If inaugural Hawke's Bay Sports Awards People's Choice winner Jason Long had to name this year's winner it would be a close call.
Five of the Bay's higher-profile sportspeople are in the running and Long has allegiances to two of them - his Hawke's Bay Magpies rugby captain, Ash Dixon, and Kiwi and Melbourne Storm rugby league star and ex Hastings Boys High schoolmate Tohu Harris.
"It'd be pretty close," he said. "They've both done a lot of different things."
As it happens, Long couldn't name the other finalists, but for the record they are veteran hockey international Shea McAleese, national women's soccer and cricket representative Rebecca Rolls and basketball coach and former national women's basketball representative Kirstin Daly-Taylor.
Interestingly, all five finalists grew up and went to school in Hawke's Bay, but only one will top the class when the People's Choice public voting closes at competitions@hbtoday.co.nz on May 15.