Little brother McDonald waits for cricket's spotlight McDonald 568 Premier runs at an average of 43.69 in 2012/2013. The story earlier this month of Brett Goodes stepping out of elder brother Adam's long shadow to excel on his AFL debut for the Western Bulldogs resonated with Brenton McDonald, for obvious reasons. A glance at his surname and his facial and follicle features give a clear indication he is the younger brother of Victoria's stalwart all-rounder Andrew McDonald, who was in line for a Test recall during the summer before suffering a serious hamstring injury. On Thursday night 28-year-old Brenton, three years Andrew's junior, is favoured to make his most significant step out of his brother's shadow by winning the Jack Ryder Medal as the state's best club player. Brenton McDonald played a single Big Bash game two seasons ago. That favouritism has been earned from a season with Melbourne in Premier Cricket that earned the bowling all-rounder not only a premiership but also some key personal achievements: 568 runs at an average of 43.69 and an equal-league-best 54 wickets with his leg-spin, at an average of 19.67. While his breakout season was more than a decade in the making - he first played for Melbourne in his teens before stints with Footscray and Richmond - he maintained he was not surprised to have produced it. I always felt I had a season like this in me. I was lucky enough that [Melbourne captain-coach] Andrew Kent gave me a lot of opportunities. The all-rounder always knew a breakout season was within his capabilities. Before this season, the only time McDonald gained attention was when he was a squad player for the Melbourne Renegades in the first season of the Big Bash League, alongside his elder brother. In his sole appearance he claimed a creditable 1-28 from three overs but it was largely ignored because the match was a dead rubber for the then lowly Renegades. For McDonald, it also marked the end of his brief first chance at domestic cricket. "If we weren't out of contention I can't say I would have played because the way the side lined up I was always behind Shahid Afridi, which is fair enough," he said. Not to get [another] game or even a phone call after the whole squad finished up was pretty disappointing but I think that's just how cricket goes sometimes. McDonald resolved to narrow his focus on Premier Cricket. The first step was to leave Glen Waverley-based Richmond for a club more conducive to his work and home life in the inner north-west. It triggered a return to the Demons, with whom he found it much easier to train two or three times a week as he felt he needed to. McDonald's leg-spinners claimed 54 district wickets in 2013. McDonald was selected for Victoria in three Futures League matches across the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons but produced little. He remained in selectors' thoughts but was, and remains, hindered by his paid full-time work as a refrigeration mechanic. I'd told them that if they wanted me to play I need a couple of weeks' notice to organise jobs around that. I got a phone call later in the season, probably four days before a game, but I just couldn't get off work," he said when asked if he was bitter at not getting a call-up in the past season. I don't think I'd be the only player in that situation. That's where it becomes a bit harder to break into the system, where you're a bit older and you have uni or you're working. You can end up on the backburner I bit. McDonald was selected for Victoria in three Futures League matches across the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons. They [the Bushrangers] have got quite a few spinning options now so I'm probably not next in line or anything like that. One player McDonald admires is the bowler who finished alongside him atop the Premier Cricket wickets tally, Bryce McGain, whose persistence at club level eventually earned him state and, fleetingly, international recognition. "He [McGain] dominated district cricket for a very long time and finally got his chance a lot later in his career," he said. As a leg-spinner, when you're 28 I think you're just coming into your peak and learning your craft. I'm confident in what I'm doing in cricket at the moment, but obviously you can only do it at the level that's presented in front of you. Maybe one day something will open up. McDonald is planning to spend the off-season playing club cricket in Dublin but vowed he would be on the "first plane back" and would put his refrigeration trade on hold if any state was sufficiently impressed by his club performances to offer him a playing berth next season. "I think the time has come that if I get an opportunity, no matter where it is, I've got to take it," he said.