By Tyler Lewis
There are few higher honours as an individual than kicking 1000 goals.
And even more so in the way current footy is played.
With zone defences and flocking midfielders, the key-forwards haven’t had it as easy as they once did.
Journeyman Matt Carnelley achieved the enormous feat with his third major on Saturday afternoon.
Wherever he has played, Carnelley has known his way around the big sticks – after all, they don’t change dimensions when you pull on a different coloured jumper.
He started at Rowville, playing a nudge under 100 games, then he moved to Glen Waverly Hawks where he did the majority of his heavy lifting, then Ringwood, Forest Hill and has now pulled up at Keysborough.
The 37-year-old looked like a zippy teenager on Saturday against Murrumbeena.
He started the day with 997 under his belt and he didn’t take long to reach the milestone on his way to a classic haul of seven – which probably feels like an average performance to a man that once kicked 24 in a game.
And if Saturday wasn’t already a large enough celebration, the veteran’s goal kicking overshadowed the fact that it was his 50th game in the Keysborough jumper.
Carnelley has kicked 37 from eight matches this year, sitting third in the league goal kicking behind Chris Smith and Matt Wetering.
With the Gulls sitting in third position on the ladder, perhaps the legend can continue to etch his name into local footy folklore by guiding the Keysy side into the top flight of the Southern League this year.
THE CARNELLEY CAREER:
Rowville: 89 games, 176 goals at 1.98 per game
Glen Waverley Hawks: 118 games, 434 goals at 3.68
Ringwood: 17 games, 20 goals at 1.18
Forest Hill: 53 games, 226 goals at 4.26
Keysborough: 50 games, 148 goals at 2.96
TOTAL: 327 games, 1004 at 3.07
