Rising stars, top guns, and exciting imports among Haisman Shield’s players to watch
The Haisman Shield is an ever-evolving colosseum of quality cricket talent, and the upcoming 2026-27 season is no different.
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From exciting imports, established guns, and rising stars in abundant supply, the Cricket Shepparton summer is bound to throw up twists and turns.
And these are the 10 players who could make the competition their own.
Lachie Keady (Karramomus)
The Karramomus pace ace’s influence is growing.
The Bloods seamer enjoyed a career-best season with the Kookaburra, collecting 33 Haisman Shield wickets and conceding only 12 runs between them to stand as one of the competition’s premier spearheads.
Best bowling figures of 6-22 underlined his lethality with the ball, but with a high score of 68 to pair with it, he showed he can also chip in with the willow.
Those elements combined to see the Bloods son of a gun finish equal-third in the Lightfoot Medal, and with the 24-year-old’s returns in the wickets column steadily increasing season on season, can Keady be the focal point Karramomus needs to take the next step?
Kyle Mueller (Kyabram)
A frequent flyer in columns like these, and for good reason.
The Lightfoot Medal runner-up topped the Haisman Shield run-scoring last season with 671, but when Victoria Country and other formats are considered, ‘The Wiz’ tallied in excess of 1,000 during the 2025-26 campaign.
The mercurial left-hand batter didn’t cross the triple-figure mark, but 11 half-centuries painted a picture of brutal consistency, and sure enough when the heat was on in the grand final against Waaia, it was Mueller who top-scored with 75.
With a flair for the miraculous, there’s nothing to suggest the Kyabram captain won’t continue his crusade of the Haisman Shield, and with a Murray league football flag in his back pocket, he’ll be keen to double up in a dash at back-to-back titles with the Redbacks.
Sam Langley (Kyabram)
When you consider the Redbacks paceman didn’t suit up for his side until round four last year, his demolition job with the ball is all the more remarkable.
The right arm paceman snared 39 wickets in 12 games, including a pivotal five-wicket haul in the grand final against Waaia that netted him the Greg Luscombe Medal.
With line, length, and bounce at his disposal, Langley toed the perfect line between strike bowling and hammering away at a length, averaging a touch under 10 in what was a barnstorming introduction to Haisman Shield cricket.
The Redback has been a stellar asset in a fearsome Kyabram seam bowling attack, and if he can emulate his heroics of last season, we could be in for another devastating campaign.
Jackson McLay (Kyabram)
A fearless leader, a ruthless bowling machine, hungry for premierships.
Those are the traits that define Kyabram pace bowler and coach Jackson McLay.
McLay finished with 39 wickets in 2025-26 at an average of 8.77, but his ability to rip the game apart in big games is what makes McLay so formidable.
An eight-wicket haul in Kyabram’s two-day semi-final against Central Park-St Brendan’s at an economy rate of just 1.91 across 22 overs was followed up with two in the grand final against Waaia at an economy of a mere 1.23 runs conceded per over.
McLay’s impact with the ball, particularly the red variant, is terrifying if you’re the opposition, but welcome destruction to watch for his Redbacks teammates.
Tyler Green (SYCU)
If SYCU ascend the ladder this summer, don’t be surprised that the reasoning falls squarely on the improvement of Tyler Green.
With SYCU’s top two champion imports not returning this season, Green is itching in line to make an impact.
Taking the vice-captaincy reins, Green evidently wants to drive standards and bring SYCU success.
He raced to a season-high 86 off 71 balls against Karramomus last year; can the opening bat produce a match-winning knock against the Bloods to kickstart United’s campaign with a win this weekend?
Matthew West (Tatura)
Tatura’s son of the West is back for the red, white and blue.
The imported English opening batter featured in the first half of the 2024-25 season that saw the club start 6-2.
Is it a coincidence his departure in the New Year saw Tatura win just one more game that season?
Regardless, Tatura coach Daniel Coombs believes West’s return plugs a hole of concern and will be instrumental for a leap out of fringe finals positions to a top-three spot.
An aggressive opener, West will score runs, and quickly.
Corey Hickford (Katandra)
After a consistent season with bat and ball last summer, Corey Hickford is ready to go the next level.
He has the backing of Eagles coach Jedd Wright, as the all-rounder looks to improve on a 22-wicket, 334-run 2025-26 campaign.
Hickford was Katandra’s champion player by a fair margin last season, but with new additions to the squad, another starring season from Hickford will be critical for not just a return to the finals arena, but a push for premiership glory as the Eagles are poised to leave an eighth-placed campaign in the dust.
Raguvaran Aravinthan (Numurkah)
The reigning Lightfoot Medallist is undoubtedly one to watch this season, even more so after taking the reins as coach of the Blues for the 2026-27 campaign.
The star all-rounder scored the fifth-most runs and took the 10th-most wickets in the Haisman Shield last season, culminating in a finals spot for Numurkah.
He was even lively in the field too with eight catches, highlighting that no matter where ‘Rags’ is stationed, he’s likely to make an impact.
And if any of the boys in Blue take a couple of learnings from the new Numurkah A-grade coach, Aravinthan’s influence could be the difference from having an early March exit to a deep finals run.
Zaman Shafi (Mooroopna)
The younger brother of Mooroopna coach Cyrus, the 20-year-old wicket-keeper batsman joins the competition with international experience at his back.
The former Gloucestershire Academy and Second XI star has been described as a dynamic talent with the bat and the gloves, once keeping wicket as a 16-year-old in a T20 tour game against New Zealand.
Shafi’s first season of Cricket Shepparton action is poised to add another sharp element to Mooroopna’s top order, and if the young gun can emulate the form line of his elder brother, then the side will waste no time making a charge up the ladder.
Tyler Larkin (CPStB)
The ex-Premier Cricket star smashed 580 runs at an average of more than 50 last season to reaffirm his status as one of the Haisman Shield’s danger men.
The CPStB number three raised the six times - one accompanied by the coveted helmet loft - to finish the campaign as the competition’s second-highest run-scorer, lending his services to Victoria Country and Cricket Shepparton’s representative teams as well.
Larkin has been one of his club’s great contributors, and he’ll be burning to spur them to the ultimate prize this season.
With his partner in crime Connor Hayes departing, Larkin’s scalp will be a prized one this season, but if he’s allowed time at the crease then he could once again prove one of the competition’s most damaging batsmen.