As Wagga Cricket prepares to come out of the Christmas break for the Twenty20 competition, The Daily Advertiser looks at how the first grade season is poised.
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It's tight at the top after three rounds of washouts early in the season and each of the main contenders dropping one match so far.
After Wagga City got the better of South Wagga to send off Jon Nicoll with a win leading into Christmas, four sides are level on 18 points.
There's then a big gap to the two winless sides, St Michaels and Kooringal Colts, who are going to need plenty to go their way to play finals.
With five rounds to play after the Twenty20 competition, which sees everyone play each other once more, expect plenty of moves among the top four to set up a big finish to the season.
KOORINGAL COLTS
Position: Fifth - six points (0.549 quotient)
Draw: Kooringal Colts (h), Wagga City (a), Lake Albert (a), Wagga RSL (h), South Wagga (h)
What the captain says: (Keenan Hanigan) It's pretty disappointing to be honest and you can't beat around the bush. We've been pretty poor. I think our bowling and fielding have been pretty good but it's just our batting that has let us down. It's been our Achilles heel for the last couple of seasons but this season we just haven't clicked. We're playing half a game of cricket but just can't get a full game in at the minute which is disappointing.
What we say: It's been a big fall from grace for Colts after winning through to last year's grand final but a post David Bolton world always loomed as a big challenge. He's been the key to their batting order and so far no one has looked like stepping anywhere near his mantle. They need to find some contributors with the bat, and quickly, to back up some promising signs with the ball but it may already be too late.
Prediction: Fifth
LAKE ALBERT
Position: Third - 18 points (1.085 quotient)
Draw: Wagga City (h), South Wagga (a), St Michaels (h), Kooringal Colts (h), Wagga RSL (a)
What the captain says: (Isaac Cooper) I think we are going alright and obviously getting better as the season goes on with the more games we can play as a group. I think we've gelled as a team quite quick and it's definitely helping. I knew the young talent was there so it has been good.
What we say: The Bulls have been a real surprise packet so far this season. They lost a good chunk of experience over the off-season but their younger talents have really stood up so far to have them well in the mix for a return to finals. They've also been a side who hasn't relied on one or two players to get them over the line, instead they've been able to really work as a team to get the wins on the board but will face a tougher test in the back end of the season.
Prediction: Fourth
ST MICHAELS
Position: Last - six points (0.536 quotient)
Draw: Kooringal Colts (h), Wagga City (a), Lake Albert (a), Wagga RSL (h), South Wagga (h)
What the captain says: (Dave Garness) I don't think we are that far off but it's just the little things that we are not doing right. We're just not batting in partnerships and we're not bowling in partnerships. We just need one game to click and then I think we will get that ball rolling but we just need that first one.
What we say: It shaped as a tough season for Saints and they're yet to defy expectations. So far they've struggled to replace Beck Frostick's impact with the bat and haven't had the impact with the ball they would like either. Injury problems to skipper Dave Garness is the last thing they needed before the break but what they really need to find is some more consistent performances with the bat if they are to avoid the dreaded wooden spoon.
Prediction: Last
SOUTH WAGGA
Position: First - 18 points (2.038 quotient)
Draw: Wagga RSL (a), Lake Albert (h), Kooringal Colts (a), Wagga City (a), St Michaels (a)
What the co-coach says: (Joel Robinson) It was hard with the stop-start start to the season and obviously dropped that game late. Things didn't go our way so we've definitely got some improvement to do but we've played a couple of good games of cricket. We're sitting where we expected to be, and where we expect to be at the end of the year, after creating a bit of a winning culture at the club.
What we say: Looked to be the dominant team in the competition before slipping up leading into the break. However a loss to Wagga City could just be what the premiers needed to ensure they bring their A game as they've got plenty of talent at their disposal. The addition of former representative cricketer Jake Hindmarsh only adds to their case as another pace bowling option. Shapes as the team to beat again.
Prediction: Premiers
WAGGA CITY
Position: Fourth - 18 points (1.006 quotient)
Draw: Lake Albert (a), St Michaels (h), Wagga RSL (a), South Wagga (h), Kooringal Colts (h)
What the captain says: (Josh Thompson) The big one is obviously losing Jono. Everyone knows what sort of whole he leaves behind but we have to take it in our stride and there's probably five guys in our team who have to take a little extra bit of responsibility on board. We need to find a little bit of extra blokes to be an anchor for our batting innings. Whether we can score enough runs is the big drama but I'm confident the group we've got is talented enough to get us to some reasonable totals to defend but we won't know how everyone is going to react for three or four games.
What we say: How Wagga City recover from the shock loss of Jon Nicoll will be the key to their fortunes. The club's leading runscorer, wicket taker and seven-time league medal winner will not leave a big void on the scoreboard but with how many of his younger teammates operate. The Cats have probably been a bit hit and miss so far, with their big win over South Wagga following a poor loss to Wagga RSL so they will need to find some more consistency to really challenge without Nicoll for the rest of the season.
Prediction: Third
WAGGA RSL
Position: Second - 18 points (1.337 quotient)
Draw: South Wagga (h), Kooringal Colts (a), Wagga City (h), St Michaels (a), Lake Albert (h)
What the captain says: (Sam Perry) I think we are in a pretty good position on top with three other teams and I think the catalyst will be stringing together some good batting performances again. I think the last three or four games before Christmas showed what scoring runs looks like, how it can be achieved and how much of an impact it has on the end result. We just have to repeat that in the next couple of weeks and hopefully we can carry it through to the big dance. That's the goal.
What we say: It's been a good start to the season for the Bulldogs, who are showing plenty of promising signs with the bat. It's been their big issue for the best part of the last decade but they've had a number of good contributors so far. They don't have the same experience of some of their rivals but their younger contingent are getting there and it could be the year for a real finals breakthrough after hovering mid pack for some time.
Prediction: Second
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