With only two weeks remaining in the Goulburn Valley region’s football season, attention will soon shift to the summer of cricket and, with that, the Haisman Shield.
Teams across the league have made various announcements about coaches and players arriving and departing throughout the winter/off-season.
For one of last year’s preliminary finalists, Katandra, there has been a raft of changes.
In July, the Eagles announced that opening batter Ben Pedretti would take the captaincy from last season’s co-captains Corey Hickford and Jedd Wright.
Recently, through the club’s Facebook page, Katandra shared its newest player signing, talented middle-order batter Graham Sharp.
Originally from South Africa, Sharp moved to Shepparton with his family to work at Greater Shepparton Secondary College.
Pedretti said the Eagles were excited about what Sharp would bring to their A-grade side for the 2024-25 season.
“(Sharp) has a really good record playing in England and New Zealand,” Pedretti said.
“He has just moved to the area and we think he will really strengthen our middle order.
“He works with a couple of the (Katandra cricketers) at the super school.”
The Haisman Shield season starts in under a month, with the first one-day match scheduled for October 5.
Taking over as captain of the club, Pedretti said he would have a wealth of knowledge and experience beside him.
“It should be good (being captain); I feel good,” he said.
“We have a pretty similar list to last year, so I am pretty lucky that we have guys like Jedd Wright and Ben Clurey who have captained before, and there are a lot of experienced heads there.
“Katandra being in the footy finals has delayed a couple of blokes (from pre-season training), but we have been getting good numbers.
“There is a good buzz around at the club and I think everyone is keen to get stuck into it.”
Last season, Katandra lost to eventual premiers Kyabram in the two-day preliminary final.
During the off-season, the Eagles added seam bowler Seth Westley from England as an international import.
Meanwhile, wicketkeeper-batter Stephen Barrett has returned to his boyhood club after spending time in the Goulburn Murray league and the Bendigo District Cricket Association.
Pedretti said these additions to the Eagles’ list and some in-house development would again make Katandra a dangerous proposition in the Haisman.
“We had a good year last year on a team front, but I don’t think a lot of the guys hit individual form or marks that they were hoping to and we still made a ‘prelim’,” he said.
“Our expectation will be to stay around that level and keep pushing to go as far as we can.
“The development of some young guys like Bailey Simpson, Mitch Black and Talon Wilson and I think we can be a really strong force again.”
In other Haisman Shield news, Nagambie recently announced the signing of top-order batter James Wilson.
Wilson is also a part-time bowler with eight years of experience as captain.