Cricket: Henry Johns stars as Mornington dominate Kookaburras in opening match

But for Henry Johns, it marks the beginning of a new chapter in his life - one that he got underway in grand style over the weekend.

The 18-year-old has nearly completed his HSC at Farrer, and with just one exam remaining he has already decided what his future holds.

"My main goal is to become an agronomist in the Gunnedah region," Johns said.

"But I'm going to have a gap year next year, just working for a local farming contractor, and then hopefully I'll go off to university."

With the world at his feet, Johns wants to become qualified in agronomy so he can "just give back" to his home.

And in the first match of his last term as a high school student, that same maturity shone through as Johns scored 65 and took 2-14 from six overs as Mornington thrashed Kookaburras by 146 runs in the Gunnedah District Cricket Association's first grade competition.

Having performed sporadically with bat in hand over the last two seasons, Johns credited his half-century at Kitchener Oval on Saturday to the influence of his teammate, Ryan Smith.

"I hadn't had too much success in the past few years, so I got into the nets with one of our good bats, Ryan Smith, and changed my technique up a bit," he said.

"I got out there, and I was just loving it. Having fun and playing my shots, and being a bit more aggressive ... I really felt that I've improved a lot."

Johns began his sporting journey, as many did, at the tender age of four in Milo cricket, and his passion was split with rugby - which he actually said was his sport of choice for much of his life.

And even though he saw cricket as more of a pastime, his innate work ethic would not let him settle for mediocre results when he knew he was capable of better.

"Towards the end of last year, I'm a very technical batsman, but I wasn't getting value for my shots," Johns said.

"It just comes so naturally to [Smith]. I said 'Smithy, do you mind giving me a hand?' and he said 'Yeah, I'd love to.'"

Smith and Johns worked on both technical and mental aspects of the latter's game, which he believes paid off in spades on Saturday.

His half-century, along with contributions from Rhyce Kliendienst (33) and Aaron Condrick (24) propelled Mornington to a total of 205 all out.

In reply, Kookaburras could only manage 69 as Richard Avendano (4-27) cut a swathe through their lineup, while Johns, Kliendienst, and Lachie Straney all contributed two wickets of their own.

The win was the ideal way for Mornington to belatedly start their season. Going forward, Johns will look to continue his sterling form, but he is also filled with excitement about what his future holds personally.

"Leading up to the last few weeks of school, I wasn't too sure, but now I've finished school and I'm doing exams," he said.

"I'm pretty excited to see what I can achieve and what comes next."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: