Check out Blackburn star Daniel Wood’s gravity-defying mark on Saturday

Two more incredible moments have emerged from Melbourne local sport following a “mark of the century”. A local basketballer nailed a once-in-a-lifetime shot to win a grand final while a footballer kicked a stunner on the siren.

Daniel Wood flies for a spectacular mark.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s Blackburn’s Daniel Wood.

The Box Hill VFL-listed star soared into the air to take one of the all-time greatest marks in Australian Rules history on Saturday.

Wood used two Balwyn players as step-ladders to take the unbelievable grab that comfortably sits alongside those taken by Tony Modra, Jeremy Howe or Gary Moorcroft.

Players from both sides can be seen reacting in bewilderment as Wood comes crashing back down.

Wood, who turned 29 the day before, recounted the moment he flew for the ball “on instinct”.

“As soon as the ball was kicked I could tell it was going to land on top of the dude’s head, and I started running towards it, like this is going to go really poorly or it’s going to go really well,” he told this masthead.

“It was a nice little birthday present.”

In an instant, Wood knew he’d pulled in the best grab he had ever taken, as teammates and rivals alike rejoiced.

“As I was walking back to take the set-shot, the opposition captain, Charlie Haley, came up and shook my hand and told me it was the best mark he’d ever seen,” Wood said.

“I thought, well, for an opposition captain to come up to me mid-game and tell me that, it must’ve been alright.”

With the feat plastered all over mainstream media, the birthday boy was pinching himself.

“It’s surreal,” Wood said.

“I was just going out there just trying to take a mark for my team, and for it to blow up like this, having guys on Channel Seven before football broadcasts, radio and everything talking about me, it’s nuts.”

The unsung hero among the media frenzy? Teammate Patrick Lawlor, whose golden boot delivered the Sherrin.

“I put it on a silver platter for him, to be honest with you … I’m a bit hurt that I’m not getting any credit for the assist,” he laughed.

Former Blackburn captain Lawlor played VFL for Box Hill and Frankston and said he had “never seen anything quite like it”.

“Every player just put their hands up and was in shock for about five or 10 seconds – even the Balwyn boys just looked at each other like ‘Holy s***!’,” he said.

Asked if Wood at least shouted him a beer after the match, Lawlor said with a grin: “He didn’t actually – he had birthday drinks on the Saturday night and I didn’t get an invite, so he’s got a bit of explaining to do, old ‘Woody’!”

Wood fired back: “I haven’t seen him yet but I reckon all his fines for the rest of the year, I’ll just fork those up to whatever they may be!”

“I couldn’t have done it without him.”

As for how many times the high-flyer has watched the mark?

“More than I’d like to admit,” Wood quipped.

“My partner was pretty upset with me last night – she was trying to get to sleep and I kept flicking through it.

“It amazes me basically as much as it has everyone else.

“I’ve had some good team success over the years, but from an individual highlight, this is head and shoulders above the rest.”

Over in the Essendon District league, Ryan Stingel kicked the matchwinner on the siren as Westmeadows broke Rupertswood hearts in Division 2.

Stingel kicked truly from 50 on the run after the Tigers went directly through the middle from halfback to steal the four points.

The siren could be heard milliseconds after leaving Stingel’s boot.

Meanwhile, a Melbourne local basketballer lived out his dream of hitting a buzzer beater championship winning shot at Waverley last week.

Playing in the Section 11 competition with his mates on a team called Hardy’s Nuggets, 23-year-old Ben Smith hit a shot from just inside half-court to win the title for his side.

It was a result which gave his side a three-point win.

The moment was captured by his younger brother, Nick, who was filming the final inbounds play as the game went to overtime.

Ben’s mum, Emma Smith, told 3AW her son prefers to shoot the basketball left-handed despite being naturally right handed.

Originally published as Check out Blackburn star Daniel Wood’s gravity-defying mark on Saturday