Cricket Shepparton Lightfoot Medal preview

Cricket Shepparton will also announce its A-grade Team of the Year at the ceremony, with squads from B through E-grade already being released in the past week, while a list of nominees for the Team of the Century will also be honoured.

The feature of the night will be the crowning of this year’s Lightfoot medallist – awarded to the best player in the Haisman Shield – and after a fiercely contested season it appears the count will go right down to the wire.

Classy all-rounder Jedd Wright sits atop the list of contenders, after a stellar season for Katandra that yielded 441 runs at 27 wickets.

He is joined by Waaia opener Liam Evans, who after leading his team to an undefeated home and away season will be sure to poll strongly having hit 437 runs and taken 16 wickets across his 13 matches.

While Evans and Wright present as the two heavy favourites, a slew of contenders will be sure to emerge throughout the night.

After taking home the top gong last year, Michael Eckard was again prolific for Numurkah making 470 runs and taking 18 wickets and looks an intriguing prospect once again.

Central Park-St Brendan’s sat atop the ladder for much of the season, with star batters Tyler Larkin, Brendan Scott and Rhiley Lau sure to draw attention from the umpires at different points through the campaign.

Fresh off leading his team to a second straight grand final, Mooroopna coach Luke Zanchetta enjoyed another phenomenal season with ball in hand, taking 30 wickets at a stunning average of 8.73.

You can never count out the star power of Kyabram when it comes to the Lightfoot Medal count, with the likes of Kyle Mueller, Billy McLay and Cade Mueller producing match-winning performances throughout the season.

While Nagambie’s late season charge into the top six will not go unnoticed, with the ultra-consistent Luke Nolan and spearhead Nathan Fothergill set to come into calculations late in the piece.

In the teams that missed out on finals action, Northerners all-rounder Joel Brett enjoyed a stunning start to the season and can’t be discounted, while Tatura’s Daniel Coombs, Euroa’s Sham Dadallage, Old Students’ Felix Odell, Shepparton United’s Chaminda Vindanapathirana and Karramomus’ Zane Newbound were consistent contributors and should poll strongly.