Forward ace Lachy Thompson has booted his way into the record books and into the hearts of all involved at Benalla All Blacks this year.
The star forward kicked a mammoth 19 goals in his side’s penultimate Ovens & King Football League match against Tarrawingee last Saturday to bring up goal number 100 for the season.
A feat rarely achieved in country football, Thompson’s milestone is even more impressive when you consider he has done it with one game of the home and away season remaining.
The Panthers forward, who entered the round 19 fixture with 83 goals to his name, said getting over the line on Saturday would not have been possible without a little encouragement from his teammates.
“The boys really got around it,” he said.
“Before the game a few blokes were saying ‘we’ll get you there today’ and that sort of thing.
“I was thinking that’s a lot of goals to get there.
“But they all jumped on board and helped out and it all seemed to go the way right way in the end, we couldn’t have done much better.”
After chalking up 77 senior appearances at Benalla Saints and back-to-back under-18s premierships during his junior career, Thompson made the switch to Friendlies Oval this year and has been welcomed with open arms.
He said a sense of togetherness and familiarity among the senior group had set him up for a big season in front of goal.
“It’s been really good, a bit of a change up — Spanner’s (Nich Spencer) had faith in me and put me down forward all year, it’s been a good season,” he said.
“I’ve played a lot of footy with quite a few of the blokes down there through thirds and seniors, that’s probably one of the things that’s helped us play such good football.
“We all know each other and have played a lot of footy together and are getting along really well.”
For Thompson, this year has easily been his best in front of the sticks.
A 70-goal season in under-16s at the Saints is up there, he said, but there was nothing quite like a century.
“I had a pretty good season in under-16s where I kicked 70 odd, but nothing like this in front of goal,” he said.
“I’ve been pretty lucky with the team we’ve got to be able to play forward every week.”
With a significant milestone under his belt, Thompson said the focus now shifted to a match against Goorambat this Saturday, and the challenge of finals footy that lay beyond.
“Goorambat’s the only side that’s beaten us all year and we had quite a few out in that game,” Thompson said.
“It’d be nice to get one back on them and show them the better side. There’s a lot of Benalla boys out there, so it is a bit of a rivalry.
“But finals start the week after so our focus is on that. This week is just another game and hopefully we come out on top.
“We’re confident that if we have our best side on the park and we’re playing our best footy, we should be the best team out there.”