Local SA footy’s goalkicking legends including Michael Timms, Daniel Nobes, Chris Prime, Trevor Rigney
They’ve brought communities together and given clubs some of the most memorable moments in history. See the state’s greatest goalkickers.
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When Michael Timms first picked up a footy he could not have predicted where his association with the oval ball would take him.
And by the time he had slotted his 1000th goal, he had no idea the comparisons that would be drawn between him and Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin.
Like Buddy, Timms was poached, by Nangwarry Football Club, from rival club Robe, and like Buddy the man known as ‘The Whale’ was the biggest draw card in the league.
But with Franklin’s 1000th goal heroics fresh in the memory of all footy fans, Robe Football Club stalwart Ian Regnier took a moment to reflect on the career of the Bush Buddy.
“He was a man mountain, and a bit wider than Buddy, but hell he was fast,” Mr Regnier said.
“His first 10 metres were incredible, even great sprinters couldn’t keep up with him.”
The Franklin comparisons came thick and fast from Mr Regnier, who recounted the excitement that came with Timms pulling on his boots for Robe for the first time, and the fables that soon followed.
“One day when he was playing in Penola he walked out onto the road and a car hit him,” Mr Regnier said.
“But he did more damage to the car than it did to him.”
While Buddy’s story will rest firmly in the annals of AFL history, Timms’ story itself draws a similar gravitational pull.
The South East legend, who booted about 1493 majors, was so well known he became the poster boy for West End beer.
In one advertisement for the South Australian beer from 1999 he strode into a pub alongside David Hookes and Greg Blewett before grabbing freshly poured beers – he was the star of the show.
The ad came a more than a decade after his footballing exploits struck fear into every defender who had the misfortune of trying to stop him.
Timms, who played for six clubs across three leagues, went bananas in front of the sticks in 1984 for the Robe Roosters, returning 134 goals.
He backed it up the following season with 135 goals, then 129 in 1989.
But his record haul came three years later with Nangwarry where he put away 138 majors, a still-standing record in the Mid South Eastern Football League.
Timms is among the best amateur goal kickers to have graced footy fields in the state, but his staggering tally is not even the best on the list of goal kicking legends compiled by The Messenger.
Whether it’s aerial ability, an innate goal sense, a booming boot, or all of the above, these footballers have been the key to many an amateur premiership tilt.
While the likes of Tony Modra and Ken Farmer lit up the big smoke, their exploits pale in comparison to the thousands of goals kicked by some of South Australia’s best amateur goal kickers of all time.
SA footy journeyman Trevor Rigney, who currently plays in the Adelaide Footy League for OSB Lonsdale, has booted more than 1000 goals across several clubs.
He said kicking his 1000th goal was one of the best feelings he had ever experienced in his life.
That’s coming from a man who’s been married and has kids.
The reaction to Franklin’s 1000th AFL goal earlier this year said everything about what big bags mean to supporters.
From all across the state, these are some of the goal kicking machines putting bums on seats in SA’s local games.
And while their 100 goal seasons and 1000 goal careers might not have turned the SCG into a picnic spot, they brought communities together and offered clubs moments that will be celebrated for years to come.
Meet some of the state’s greatest ever goal kickers.
CHRIS PRIME
(Tumby Bay, Tasmans, Port Neill, Ports)
Arguably local South Australian footy’s GOAT, Chris ‘Tractor’ Prime needs no introduction.
The iconic full-forward has booted more than 2000 goals in country footy during his time at Tasmans, Port Neill, Ports and Tumby Bay, where he still plays today at over 50 years old.
Prime put together a formidable run of Great Flinders Football League leading goalkicker titles from 2007 to 2013 with six straight.
His 2007 season was remarkable to say the least.
Arriving at Tumby Bay that year, he started the season as a centre half back but still went on to boot a huge 150 goals, including an extraordinary 14 in the club’s winning grand final.
He won his first Mail Medal that year.
He also played three seasons for Norwood in the SANFL, kicking 182 goals in 59 games, including a club-best 87 in his debut season in 1993.
TREVOR RIGNEY
(O’Sullivan Beach Lonsdale, various)
With 1048 goals and counting to his name in amateur footy, Trevor Rigney has struck fear into defenders across the state for more than two decades.
The journeyman has chalked up appearances for clubs including Jervois (where he won back-to-back flags), Kingston in the KNTFL, Peake in the Mallee Football League, McLaren Vale in the Great Southern Football League and Brighton in the Southern League.
And despite being a gun for hire for several years following his departure from SANFL club South Adelaide, Rigney always had his sights set on returning to where he played his junior football at O’Sullivans Beach.
The 37-year-old has been a weapon up front around the state whether it be in the country for Jervois or during his time in the Adelaide Footy League with Brighton and O’Sullivan Beach Lonsdale.
Rigney booted 21 goals in a single game for the Lions in 2018 and is still dominating for the club, registering 32 scores already in his four games this year.
Returning from a snapped achilles last year, however, Rigney has been inaccurate and kicked just 16 goals and 19 behinds.
Speaking to The Messenger, Rigney described how it took eight years of his career before he even assumed the position of full forward, instead playing as an on baller until 2008 – what could have been.
Not built in the traditional mould of a full forward, Rigney said his greatest attributes were his quickness on the lead, athleticism and aerial ability.
He said they made him “a bit harder to match up on for most full backs.”
At a rate of four or five goals a game, you can’t argue with him.
WAYNE PAECH
(Wynarka, Karoonda, Ramblers, East Murray, Perponda)
Wayne Paech kicked 1543 goals in a career which spanned from 1978-2001 for five separate country clubs.
Dubbed the “Wynarka Wizard” during his time at the club, Paech was a feared opponent for defences and led his side to the club’s first flag in 21 years with a seven-goal performance in the 1982 grand final.
After a successful period at Wynarka and Karoonda, he moved to Ramblers and was twice the River Murray Football League leading goalkicker.
His season-best was a massive 138 goals in 1987.
During a golden period for Wynarka, Paech led the Murray Lands Football League goalkicking nine times including eight years in a row from 1979 to 1988.
The Wynarka Wizard is considered to be the greatest to play in the Murray Lands.
SCOTT POLLARD
(Morphett Vale)
A prolific goalkicker, Pollard booted 803 goals in 178 games at Morphett Vale from 1999 to 2010.
He was leading goalkicker for the club on 10 separate occasions and kicked 124 in 2007, 118 in 2008 and 125 in 2009 – each the league leading total.
For three years the unassuming full forward dominated the SFL, averaging 122 goals a season and about six goals per game.
His prowess proved more than personal as he led the Emus to five consecutive premierships from 2004 to 2009 as captain and was also vice-captain of the SFL representative team.
His 803 goals, at an average of a staggering 4.5 a game for 11 years, stands above all before him in the SFL as he holds the league record.
GENE ROBINSON
(Millicent, Mypolonga, Broughton-Mundoora, Mannum, Bordertown)
‘Millicent maestro’ Gene Robinson is one of modern country football’s most prolific goal scorers.
The star forward kicked his 1000th career goal in his club’s Western Border Football League grand final last year to add to a storied career.
He kicked 116 majors last season, the sixth time he’d reached the 100-goal mark throughout his career at Bordertown, Broughton-Mundoora, Mannum, Mypolonga and Millicent.
Robinson was also only the second player in the 21st Century to reach 100 goals in a season in the Western Border Football League, joining North Gambier’s Justin McConnell.
DANIEL NOBES
(Hope Valley, Waikerie, Christies Beach, Hackham)
South Adelaide forward Daniel Nobes has been a goal kicking machine in local footy for years.
Prior to his years at the Panthers, Nobes was booting majors for fun at Waikerie, Hope Valley, Christies Beach and Hackham.
It was a slower start to Nobes’ goal kicking career as he battled inaccuracy and inexperience before a breakout year for a historically underperforming Hackham Hawks in 2014 when he kicked 54 goals as a 20-year-old.
But that was just a taste of things to come for the man with hands the size of dinner plates and dukes like vices.
His first 100-goal-season came two years later after a switch to Christies Beach and the monster forward has not looked back since.
In 2017, Nobes became the first A Grade player in Waikerie’s history to kick 100 goals in the minor rounds, booting a huge 130 goals in 18 games to clear Barry Tyrrell’s 125 for Barmera-Monash in 1985 as the highest total in a Riverland Football League season.
Another 115 for Waikerie in 2019 followed before he fell just short of triple figures in 2020 with 96 majors, playing just 15 games.
His four-season purple patch yielded 450 goals at a rate of 6.5 goals a game. Good going.
Already in 2022, at new club Hope Valley, Nobes has kicked 27 goals in five games.
DION HIBBERD
(Noarlunga, Edwardstown, Morphettville Park, Hackham, Lobethal)
A journeyman of local South Australian footy, Dion Hibberd’s career spanned from 1993 to 2015 and he booted bags of goals wherever he went to reach his total of 1016.
Quick off the mark and with some of the safest hands going, Hibberd proved a near impossible matchup for years.
Hibberd’s career saw him become a gun for hire in the Southern Football League where he is an equal record three time league leading goalkicker.
He tallied 95 for Morphettville Park in 1999, 95 for Noarlunga in 2001, and 81 for Noarlunga in 2003.
Crossing from Edwardstown to Noarlunga under coach Trevor Mitton, Hibberd was a catalyst for the Shoes’ success between 200 and 2003.
It was Hibberd’s career best 2001 season that helped break Noarlunga’s decade-long premiership drought.
DREW LITSTER
(Rostrevor OCs, Mitcham)
No footballer has been the leading goal kicker in SA’s amateur league division one more times than Drew Litster.
His seven leading goal kicking medals came in every year he played division one football bar one (in 2013 when he booted 61 goals), and began on the back of a 123-goal season in 2003 which secured his side’s promotion.
Unsurprisingly, his domination of division one corresponded with his domination of the ROCs leading goal kicking, a title he did not relinquish during his 15-year senior career with the club.
Playing 304 games, his 1315 goals came at a clip of 4.3 per appearance.
SHANE LANGLEY
(Scotch OC, Goodwood, Wattle Park Teachers College)
Shane Langley kicked so many goals at Scotch that the club’s leading goalkicker award is now named after him.
Second only to Drew Litster in A1 leading goal kicker gongs, Langley managed 1319 goals over a glittering 397 game career from 1967 to 1989.
Langley started his career at the now defunct Wattle Park Teachers College to little fanfare with just 67 goals from 41 games, but a move to division one powerhouse Goodwood saw the goals rain down.
In 156 games over eight seasons for Goodwood, Langley slotted home 478 goals which included two leading goal kicker gongs.
A mid-career switch to Scotch did little to blunt the flow of snags as Langley booted the next 774 goals of his career in just 200 games including being named the club’s leading goal kicker 10 times.
BARRY TYRRELL
(Barmera-Monash)
Barry ‘Buff’ Tyrrell’s goal kicking tally may not be as impressive as others mentioned on this list, but his influence was arguably second to none.
The star forward did most of his work for Woodville in the SANFL but his time at local Riverland club Barmera-Monash left a major mark on the club and the Riverland Football League.
Arriving at the club in 1982 after 176 SANFL games at Woodville, Tyrrell turned its fortunes around.
‘Buff’ kicked hundreds of majors for Barmera-Monash from his first season and helped the club to its first premiership in 46 years in 1983.
He was the Riverland Football League’s leading goalkicker for three straight years from 1985 to 1987 and also booted seven majors in the 1986 grand final.
He was the first in the RFL to kick 100 goals in a season when he booted 125 in 1985, and he followed that up with 111 in 1986.
Tyrrell made six straight RFL teams of the year and was named in the league’s team of the century at full forward.
MICHAEL TIMMS
(Robe, Nangwarry, South Gambier, more)
One of the most iconic names on the list, Michael ‘The Ledge’ or ‘The Whale’ Timms’ goal kicking notoriety and recognisability was the stuff of legends.
The imposing, to say the least, full forward was so well-known he played himself as an intimidating brute in a West End commercial.
When he took marks steaming out of full forward the enigmatic goal machine held the footy high in the air before going back and, like he did about 1500 times, slotting it home for six points.
Timms, who played for six clubs across three leagues, went bananas in 1984 for the Robe Roosters and kicked goals for fun, returning 134 for the year.
But the South East legend wasn’t close to done.
He backed it up the following season with 135 goals, then 129 in 1989.
After his exploits were topped in 1988 by fellow champion goal kicker Barry Ey from Mount Burr, who kicked a mammoth 138 snags, Timms hit back with a still-standing league record 139 in 1991 after a swap to Nangwarry.
CLAYTON WILLSON
(Dudley United)
Known by some as the King of Dudley, Clayton ‘Clayto’ Willson has a footballing resume most couldn’t even dream of.
Willson is Kangaroo Island royalty having won six league medals on the island with boyhood club Dudley United to go with six leading goalkicker gongs and seven premierships.
The goalkicking legend, who could be mistaken for AFL legend Chris Judd, has played more than 350 games for Dudley and has claimed the club’s best and fairest 11 times over the journey.
He’s still playing (and running marathons as a pastime) and, with 986 goals to his name, is set to hit the magic 1000 mark in 2022.
DARREN GRAETZ
(Adelaide University)
With 31 years of senior football under his belt at Adelaide University, Darren ‘The Jerk’ Graetz’s goal kicking tally was inevitably going to be high.
But as the Adelaide Footy league’s leading goal kicker, Graetz’s record stands above.
He’s topped Uni’s goal kicking 18 times including a 10-year period of dominance between 1987 and 1996, and is a seven time league leading goal kicker.
Graetz kicked 115 majors during his most dominant season in 1992 and narrowly missed out on a second 100-goal-season bagging 97 two years later in 1994.
During the 1994 season the full forward whammed home 17 majors against Ingle Farm in his career’s most prolific performance.
Graetz’s notoriety grew to the point he played in the EJ Whitten legends game where he had one kick – a dropkick goal.
Despite kicking an eye watering 1402 goals, Graetz’s greatest achievement may well be the fact he was able to stick around for 504 games of senior footy.
Astonishingly Graetz started his career out as a 68 kilogram fill in who played in the back pocket.
WILLY SERLE
(Bridgewater-Callington, United, Kadina, Ironbank, Gawler Central)
While nursing a severe ankle injury Willy Serle might have thought his 1000 goal game might never come.
The local footy journeyman had booted 998 goals when he was felled by the injury and forced to wait six games before he could take the field again.
But the wait proved worthwhile when fans, including his wife and children, stormed the field to celebrate the feat.
Searle booted 227 goals in six seasons at Adelaide Plains club United before switching to Kadina, where he kicked 607 majors from 2009-15, including a career-high 14 in one game.
After stints at Ironbank, Bridgewater-Callington and Gawler Central, Serle has booted more than 1200 snags.
Serle, 39, kept kicking goals long enough to play senior footy with his son Jordan, 19.
Serle is still playing and has returned to Kadina in 2022.
JOEL FITZGERALD
(Kimba)
When one kicks 1000 goals they don’t simply do so without a certain level of dominance.
For Joel ‘Burger’ Fitzgerald, that dominance has lasted for more than a decade.
Playing for Kimba in the Eastern Eyre Football League Fitzgerald topped the league’s goal kicking for 10 years (and counting).
Some statistics in this article appear courtesy of Peter Lines, author of South Australian Country Football Digest - Leading Goalkickers (2021).
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