GMC | Welcome to the Goulburn Murray summer of cricket

Ladder position 2021-22: Runner-up.

Club coach: Rathika Rajakumara.

Player recruits: Darren Peterson.

Player losses: Sandun Ranathunga.

Key players: The McMahon Shield runner-up has put in a big pre-season, and the continued development of its young core led by coach Rathika Rajakumara will be crucial to challenging once again.

Speedster Jeremy Felmingham and Kelum Gunathilaka will be key.

Season prediction: Last year’s McMahon Shield runner-up has been hard at work, and despite losing gun all-rounder Sandun Ranathunga, BLU have picked up Darren Peterson, a wicket-keeper batter.

The upside of BLU lies in its youth, and young guns Liam Hamilton and Declan Pearse will be key to the club’s aspirations of challenging once again.

After progressing to its first grand final in more than a decade, belief is high at Bamawm, and they should be right in the mix to go one step further this season.

Echuca

Ladder position 2021-22: Premiers.

Club coach: Jon Varcoe.

A-grade captain: Simon Maddox.

Player recruits: Ben Holt, Aidan Young (West Heidelberg).

Player losses: Taylor Beard (Sandhurst), Kobyn James (Melbourne CC).

Key players: Curtis Townrow, Matt Hinks, Brendan Moyle, Ben Holt.

Season prediction: Last year’s premiers have lost Turner medallist Taylor Beard and youngster Kobyn James, but still have some talented players in their line-up.

Echuca will look to Matt Hinks, Curtis Townrow, Charlie Hinks, Brendan Moyle and English import Ben Holt to carry the torch.

Cooma

Ladder position 2021-22: Seventh.

Club coaches: Alex Ranson and Russell Napier.

A-grade captain: Jake Kelly.

Player losses: Michael Hill.

Season prediction: Cooma will use the upcoming season as a rebuilding phase.

Experienced duo Alex Ranson and Russell Napier will look to develop their younger players and give them A-grade exposure, and the Two Blues will be gunning for a couple of upsets along the way.

Echuca South

Ladder position 2021-22: Ninth.

Club coaches: Cameron McMullan and Ben Eade.

A-grade captain: Ben Eade.

Player recruits: Jayden Rosin, Savindra Manju, Asantha Singappuli, Akila Senanayake, Shanaka Silva.

Player losses: Nil

Key players: Shaun Haffenden, Joel Stephens, Jayden Rosin, Asantha Singappuli, Ben Eade, Savindra Amaradasa, Clayton Watson.

Season prediction: Coming off a tough 2021-22 season, Echuca South is looking for an improved effort and reset for this season, and a swathe of recruits as well as a new captain will certainly help the cause.

Jayden Rosin returns to the club after three flags with Kyabram Fire Brigade, and the senior experience of Shaun Haffenden and Ben Eade will hopefully assist the Swans in climbing the McMahon Shield rankings.

Kyabram Fire Brigade

Ladder position 2021-22: Fifth.

Club coach: Peter Learmonth.

A-grade captain: Daniel Kent.

Player recruits: Chare Smith (import), Paul Newman.

Player losses: Scott Morris, Anthony DePasquale, Tristan Watson, Charlie Barnett.

Key players: Chare Smith, Rob Salter, Brenton Campbell, Daniel Kent, Paul Newman, Jake Gascoyne, Miller Griffiths.

Season prediction: After a rare finals miss in 2021-22, Fire Brigade have wasted no time bolstering its tilt for another flag.

West Indian fast bowling import Chare Smith and returning legend Paul Newman will see Fire Brigade contend once again despite the loss of several members of its bowling attack from last season.

Leitchville-Gunbower

Ladder position 2021-22: Eighth.

Club coach: Tyler Jones and James Keath.

A-grade captain: Tyler Jones and James Keath.

Player recruits: Josh O’Shea, Jed Brereton, Blake Randall-Annear.

Player losses: Nil.

Key players: Tyler Jones, James Keath, Blake Gelletely, Liam Keath.

Season prediction: League newcomers Leitchville-Gunbower settled nicely into life in the GMC in its inaugural season, but would have been disappointed to drop several winnable games.

Tyler Jones and James Keath will need to have strong seasons in 22-23 for the club to be in the mix to play finals.

Moama

Ladder position 2021-22: Fourth.

Club coach: Glen McFadden, Kevin Drennan, and Adam Luckman.

A-grade captain: Anthony McMahon.

Player recruits: Anthony McMahon, Jordy McGregor, Russell Stockdale, Matt Saunders, Luke Dinan, and Jackson Riley.

Player losses: Tommy Wesley, Will Devlin.

Key players: Fraser Buchanan, Anthony McMahon, Jordy McGregor, Russell Stockdale, Matt Saunders, Billy Gallagher, Luke Waterson.

Season prediction: Moama bowed out in the semi-finals last season — its third straight exit at the that stage — but there’s a different feeling about the side this season.

Several handy inclusions paint a bright picture for Moama, including a former Kirchhofer Medallist.

All-rounder Anthony McMahon and Jordy McGregor make their way back to Moama Reserve while the recruitment of Richard Stockdale from Bendigo catapults the black and white into a genuine contender.

Nondies-Cohuna

Ladder position 2021-22: Eighth.

Club coach: Kyeran Ellery.

A-grade captain: Rhys Bradley.

Player recruits: Alex Thornhill (English Import), Josh Walters-Marsh.

Player losses: Nil.

Key players: Peter Moore, Paddy Doyle, Rhys Bradley.

Season prediction: Nondies-Cohuna challenged several sides in their first season in the GMC, and will be hoping to convert their strong start into premiership points.

The club has recruited well with opening batter Alex Hornhill from England, and will look for an improved effort this season.

Rochester

Ladder position 2021-22: Third.

Club coach: Vibhor Yadav.

A-grade captain: Vibhor Yadav.

Player recruits: Vibhor Yadav, Corey Windridge, Anthony Leddin.

Player losses: Corey Jacobs, Richard Tibbett.

Key players: Vibhor Yadav, Sean Williams, Fraser Cleary.

Season prediction: Rochester has strengthened its hand with the addition of Vibhor Yadav, and along with former skipper Sean Williams, Dylan Cuttriss, Fraser Cleary, Angus Martin, Daniel Major, they should be a formidable force this season after a shock finals exit to BLU.