Cricket Shepparton's night of nights is here once again, with the prestigious Lightfoot Medal up for grabs at the Sherbourne Terrace Hotel tonight.
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At the Christmas break of the Haisman Shield it looked inevitable that Nagambie skipper Mark Nolan would snare a second straight gong as the best cricketer in the top tier, but since then a number of fierce challengers have emerged.
Mooroopna's Henry Barrow has been taking wickets for fun in his first season for the Cats, securing four hauls of five wickets or more since January 18 for a total of six in the campaign — and a lightning quick fast bowler ripping through a batting order is about as eye-catching as it gets.
In recent years the medal has been distinctly one for all-rounders though, with Callan McCabe falling into that category for Old Students.
In all bar three of his dozen Haisman Shield matches McCabe reached double figures with bat in hand, adding 27 wickets to his resume as well.
Only five wins for the season for his side may work against McCabe, but he should still be right in the running.
Speaking of all-round prowess, Northerners star Joel Brett should also have his name called often in tonight's count after taking at least four wickets in an innings eight times across the regular season.
Brett also hit four scores of 40 or more to be a crucial cog for the Jets in all facets of the game.
Each club will have its own gun to follow tonight, with those in the first half of the table more likely to challenge the pre-count favourites for top billing.
Numurkah's hopes will rest on the shoulders of dominant opening batsman Dylan Grandell, Kyabram will look to Paul Newman to snare bulk votes and as always Katandra's Jedd Wright will be in the thick of the action.
Keegan Armstrong had a uber-consistent season for Shepparton United — as did Ramadan Yze for Central Park-St Brendan's — while it will be hard to split Waaia bowlers Mitch Cleeland and Jesse Trower for the club's most votes.
Euroa's Sham Dadallage and Mahesh Priyadarshana were excellent in Magpie wins — as was Jason Ibbotson for Karramomus — while Michael Archer is likely to lead the way for Tatura.
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