Jack Preddey laughs his status as something of a marquee player in Canberra hasn't escaped his Eastern Suburbs teammates back in Sydney.
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Now the 22-year-old has a chance to show them why the Ginninderra Tigers were so keen on luring him to the capital for the Cricket ACT Twenty20 Cup.
Ginninderra will meet ANU at ANU North Oval on Thursday afternoon with the winner set to lock up a finals berth, while the loser will wait anxiously for the result of Weston Creek Molonglo's clash across town.
Traditional powerhouse Creek are in danger of missing the semi-finals but their equation is relatively simple: beat North Canberra-Gungahlin at Stirling Oval to sneak into the top four, and wait for one of the two sides above them to slide.
Preddey looms as a trump card for Ginninderra in their finals bid after captain Rhys Healy and Mick Delaney struck a deal with the Eastern Suburbs star to join their ranks for the Twenty20 competition.
"There’s been a few jokes flying around for sure, as you’d expect, you don’t get away with much in the cricket setting," Preddey said.
"They’ve been pretty supportive of it, the coach and captain [at Eastern Suburbs] have been good about it. It’s always pretty challenging up there, as you’d expect with the state guys around.
"It’s been really good, it’s impressed me quite a bit. The standard has been good, it has been good coming up against some really good players, especially in the early rounds. It’s been a good experience, good to get out of Sydney and face something different.
"I grew up in Bowral so I’ve had a bit of a connection with ACT cricket early on in my junior career."
Ginninderra's gamble on Preddey is already beginning to pay dividends. Last weekend he belted 91 from 51 balls to catapult the Tigers to 3-241 - a record score in ACT first grade Twenty20 competitions.
Out in the middle with him was Michael Ninneman, plundering 85 from 45 - another coup for Ginninderra after he shifted away from ANU.
Now the Tigers are desperately seeking to lure Preddey back for the finals on January 20 should they progress, but they've got a major hurdle to overcome.
"Definitely trying to look into it. It’s unfortunate, I think we have a Saturday-Sunday game that weekend in Sydney," Preddey said.
"If things work out, depending on timing and the result of the game, I’ve chatted to Mick and Rhys about trying to jet down for that Sunday if it works. It’s definitely in the works."
CRICKET ACT TWENTY20 CUP ROUND SEVEN
Thursday: Tuggeranong Valley v Queanbeyan at Chisholm Oval, Western District-UC v Eastlake at Jamison Oval, Weston Creek Molonglo v North Canberra-Gungahlin at Stirling Oval, ANU v Ginninderra at ANU North Oval. All games at 4.30pm.
Ladder: Tuggeranong Valley (10 points), Western District-UC (9), Ginninderra (7), ANU (7), Weston Creek Molonglo (5), Queanbeyan (5), North Canberra-Gungahlin (4), Eastlake (1).
