Tassie forwards chase title

WHILE the focus each season is always the race for the flag, every footy fan enjoys the sideshow that is the goalkicking ‘ladder’.

Peter Hudson and Peter McKenna; Tony Lockett and Gary Ablett and Jason Dunstall; Buddy Franklin and Brendan Fevola: when key forwards fire, the resulting rivalry makes marvellous football theatre.

In Tasmania’s Southern Football League Regional League, 2008 saw a superb three-way tussle for the honours.

Three quality forwards all reached the ton, with the goalkicking title only decided in the final home and away round.

Chris Joyce of Huonville potted 11 in the last round to take his season tally to 118. This came from 16 games.

The two runners-up both played all 18 games, and both had best hauls of 15 (in both cases, against the struggling Channel Saints). Jamie Tubb of Lindisfarne snagged 107 for the season, just pipping Clinton Curtain of Claremont (105).

Insurance salesman Joyce represented Tassie Mariners in the Under 18s and was on the Devils list for several years. He has struggled with soft-tissue injuries in the past, but with increased time on the paddock he took his opportunity to shine.

“It has been pretty exciting” the 24-year-old says. “The funny thing was, the local paper had the scores wrong and showed me being behind all year. The club looked into it but even the day I kicked the ton I wasn’t sure.

“We actually celebrated the 101st goal rather than the 100th, but it felt just as good.”

Huonville were runners-up in 2007 to Kermandie (which missed this year’s finals on percentage). “We’re at the business end now,” Joyce says. “Lindisfarne has been undefeated so they are the team to beat but if we can keep everyone on the track and play our best football we should be in with a shot.”

Next year Joyce will take the mantle as the Lions’ senior coach. “I am absolutely excited by that challenge because we have got a good group of young guys here, and all of our under-age, reserve and seniors teams have made it to at least preliminary finals in the last two years.”

The current Lions coach, Michael McGregor, says that Joyce has been integral to the team’s good showing. “Chris has obviously had a good season, especially since he missed two games and came off at quarter time in another one. He has made a fair contribution to team success this year, given us a good focus.

“Chris is a big lad (191cm, 108kg) and at the end of the day they don’t get any smaller. (All three centurions) are good players. Curtain is a small forward, an exceptionally good player, very strong overhead. Tubb is more a body-type player, also a good footballer.”

Wayne Povey, Regional Manager – South for AFL Tasmania said the goalkicking had created a lot of interest in the league.

“It has given each of those three clubs something else to hang up as bragging rights, claiming that they have the gun forward of the competition,” he said.

“That sort of things gets people through the gates. It has to be said that the competition is a bit one-sided with two or three teams consistently having big scores kicked against them, but it is always a significant get to kick 100 goals.

“Lindisfarne, Claremont and Huonville will have those blokes up and going through the finals so it will be a good opportunity see some shoot-outs.

“Those three teams play a very offensive style of football and rely on kicking big scores to win. Michael McGregor was a jet forward in his day and this year he has shown he knows how to coach a team around another jet forward in Chris Joyce.”