Bruce's effort on Friday got me thinking about historical equivalents - well, VFL, AFL at least. Older VFA records are a bit patchy, but Ted Stevenson did kick 10 goals in a 1904 game v Essendon Town in the VFA wearing the tricolours. Anyway:
1st Bulldogs to kick 10 or more in a VFL game - 19yo Spotswood teenage sensation Alby Morrison kicked 10 in his first season, round 17 1928 in a big win over Hawthorn, on his way to 50 goals in 16 games that year. To show it was no fluke, he backed it up by kicking 50 again in 1929, but this time in only 12 games, and then 48 in 1930.
#2 - Alan Rait - round 8, 1933 v Carlton. The player many consider the second best full forward produced by the Apple Isle had a brief stint with us in 1933 and part of 1934. Unfortunately injury, homesickness and an alleged fondness for drink saw him go home to Tassie mid-way through the 34 season, never to return. His 10 were actually in a losing team, Soapy Vallence kicking 9 at the other end for the victors. By this stage, Alby Morrison had become a "utility", moved out to the forward flank to accommodate Rait, but was also on the field for Rait's 10-goal effort. (Morrison would eventually move to defence, and apart from a brief stint at Preston as captain-coach in 1939-40 and the intervention of WW2, became our oldest player ever when he took the field in the 1946 semi at the ripe old age of almost 38!).
#3 - Ron Grove - round 5 1946 v Melbourne. Briefly a Cat, Grove was another "utility", who only kicked 57 goals in 82 games. Playing at full forward, and never kicking more than 3 goals in a game during the rest of his career, he had a day out in 1946 in game at Punt Road while the MCG was still unavailable following the war. This was the mid-way point of the Dogs starting 1946 with 9 straight wins, and at the other end Fred Fanning kicked 5 for the Dees - himself to kick a record 18 in his final game the following season (after kicking 10 against Footscray in his second-last game the week before). Also in this 1946 Ron Grove goal-fest, a 37yo bloke by the name of Alby Morrison snuck up from the backline to kick a goal for the victors - meaning he'd been on the field for all 3 Bulldog double-figure goal efforts across 19 seasons!
This is the time to squeeze in an honourable mention - round 4, 1954, v Carlton at Princes Park. Having missed the first two rounds (due to suspension from the 1953 final round) of what would turn out to be a premiership year, Jack Collins was hell-bent on getting back in the groove. Particularly as his team had lost both missed games, and he would likely have been the difference. In round 3, he booted 8 goals in a demolition of South, but went even better in round 4. By half-time, Collins had booted 9 goals, and was on track for a record-breaking game. However the Blues came out firing after half-time, and in desperation, coach Sutton threw his dominant player around to try to stabilise a rapidly narrowing lead - Collins moved to CHF, then into the ruck. The Dogs hung on in a high-scoring game by 11 points, but Collins failed to register a goal in the second half.
(Australianfootball.com would also have you believe that by the time Jack Collins kicked 7 on Grand Final day 1954 to register the club's first VFL flag, on the very same day down Mornington way, 45yo Alby Morrison was leading Sorrento onto the field for the grand final and his last game of his 7-season captain-coaching career. Unfortunately, the Sorrento club records show Alby was only captain-coach in 1950-51, but was still the club's leading goalkicker in both 1952 and 1953 (as a 44yo) when they won the flag. (Rye won the 1954 flag). But it's a nice story.)
#4 - Kelvin Templeton - round 13, 1978, Western Oval v St Kilda - 15 goals 9! The most scoring shots by a single player in VFL/AFL history. A new VFL record score (well, at least until Fitzroy surpassed it in 1979!) Templeton had actually kicked 7.8 to 3/4 time, and finished with 8.1 in the last. If he'd kicked accurately (his two next best career efforts were 9.3 and 9.0), he could have blown Fanning's record away. Ah well. No record of where Alby Morrison was on this day, but at 71 years of age, and no super rules yet in existence, it's doubtful he was playing a game. He may well have been at WO, who knows?
#5 - #9 Simon Beasley
#5 - 1982 round 16 v Geelong at Western Oval - with captain Templeton out injured, Footscray was on the bottom of the ladder, having heart-breaking close losses in the previous two games, particularly round 15 where they'd led St Kilda at Moorabbin for nearly the whole game. Beasley had kicked 6,5,6,6 in the previous 4 weeks, after a struggling start to his first year in the VFL. In a career-defining game, he booted 12 as a 7-point 3/4 time lead was blown out by a 10-goal last quarter to lead his team to much-needed victory.
#6 - 1984 round 1 v Richmond at Western Oval - Beaser started the year off with a bang. (Bizarrely he followed up with 8 in round 2 at Waverley against Geelong in a 40 point loss! Beasley kicked 8 straight, and the rest of the team managed 1.11!) The rest of the season was so-so for him, the other major highlight being his winning goal later in the season when he got on the end of a Graeme Allan pass!
#7 - round 15 1985 v Melbourne at Western Oval. Beasley loved playing the Dees, he kicked more goals against them than any other club. A 12 and two 9 goal hauls were the peak performances against the hapless Dees. This game was (until Good Friday) our largest winning margin, a 120-point trouncing. Struggling to keep warm at the other end in his second-last career game, Kelvin Templeton managed 2 behinds. His last 9 games for Melbourne across 84-85 were all losses, 2 of them goal-less games against his old club.
#8 - after the Dee-molition in round 15 1985, Beasley managed 4 goals in a loss to Essendon, then no goals in a win against Sydney at Western Oval in round 17. In fact, he had no stats at all, but I can't recall if this is a game where Malthouse dragged him in the wet (Edmond and Bamblett kicked 4 each) or he had an injury. Anyway, in round 18 against Richmond at Waverley, Beasley registered his second double digit haul against a single club. Second on the ladder, the Dogs led all day to register a comfortable win.
#9 - round 21, 1987 v Brisbane at Carrara - the 6th placed Bulldogs needed a win to stay in finals contention, battling with Geelong, Melbourne and West Coast for 5th spot. Melbourne belted West Coast on the Friday night, and Geelong edged Sydney, and as the Dogs smashed the Bears. (Brad Hardie kicked two points for the home-ground losers - bizarrely he would kick 7 the following week as the 14th (and last) Bears belted 13th Richmond to condemn the Tiges to the spoon.) The Dogs kicked 22.21 against the Bears, with Beasley kicking 10.6 (and Peter Foster 2.6). Beasley followed up with a decent year in 1988 kicking 82.29, including a 9 goal haul against his favourite punching bag - the MFC! But by round 9, 1989, his decorated career came to a close.
Which brings us to #10
Josh Bruce, round 3, Marvel Stadium 2021 v North Melbourne. With previous career-best hauls of 6 (twice) against North in 2019 and 2020, and another 6 for the Saints against Gold Coast in 2015, Bruce had 189 goals in 132 games going into Friday's game - not bad, but not threatening Hudson or Coleman (that's Peter and John, not Ben and Glenn!).
But for those of us who had to sit through games like round 2, 1996, or round 1 and round 22, 1982 or round 6, 1983, or round 8, 1983 (yes, I sat/stood through all of them, in their entirety), games like last Friday, or the 21-straight v Essendon (especially when most of your mates are Bombers and several of the rest are Kangas), are a reward for years of being emotionally battered as a supporter and member, who fronts up week after week, year after year. Friday night might have been boring for some of you, but **** me, for some of us it's just redemption for the 60s, 70s and early 80s. Bring em on, I say, beat every sh1t team this year by record margins. I'm just waiting for the poundings of Carlton, Hawthorn, Collingwood and West Coast to ease the trauma of some of those beatings as well.
PS: Alby Morrison passed away in 1997, so this is the first double-digit haul he wasn't around for, but hopefully somewhere he's got a smile on his face!
GO DOGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1st Bulldogs to kick 10 or more in a VFL game - 19yo Spotswood teenage sensation Alby Morrison kicked 10 in his first season, round 17 1928 in a big win over Hawthorn, on his way to 50 goals in 16 games that year. To show it was no fluke, he backed it up by kicking 50 again in 1929, but this time in only 12 games, and then 48 in 1930.
#2 - Alan Rait - round 8, 1933 v Carlton. The player many consider the second best full forward produced by the Apple Isle had a brief stint with us in 1933 and part of 1934. Unfortunately injury, homesickness and an alleged fondness for drink saw him go home to Tassie mid-way through the 34 season, never to return. His 10 were actually in a losing team, Soapy Vallence kicking 9 at the other end for the victors. By this stage, Alby Morrison had become a "utility", moved out to the forward flank to accommodate Rait, but was also on the field for Rait's 10-goal effort. (Morrison would eventually move to defence, and apart from a brief stint at Preston as captain-coach in 1939-40 and the intervention of WW2, became our oldest player ever when he took the field in the 1946 semi at the ripe old age of almost 38!).
#3 - Ron Grove - round 5 1946 v Melbourne. Briefly a Cat, Grove was another "utility", who only kicked 57 goals in 82 games. Playing at full forward, and never kicking more than 3 goals in a game during the rest of his career, he had a day out in 1946 in game at Punt Road while the MCG was still unavailable following the war. This was the mid-way point of the Dogs starting 1946 with 9 straight wins, and at the other end Fred Fanning kicked 5 for the Dees - himself to kick a record 18 in his final game the following season (after kicking 10 against Footscray in his second-last game the week before). Also in this 1946 Ron Grove goal-fest, a 37yo bloke by the name of Alby Morrison snuck up from the backline to kick a goal for the victors - meaning he'd been on the field for all 3 Bulldog double-figure goal efforts across 19 seasons!
This is the time to squeeze in an honourable mention - round 4, 1954, v Carlton at Princes Park. Having missed the first two rounds (due to suspension from the 1953 final round) of what would turn out to be a premiership year, Jack Collins was hell-bent on getting back in the groove. Particularly as his team had lost both missed games, and he would likely have been the difference. In round 3, he booted 8 goals in a demolition of South, but went even better in round 4. By half-time, Collins had booted 9 goals, and was on track for a record-breaking game. However the Blues came out firing after half-time, and in desperation, coach Sutton threw his dominant player around to try to stabilise a rapidly narrowing lead - Collins moved to CHF, then into the ruck. The Dogs hung on in a high-scoring game by 11 points, but Collins failed to register a goal in the second half.
(Australianfootball.com would also have you believe that by the time Jack Collins kicked 7 on Grand Final day 1954 to register the club's first VFL flag, on the very same day down Mornington way, 45yo Alby Morrison was leading Sorrento onto the field for the grand final and his last game of his 7-season captain-coaching career. Unfortunately, the Sorrento club records show Alby was only captain-coach in 1950-51, but was still the club's leading goalkicker in both 1952 and 1953 (as a 44yo) when they won the flag. (Rye won the 1954 flag). But it's a nice story.)
#4 - Kelvin Templeton - round 13, 1978, Western Oval v St Kilda - 15 goals 9! The most scoring shots by a single player in VFL/AFL history. A new VFL record score (well, at least until Fitzroy surpassed it in 1979!) Templeton had actually kicked 7.8 to 3/4 time, and finished with 8.1 in the last. If he'd kicked accurately (his two next best career efforts were 9.3 and 9.0), he could have blown Fanning's record away. Ah well. No record of where Alby Morrison was on this day, but at 71 years of age, and no super rules yet in existence, it's doubtful he was playing a game. He may well have been at WO, who knows?
#5 - #9 Simon Beasley
#5 - 1982 round 16 v Geelong at Western Oval - with captain Templeton out injured, Footscray was on the bottom of the ladder, having heart-breaking close losses in the previous two games, particularly round 15 where they'd led St Kilda at Moorabbin for nearly the whole game. Beasley had kicked 6,5,6,6 in the previous 4 weeks, after a struggling start to his first year in the VFL. In a career-defining game, he booted 12 as a 7-point 3/4 time lead was blown out by a 10-goal last quarter to lead his team to much-needed victory.
#6 - 1984 round 1 v Richmond at Western Oval - Beaser started the year off with a bang. (Bizarrely he followed up with 8 in round 2 at Waverley against Geelong in a 40 point loss! Beasley kicked 8 straight, and the rest of the team managed 1.11!) The rest of the season was so-so for him, the other major highlight being his winning goal later in the season when he got on the end of a Graeme Allan pass!
#7 - round 15 1985 v Melbourne at Western Oval. Beasley loved playing the Dees, he kicked more goals against them than any other club. A 12 and two 9 goal hauls were the peak performances against the hapless Dees. This game was (until Good Friday) our largest winning margin, a 120-point trouncing. Struggling to keep warm at the other end in his second-last career game, Kelvin Templeton managed 2 behinds. His last 9 games for Melbourne across 84-85 were all losses, 2 of them goal-less games against his old club.
#8 - after the Dee-molition in round 15 1985, Beasley managed 4 goals in a loss to Essendon, then no goals in a win against Sydney at Western Oval in round 17. In fact, he had no stats at all, but I can't recall if this is a game where Malthouse dragged him in the wet (Edmond and Bamblett kicked 4 each) or he had an injury. Anyway, in round 18 against Richmond at Waverley, Beasley registered his second double digit haul against a single club. Second on the ladder, the Dogs led all day to register a comfortable win.
#9 - round 21, 1987 v Brisbane at Carrara - the 6th placed Bulldogs needed a win to stay in finals contention, battling with Geelong, Melbourne and West Coast for 5th spot. Melbourne belted West Coast on the Friday night, and Geelong edged Sydney, and as the Dogs smashed the Bears. (Brad Hardie kicked two points for the home-ground losers - bizarrely he would kick 7 the following week as the 14th (and last) Bears belted 13th Richmond to condemn the Tiges to the spoon.) The Dogs kicked 22.21 against the Bears, with Beasley kicking 10.6 (and Peter Foster 2.6). Beasley followed up with a decent year in 1988 kicking 82.29, including a 9 goal haul against his favourite punching bag - the MFC! But by round 9, 1989, his decorated career came to a close.
Which brings us to #10
Josh Bruce, round 3, Marvel Stadium 2021 v North Melbourne. With previous career-best hauls of 6 (twice) against North in 2019 and 2020, and another 6 for the Saints against Gold Coast in 2015, Bruce had 189 goals in 132 games going into Friday's game - not bad, but not threatening Hudson or Coleman (that's Peter and John, not Ben and Glenn!).
But for those of us who had to sit through games like round 2, 1996, or round 1 and round 22, 1982 or round 6, 1983, or round 8, 1983 (yes, I sat/stood through all of them, in their entirety), games like last Friday, or the 21-straight v Essendon (especially when most of your mates are Bombers and several of the rest are Kangas), are a reward for years of being emotionally battered as a supporter and member, who fronts up week after week, year after year. Friday night might have been boring for some of you, but **** me, for some of us it's just redemption for the 60s, 70s and early 80s. Bring em on, I say, beat every sh1t team this year by record margins. I'm just waiting for the poundings of Carlton, Hawthorn, Collingwood and West Coast to ease the trauma of some of those beatings as well.
PS: Alby Morrison passed away in 1997, so this is the first double-digit haul he wasn't around for, but hopefully somewhere he's got a smile on his face!
GO DOGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
