 in any single round, a season to be proud of for sure.
The reception of the first Shepparton News Fantasy Sports competition has been outstanding — so make sure you keep your eyes peeled for the next exciting announcement of another new era in local sporting engagement.
It promises to be Great and Very Loveable!