AFL Cairns: Power forward Luke James farewells footy with five-goal haul
The well-travelled sharpshooter, who brought up his 1000th official goal earlier this year, capped off a stellar career with a game-high five goals in the CTB Bulldogs 89-52 victory against the Saints.
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The well-travelled sharpshooter, who brought up his 1,000th official goal earlier this year, capped off a stellar career with a game-high five goals in the CTB Bulldogs 89-52 victory against the Cairns Saints on Saturday.
Luke James, originally from Yarrawonga, announced on Friday that the clash at home would be the last of his career, rallying his Bulldogs teammates for one final hurrah after a tough season.
“It was a great win, the young fellas at the Bulldogs have just got a lot of heart,” he said.
“They all just had a crack on Saturday and it was so good to watch and be a part of. Now that I’m retired. I’m going to spend a lot of time at (Crathern Park) just to watch these young fellas. With Mark Horne coaching, they’re going places this group.”
His career in suburban footy has seen half a dozen premierships, while his speed off the mark, dominant marking and deadeye accuracy has caused nightmares to backman across the country.
The self-proclaimed Magpies tragic officially slotted his 1,000th goal according to PlayHQ earlier this season, in a match for Nilma Darnum against Poowong in the Ellinbank league in Victoria.
However with the record-keeping beginning in 2006, James had at least 300 goals to his name by then.
His family and friends think he would be closer to 1,500 goals than 1,000 with more than 300 games to his name.
The full-forward said he has only ever played where friends or family have played, with his career highlight winning the 2008 premiership with underdogs St Paul’s after playing in three losing grand finals.
The 39-year old made the move to the Far North in 2020 to reunite with his daughter, joining the Bulldogs through pre-existing relationships.
He began working as the resident boarding supervisor and mentor at AFL Cape York House.
James said former bulldogs coach Peter ‘steak’ Seymour and former bulldogs president and chairman of AFL Cape York John Hollander started his post-footy passion.
“I love it at the Bulldogs, when I first moved up they did a lot for me and they’re the reason I’ve got the job I love now,” he said.
“It’s the best job in the world and it has changed my whole life. I wasn’t lucky enough to have much growing up. There’s a lot of bad choices I’ve made and I want to try and guide these young boys and be there for them. It’s a family in itself and it’s really rewarding.”
After 20 years of footy, James said he was excited to find another passion and thanked Kane Richter and Rick Hanlon for their huge influence.
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Originally published as AFL Cairns: Power forward Luke James farewells footy with five-goal haul
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