Halpin’s Plumbing had an up and down season in a stop- start T20 series knocked around by rain and finishing almost two months late because of the weather, Christmas and the Tamworth Country Music Festival.

However Halpo was far from disappointed.

He enjoyed the games and T20 again. He was there in the first year of the T20 (2008) as a franchisee and has been there every year since.

While a bit of hit and giggle, the $3000 winner’s cheque is nothing to sneeze at although Halpo has won it just the once (2014).

This time around, Halpo, team manager Andrew Stevenson and longtime sleeves sponsors electrifying Neil Greer (Greer Electrical) and edifying newsagent Steve Beaufoy (Tamworth Newsagency) missed out on the McDonald’s T20 Final.

They had to settle for fourth after Steggles beat them in the final over by six wickets on a night where TPW Tigers won their first T20 title with a three wicket win over McDonalds.

“They’ve been great sleeve sponsors and BBQ cooks for many years,”  Halpin joked.

“Leanne (Browne) has done a great job scoring too. 

“The T20 has been a bit stop-start but it’s a great concept. Great for the young kids coming through. They get experience at playing with the experienced first graders. 

“And we do have some great kids – Jye Paterson, Lachlan Davidson is only 16 and then young Harison Hague.

Adam Jones skippered the TPW Tigers to the franchise’s first T20 win  and he, too, thinks it’s  a great competition to bring the young players through.

“We need these kids coming through,” he said of a Tamworth grade competition where a lot of the older experienced players are starting to retire or succumb to injuries such as the torn bicep which ended the Bective-East allounder’s season.

“It’s a good test for the kids in the T20 and then they have the confidence to come out on the Saturday and bat and bowl against anyone,” Jones said.

“It (T20) is good for cricket.”