ADCA 2025-26: Ryley Valli nails player of the match honours with brilliant 89 to help Lions sneak home

The season has finished with a flourish for Ryley Valli, the man dubbed “Mr Grand Final” by his teammates after another golden premiership display. The best-on-field in the Albany and Districts Cricket Association A-grade Twenty20 grand final last month, Valli was the top man once more, bagging 89 runs in the one-day showpiece on Saturday as Royals won again. The 50-over victory was more a squeak than a stroll compared to the T20 outing, when his 78 off 58 balls set the tone for a Lions’ victory. However the young star anchored the top order on Saturday as the Lions batted first. They were 4-210 before he was dispatched, caught by Thomas Leaver off Paul Donaldson’s bowling, leaving his side well on their way to their winning total of 6-253. His co-skipper Mitch Green called him Mr Grand Final during the after-match presentations and it’s a moniker which seems likely to stick. For Valli it ended the campaign in style and was made more special with the title coming alongside brother Teague. “It was great to share the win with Teague as he has had a difficult last couple of seasons with injury,” he said. “I don’t think Peaks could have done much more and it was a great match to play in. “It went up and down a fair bit and when we got early wickets we thought we were well on top. “But once their middle order got going I felt we were suddenly the underdogs, and we did well to come through in the end. “It was great to contribute to the win – and to contribute in matches when it really matters.” Winning the T20 and one-day double brought the season to a winning conclusion after a dicey start. “We lost a couple of early games, and we probably weren’t playing that well,” Valli said. “But after some of the boys came back from country week something seemed to click and we started making good scores.”