Mathew Agostino has been a revelation this season.
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Last month the Kookaburras No 3 told the Namoi Valley Independent that he had returned to playing cricket this season after losing 87 kilograms following gastric bypass surgery.
When he had the surgery he was 204kg.
He followed up his then season-high 56 against Court House in the previous round with a 76-ball 88 in the first innings against Mornington - a match that concludes at Kitchener Park on Saturday.
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The innings was bejewelled with 12 boundaries and a six.
Agostino is kicking himself, however, because it would have been his maiden first-grade century.
(He was scored two tons in lower grades.)
"I didn't think I was that close," he said.
"But, um, I was - and I probably missed out on a hundred."
Along with Agostino's performance in the first innings, the other main individual highlight of the match to date was Kookaburras opener Cameron Milne scoring 102.
After declaring on 6-261 in their first innings, Kookaburras had reduced Morningon's batting lineup to near rumble at the conclusion of day one: 6-50.
Third-placed Kookaburras will chase an outright win and a ladder promotion.
But if the side were to reach their potential, Agostino said, they needed to perform better as a unit.
The signs were promising, he added.
"Everyone's starting to learn to play together now," he said.
"We just need to work together with our batting and not just play our own game - see if we can work as a team instead of individuals."
He added: "Everyone knows what we can and can't do.
"It's just a matter of working together now."
Agostino said it would be "handy" to go into the break with and outright win.
"So if we can make this a handy win, it should help with the points."
He added: "[It] should bring us some confidence after Christmas.
"Hopefully everyone comes back fresh after a couple of weeks off."
Meanwhile,
You sense anything could happen when Albion and Court House resume their clash at Wolseley Oval on Saturday.
After routing second-placed Court House for 80 in the first innings, first-placed Albion will resume on 9-90 this weekend.
Albion's James Mack has said that both sides were in a position to secure an outright win.
"We've only got a 10-run lead with one wicket in hand, and we know that they're a lot better batting side than what they showed [in the first innings]," he said.
"Even though we bowled well, they're still capable of scoring a lot more than that - and so are we."
Jono Crowe (4-13 off four overs) and Gary Briggs (3-32 off 14 overs) were Albion's best bowlers on day one of the clash. Ben Haire (22) and Farran Lamb (18) fared best with the bat for Court House.
Three Court House bowlers snared three wickets each: Isaac Harris (3-29 off 10 overs), Jayde Campbell (3-19 off seven overs) and Brodie Cleal (3-22 off nine).
