After a huge 2016-17 where he fell five runs short of winning the competition’s batting award, Garwood endured a lean run last season, averaging just 7.14 in the game’s longer formats despite enjoying his best year with the ball to date.

But the left-hander has turned it around in 2018-19, notching 89 not out against Mowbray in round 1 and 54 and 2-19 against Latrobe last weekend, which saw him named player of the round.

“I’ve put a fair bit of hard work in the pre-season so it’s good to get some reward for spending some time in the middle, I’m loving it at the moment,” Garwood said.

“I don’t really know where I went wrong last year but I’ve worked on a few things this year – spending time in the middle has been the biggest focus for me, not trying to hit boundaries or anything like that and I’ve put a lot of emphasis on not getting out.

“I’ve been a bowler all my life but not really a batsman, and the last few years I’ve taken on more of a role with the bat and it’s come along nicely this year.”

Garwood’s form has come at an ideal time for the club, which lost a handful of its most experienced players at the end of last season. 

“With the side that we’ve got we’re relying on the leaders a fair bit to grow the youth, we want to see them succeed.

“So if the leaders are doing these things the right way, it’ll help grow the younger guys.”

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