Lindenow’s Peter Harrison kicks 42 goals in East Gippsland league match

Winning the comp goalkicking seemed a longshot for Lindenow’s Peter Harrison – until a 42-goal haul on Saturday. Here’s the story of the 18-year-old’s feat ...

HE entered the final round of the season 20 goals behind in the comp’s goalkicking tally.

Now he’s got his name on the medal.

Lindenow’s Peter Harrison filled his boots with an almighty 42 goals in the East Gippsland league’s under-17.5 competition on Saturday.

The 18-year-old’s haul in the Cats’ 43.9 (267) to 0.1 (1) victory over Paynesville shattered the club record for goals kicked in a match – said to be 22.

He finishes the season with 78 majors from 15 matches in the under-17.5s – 18 ahead of Lakes Entrance’s Harry Warfe – with Harrison also kicking two each across a couple of showings in the reserves and seniors this year.

Peter Harrison, 18, shattered Lindenow’s club record for goals kicked in a match. Picture: Supplied

Harrison said it became apparent “five minutes into the game” he was in for a big day, finishing with 42.8 (260).

There’s some conjecture over how many goals were kicked in each quarter, but Harrison said his day started with nine, followed by 15 in the third term and 14 in the last.

“They just kept feeding it to me,” Harrison said.

“I’m very thankful for all the boys in the midfield and the wings, the backline (and) everyone on the field.

“I ended up with nine in the first quarter and kept on going from there.”

Lindenow football director Todd Alexander saw the feat unfold.

“He was coming second in the goalkicking for the league and they played Paynesville in the last round, so the boys thought they’d get around him and help him get over the line,” Alexander said.

“He’s obviously trumped that by a bit more than what he was behind by, so he’s got a bit ahead.

“He’s a terrific player, you can play him anywhere – he plays on-ball usually and he usually kicks goals from the middle.

“He moves well and he’s a good kid too, and he deserves all the recognition he’s going to get from it.”

Coach Richard Harrison – cousin of Peter – said the chart-topping milestone had been a key focus at training in the lead-up.

“The couple of weeks leading up to it, we knew we had Paynesville last and we had the whole mindset of getting everyone a goal,” he said.

“But the boys came to me and we were thinking about Peter … pretty much what we did that whole week at training, we discussed it and had the game-plan around it for Peter to kick the goals.

“We didn’t intend to get him all the way to 42 but it ended up happening that way.

“But it was a whole team effort, especially from the backline and through the midfield.

“It was played in good fun and spirit.”

Spare a thought for goal umpire Cooper Shaw – whose arms finished the day a little worse for wear.

“You’re not wrong,” Shaw said.

“Waving those flags, when you think about it, there’s two flags and you’ve got to wave them for 40-something goals, but that’s all right.”

Lindenow finishes the home-and-away season in second spot with 14 wins and two losses, while Paynesville ends its campaign winless at the foot of the table.