Echuca and Nondies-Cohuna lock horns in McMahon Shield grand final

But Kyeran Ellery’s men in purple have won, essentially, three straight elimination clashes on the trot, including a shock upset of flag fancy Moama in the semi-final by 46 runs.

Similar to the 2021-22 decider, Echuca will come in as heavy favourites after losing just one game for the season, coming off a comfortable win over BLU in the semi-final last week.

Going back-to-back is a feat Echuca hasn’t accomplished since the days of the Campaspe Cricket Association, and captain Simon Maddox said he was confident in where his side was at form-wise.

“We’re in a good place, we played some good cricket on the weekend,” Maddox said.

“Our theme will be worrying about our own backyard, playing our best cricket, and executing our plans.

“If we do that, we’re confident.

“Everything we’ve done up to now doesn’t count for a lot, we’ve just got to get out there, bat our 80 overs.”

Despite Nondies-Cohuna coming in as significant underdogs, Maddox said there was no reason to take them lightly.

“They’re in red-hot form,” he said.

“They’ve beaten Leitchville-Gunbower, Kyabram Fire Brigade and then Moama to make their way into the grand final.

“They’ve had to win every game in the last three or four weeks to keep playing.

“They made 270 and bowled Moama out in the semi-final — we won’t be taking them lightly.”

Newly anointed Turner Medalist Matt Hinks looms as the game-changer for Echuca, along with returned bat Curtis Townrow who has 195 runs from his last two knocks.

"(Hinks) will be really important for us on Saturday,“ Maddox said.

“If he gets a big score, or Aiden Young and Curtis Townrow and anyone in that top six can go big it’ll go a long way to victory.”

From the merger of Nondescripts and Cohuna in 2021-22 to the club’s maiden grand final appearance, it’s been a rapid rise for Nondies-Cohuna.

For opposing skipper Ellery, he knows his side will have its work cut out for it to claim a slice of local cricketing history.

“It’s been a bit unexpected,” he said.

“We’ve come off three wins in a row ... there’s no better form line to come in with.

“There’s no doubt we’re going to be underdogs which is a tag we’re looking forward to holding, especially against Echuca who are the benchmark of the competition.

“It’s our second year in the competition so it’s really exciting for us and the township of Cohuna.”

Will Wade (326 runs) and Rhys Bradley (231) have been crucial for Nondies-Cohuna with the bat, while young quick Xavier Wishart has hit form at the right time with 10 wickets from his last three games.

Ellery said the toss would be crucial and runs on the board would be a valuable commodity for the side batting first.

“We play a bit of a different brand to others in the competition,” Ellery said.

“A lot of sides go out and blast from the top order, but we’re a lot steadier and we usually tend to go hard at the end of an innings.

“We set up with guys like Rhys Bradley, he’s in super form batting at number five.

“Our top four has been pretty set all year; Will Wade, Alex Thornhill, Mitch Treacy, Sam O’Shea.”

Echuca and Nondies-Cohuna will contest the McMahon Shield grand final at Moama Recreation Reserve from Saturday, March 11, to Sunday, March 12, with the action under way from noon both days.