WRFL 2021: Parkside signing Shaun Campbell boots 10 goals from midfield

One of the headline recruits of the WRFL Division 2 off-season is causing havoc, producing an incredible display in Round 3.

Parkside star Shaun Campbell was all smiles after his 10-goal haul. Picture: Vladimir Bera

The most prolific goalkicker in Western Region Football League Division 2 is not a forward.

Star Parkside signing Shaun Campbell has proven a class above in the opening three rounds of the season and the gun midfielder delivered a remarkable display on Saturday.

Campbell slotted 10 goals in the Magpies’ 151-point victory over a hapless West Footscray, 26.11 (167) to 2.4 (16), only enhancing his reputation.

It took his season tally to 17 from three games, leaving him eight clear of Glen Orden’s Joel Radovanovic at the top of the goalkicking charts.

Parkside playing assistant coach Shaun Campbell calls the shots. Picture: Vladimir Bera

“He was sensational on the weekend,” Parkside coach Chris Muratore said.

“When anyone kicks 10 out of the middle … it’s just his will to compete, his will to be the best he can be and run and create.

“I’ve never seen anything like it in 10-15 years at Parkside to be honest. It was a magnificent performance.”

Campbell claimed the Central Highlands league’s top individual award when he was at Ballan in 2015.

He was appointed a playing assistant coach at the Magpies after spending 2019 with Ballarat league outfit Melton.

Campbell also spent three years as coach at Wagga Tigers, steering them to the 2016 flag in the Riverina league in his first season at the helm.

Muratore said his headline signing had resisted opposition clubs’ efforts to limit his influence in the past fortnight.

“He is just so fit and so strong. He just goes and goes and loses players,” he said.

“They have tried to tag him the past couple of weeks and no one has been able to get near him.

“We’ve had our eye on him for the last three or four years.

“He’s coached before, been around really high levels of footy and if it was to go our way at the end of the year, we knew we had someone we could go up with and build an A grade midfield around.

“He ticks all those boxes and he’s shown why we tried to get him.”

Muratore said Campbell had provided “a different voice” since landing at the club.

He said the Magpies had established depth through the midfield with recruits Nathan Montague, Darcy Kennedy and Tom Markey bolstering the on-ball division.

“He’s really transitioned that midfield to something different,” Muratore said.

“We’ve had the same core guys in there for a long time and we really wanted to establish a young group this year.”

Parkside is sitting pretty on top of the ladder with a percentage of 385 and will next face North Footscray away.