Indeed, it feels like the moniker is an honour which Mitch Cleeland and Jesse Trower will continue to sit neck and neck in the race for, while individual and team accolades pile up for the small town.
Its latest achievement came in the Cricket Shepparton Higher-grade T20 grand final victory over Mooroopna, for which Cleeland was judged best afield — and after his exploits with bat and ball, the choice was clear cut.
He scooped 67 with 10 boundaries alongside taking the galvanising wicket of Jack Gaskill, but speaking post-match, it was by no means all about him.
“You never expect to get these sorts of awards, I guess,” Cleeland said.
“I was just trying to play my part on the team.
“I hadn’t really bowled until the last two or three games, so it’s a bit of a process getting back involved in it and you’ll pay the price if you’re a bit loose.
“We probably leaked a few early on with the ball, but it was nice to be able to tighten things up.”
He also paid tribute to individual feats, the likes of Will Trower’s superb catch of Joel May, which served as testament to his own field setting.
“We really needed that. Those 50-50 or less chances can really change the game and it was a terrific catch,” Cleeland said.
“We knew to protect the boundaries and we tried to pull them as wide as possible, but we were lucky a couple fell short and the wind didn’t take them.
“There’s still plenty of work for us to do, but any confidence boost is good for us.”
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