FOR years, Moyston-Willaura’s John Vanderwaal made the half-back line his.
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Adopting a role similar to an NFL quarterback, he drove the Pumas’ play out of defence, turning the defensive role into an attacking one.
But last Saturday, the now 37-year-old etched his name into the Mininera and District history books with one of the most memorable full forward performances the league has witnessed.
He booted an incredible 25 goals in the Pumas’ 33.10 (208) to 5.4 (34) win over Great Western, becoming the first Victorian country footballer to pass the 100-goal mark for the season in doing so.
Vanderwaal said former coach Matt Rea had initially cast him in the ‘quarterback’ role in , with the advice that it did not matter if his direct opponent kicked goals, as long as he was setting up and kicking goals for the Pumas himself.
He had been a regular contributor to the scoreboard – kicking 58 goals in 2013, 30 in 2012 and 26 in 2014.
But with Lachie Hamilton leaving the club after an incredible 95-goal season last year, the Pumas were looking for someone to fill the void up forward.
First-year coach Matt Burmeister – who started his association with Moyston-Willaura as a player in 2007 – was sure the club had a ready-made replacement in Vanderwaal.
When he got the word from his coach back at the start of the pre-season, Vanderwaal joked he thought “about time!”.
“Being 37 years old in the back line, your body is out getting crunched week in, week out,” he said.
“It’s just time to wind down a bit.”
But Vanderwaal certainly hasn’t been taking it easy in attack, averaging nearly eight goals a week playing as a deep forward.
The Pumas back their midfielders to get the clearance and work the ball forward, leaving the forward arc open for Vanderwaal to do what he needs to to get the ball.
Against Great Western, the sharp-shooter bagged an accurate 25.3, despite most of his shots coming from 25-50 metres out.
He slotted 21 goals from set shots, three from general play and one from a free kick.
His hundredth goal came after popping up a failed mark, chasing the spilled ball along the boundary line and slipping over as he kicked from the flank.
- Video of John Vanderwaal's 100th goal shared on Moyston Willaura Football Netball Club Facebook page
Vanderwaal had four goals in the opening eight minutes of the game, and 16 by the main break.
“Once I got the first four of the game, I thought, ‘This could be the day’,” Vanderwaal said.
Burmeister said his Pumas’ teammates soon came to the same conclusion.
“Before we knew it, he had eight goals on the board – then everyone started doing the mathematics,” the coach said.
“We had one of those days where we were in the zone and it really clicked for us.
“We got the victory off really, really hard work. They were tackling hard and pressuring hard.”
With a tough three weeks coming up against top five sides for the Pumas, Vanderwaal is hoping to continue to be a beacon in the forward lines, but knows the opposition is going to be putting extra time into him after last week’s efforts.
It starts on Saturday with a rematch against Penshurst – a team which held Vanderwaal goalless as it thumped Moyston-Willaura by 104 points back in round three.
“I’m not expecting to kick a lot, but if I can kick four (goals) per game over the next three weeks, I’ll be happy with that,” Vanderwaal said.
While the Pumas will be brimming with confidence after the big win over Great Western, Burmeister said they had learnt their lesson from the previous encounter.
“Round one and two we won by 150 and 100 points – we were top of the ladder with over 300 per cent – then Penshurst beat us by 100 points in round three,” he said.
“Believe you me, we went to Penshurst full of confidence, but it was soon kicked out of us.
“We’ll go into this game with our eyes wide open.”