Bulldogs who've kicked 50+ in a year

[LostDoggy]

Just saw an interesting (to me at least) table of Bulldog goalkickers who've kicked 50+ goals in a season, ranking them by their best ever year. 20 players have achieved the milestone:

1. Kelvin Templeton --118 (1978) (50+ 4 times)
2. Simon Beasley----- 105 (1985) (7)
3. Jack Collins --------- 84 (1954) (4)
4. Barry Hall ----------- 80 (2010) (2)
5. Bill Wood ----------- 75 (1947) (3)
6. Brad Johnson ------- 74 (2006) (3)
7. Chris Grant --------- 71 (1994) (3)
8. Danny Del Re ------- 70 (1992) (1)
9. Paul Hudson -------- 61 (1998) (2)
10. Alan Rait ----------- 59 (1933) (1)
11. Nathan Brown ----- 57 (2002) (2)
12. Jake Stringer ------ 56 (2015) (1)
13. Richard Osborne -- 53 (1995) (1)
14. Charlie Page ------- 52 (1940) (1)
14. Max Cross --------- 52 (1956) (1)
16. Les Bamblett ------- 51 (1985) (1)
16. Norm Ware -------- 51 (1942) (1)
18. Alby Morrison ----- 50 (1928-9) (2)
18. Laurie Sandilands- 50 (1974) (1)
18. Tory Dickson------- 50 (2015) (1)

[LostDoggy]

Tommy Boyd to be the next to add to that list ;)

[Greystache]

Thanks for posting PP.

It makes interesting reading, you regularly hear supporters saying so and so needs to kick 2-3 goals a week to keep his spot in the team. Yet that would equate to 50 goals plus in a season and only 18 players in our history have managed it (16 until last year)

[Twodogs]

Jim Edmond never kicked 50 in a season?

[LostDoggy]

Jim Edmond never kicked 50 in a season?

Surprisingly, no. Best was 46 in 1982.

[bulldogtragic]

Jim Edmond never kicked 50 in a season?

And where's Pat Bowden???

[LostDoggy]

And where's Pat Bowden???

The list is 50 goals a season, not 50 touches. :)

[bulldogtragic]

The list is 50 goals a season, not 50 touches. :)

He got 50 touches in a season, let alone his 'career'? Would never have picked that from The Tin Man! :D

[Twodogs]

Surprisingly, no. Best was 46 in 1982.

Thank you. I would have seen every one of those. I did my HSC in 1982 I don't reckon I missed a game. Probably didn't miss a training session.

[LostDoggy]

Thank you. I would have seen every one of those. I did my HSC in 1982 I don't reckon I missed a game. Probably didn't miss a training session.

I did my HSC in 1985. Probably explains my mediocre results.

[SonofScray]

I've seen 10 of the players on that list in action.

How many did Watts kick in the year he won our goal kicking?

[LostDoggy]

I've seen 10 of the players on that list in action.

How many did Watts kick in the year he won our goal kicking?

Watts kicked 44 in 96 SOS. He was great that year, swung from back pocket to forward line and was a shining light in a nightmare of a year (that was the Year Of The Dog year). Strangely, when we came good in 97, he just disappeared.

[merantau]

I've seen 10 of the players on that list in action.

How many did Watts kick in the year he won our goal kicking?
I've seen 15 of them and feel confident in nominating Jake Stringer's all-round game equips him to reach the 50 goal milestone many, many times.
I'm surprised to see James Cook did not make the list.

[1eyedog]

Didn't Aker kicked 50 in a season? I'm sure of it- 2008? Including a few finals.

[bulldogtragic]

Aker kicked 50 in a season I'm sure of it- 2008? Including a few finals.

49.28

[bornadog]

Some great goalkickers on that list.

I can't wait to see Jake this year and the next few. Out of his 56 goals he must have kicked at least half as almost goals of the year, he is a freak.

[Twodogs]

Unlucky thirteen for me. Twelve really I can remember Laurie Sandilands moustache and hair more than him playing.

[Twodogs]

What was EJ's best? He won the goal kicking but with less than 50.

[LostDoggy]

I've seen 15 of them and feel confident in nominating Jake Stringer's all-round game equips him to reach the 50 goal milestone many, many times.
I'm surprised to see James Cook did not make the list.

I was surprised at that too. He just couldn't string games together - best effort was 36 from 14 games in '97.

[LostDoggy]

What was EJ's best? He won the goal kicking but with less than 50.

EJ's best was 42 (as captain coach) in 1961.

[BornInDroopSt'54]

Shane Loveless would've but Templeton snagged them before the ball got to him. Templeton also snagged the brownlow that year.
"(Loveless) had his best run of form mid-season (1980), with eight goals in a win over Fitzroy and another seven against South Melbourne the following week. Another eight goal haul came soon after, against Hawthorn at Western Oval, and he finished the year with 44 goals. It was not enough to top Footscray's goal-kicking, which went yet again to Kelvin Templeton."

[Bulldog4life]

Unlucky thirteen for me. Twelve really I can remember Laurie Sandilands moustache and hair more than him playing.

He was on WOOF a few years back. Not sure if he still is.

[Bulldog4life]

Bernie Quinlan just missed out too kicking 48 goals 47 points in 1971.

[LostDoggy]

Bernie Quinlan just missed out too kicking 48 goals 47 points in 1971.

Bernie was an amazing talent, tragic that we lost him just before Templeton really hit his prime. Could do everything, Stringerlike, and kick it 60 metres off a step. Went on to kick over 800 VFL goals, including 2 tons at Fitzroy. Kicked 84 as a roaming forward in 1985 - what could have been.

[Axe Man]

Trivia question - who has kicked the most career goals for the dogs without ever topping the 50 goal mark in a season (no cheating!)?

[Twodogs]

i can remember if Quinlan got a touch early in the game my dad would say "He's right. He's on. Bernie will play well today." But if you didn't see him for the first few minutes or he went for the first contest one handed it was gonna be a long day.

Does anyone else remember him taking a mark with the goal posts between him and the ball? He was at full back I think and he was on the wrong side of the line so he marked the ball standing on the other side of the post with his hands around the goalpost. Its very hard to explain. I think I am going to need a picture.

[azabob]

It certainly is a list of talented players.

I am shocked at how short the list is. I guess that explains our lack of ultimate success.

[1eyedog]

Would think it has to be a 300 game player - I'll say Dougie.

[1eyedog]

I just thought of someone else and checked - it's not Doug or a 300 game player. It's not even a 200 game player.

[Axe Man]

Would think it has to be a 300 game player - I'll say Dougie.

Wrong on both counts. 216 goals for Doug, a fair way off the player in question.

Edit: My apologies, it is a 300 game player, I was looking at the wrong list.

[Axe Man]

I just thought of someone else and checked - it's not Doug or a 300 game player. It's not even a 200 game player.

I know who you are thinking of and it's not him either.;)

[LostDoggy]

Without looking it up I would guess either EJ or Brian Royal?

[Axe Man]

Without looking it up I would guess either EJ or Brian Royal?

Royal is close with 299 goals, but there are 3 players with more.... and number 1 is EJ with 360.

[LostDoggy]

Royal is close with 299 goals, but there is another player with more.... and it's EJ with 360.

To be fair, I had been looking at tables recently, so the good guesses were fresh in my mind.

[LostDoggy]

Going through these lists has made me further appreciate how big a loss Stewart Crameri will be this year. It is not common for non-full forwards to butter up and kick 30+ goals year after year, a few have 1 or 2 big years but consistency over a career is rare. Stewie has kicked 30+ in all of his 5 full years in the AFL - not easy to replace.

[Sedat]

Bernie was an amazing talent, tragic that we lost him just before Templeton really hit his prime.
Then we lost Templeton in his prime just as we got the Pieman to the club - those two in tandem in the 80's would have wreaked havoc with opposition defences.

[LostDoggy]

Then we lost Templeton in his prime just as we got the Pieman to the club - those two in tandem in the 80's would have wreaked havoc with opposition defences.

Imagine those 2 with Bernie still there on a flank. A mid80s forwardline:

Quinlan/Templeton/MacPherson
Bamblett/Beasley/Edmond

Would've been something.

[Mantis]

Interesting list.. Shows just how consistent Beasley was.

Expect Stringer to be a consistent 50+ goal kicker for the next 10 years.

[bornadog]

Interesting list.. Shows just how consistent Beasley was.

Expect Stringer to be a consistent 50+ goal kicker for the next 10 years.

It was great watching Beasley kick those double digit goals in 1985.

The way footy is played now, we probably won't even see century goal kickers anymore.

[GVGjr]

He was on WOOF a few years back. Not sure if he still is.

He hasn't been on for ages. I remember catching the train from the country on some weekends and seeing Sandilands and Quinlan playing.

[GVGjr]

Imagine those 2 with Bernie still there on a flank. A mid80s forwardline:

Quinlan/Templeton/MacPherson
Bamblett/Beasley/Edmond

Would've been something.

Bernie could have also played CHB. He might have played there for the Vic's one year

[LostDoggy]

Bernie could have also played CHB. He might have played there for the Vic's one year

True. We would've had Peter Foster, Rick Kennedy and Jim Sewell as flexible key position options as well. Would've been one hell of a team.

[1eyedog]

I know who you are thinking of and it's not him either.;)

Yeah I was thinking of Choco.

[Twodogs]

Bubba Smith must have kicked a few goals over the 300 game journey. He always seemed to kick double figure amounts of goals each year.

[Twodogs]

Interesting list.. Shows just how consistent Beasley was.

Expect Stringer to be a consistent 50+ goal kicker for the next 10 years.

Incredible. I love how he just slipped into town and snagged the lazy 82 in his first season in a team that finished bottom and only won two games.

He had a great name to shout from the crowd too.

BEAZ-LEY!!!!;)

[merantau]

Bernie Quinlan kicked 9.5 against Carlton at Princes Park when playing CHF. He was a marvellous player.

[SonofScray]

Watts kicked 44 in 96 SOS. He was great that year, swung from back pocket to forward line and was a shining light in a nightmare of a year (that was the Year Of The Dog year). Strangely, when we came good in 97, he just disappeared.

Cheers Peanut, his season always struck me as the most unlikely to end up a leading goal kicker and is probably indicative of how tortuous a year we had. One of those players that sort of faded in and back out of footy without much fanfare. 44 goals in a season is nothing to sneeze at. Need a few players around the 35-50 mark and someone to crack 50 to really be ticking the scoreboard over enough to have a good season.

[Twodogs]

Watts was captain for parts of that season too wasn't he?

[jeemak]

Gia would be my guess for the 300+ but no fifty.

The guy was a gun, and should, much like Brad Johnson have had more time in the midfield building up his reputation if he wasn't playing forward out of necessity.

[LostDoggy]

Watts was captain for parts of that season too wasn't he?

Pretty sure that's not right TD. Wallis was captain and played nearly all year. For the game or 2 he missed, guys like Wynd, Liberatore and Grant had much more experience than Watts and would've surely been acting Captain ahead of him.

[ledge]

Surprising list when Edmund kicked ten in one game and still didn't make 50.
Also Grant only doing it three times and did it as a 17 year old in his first year, poor bugger having to fill the CHB roll and getting the yips at one stage.

[ledge]

Didn't Beasley kick the most goals by any AFL player in the ten years between 1982 and 1992, I'm sure I read it somewhere.

[Webby]

Didn't Beasley kick the most goals by any AFL player in the ten years between 1982 and 1992, I'm sure I read it somewhere.

Kicked the most goals in the 1980's proper, I'm pretty certain.

[Greystache]

Kicked the most goals in the 1980's proper, I'm pretty certain.

Yep. It's actually a trivia question under Carlton Draught lids!

[Eastdog]

Just saw an interesting (to me at least) table of Bulldog goalkickers who've kicked 50+ goals in a season, ranking them by their best ever year. 20 players have achieved the milestone:

1. Kelvin Templeton --118 (1978) (50+ 4 times)
2. Simon Beasley----- 105 (1985) (7)
3. Jack Collins --------- 84 (1954) (4)
4. Barry Hall ----------- 80 (2010) (2)
5. Bill Wood ----------- 75 (1947) (3)
6. Brad Johnson ------- 74 (2006) (3)
7. Chris Grant --------- 71 (1994) (3)
8. Danny Del Re ------- 70 (1992) (1)
9. Paul Hudson -------- 61 (1998) (2)
10. Alan Rait ----------- 59 (1933) (1)
11. Nathan Brown ----- 57 (2002) (2)
12. Jake Stringer ------ 56 (2015) (1)
13. Richard Osborne -- 53 (1995) (1)
14. Charlie Page ------- 52 (1940) (1)
14. Max Cross --------- 52 (1956) (1)
16. Les Bamblett ------- 51 (1985) (1)
16. Norm Ware -------- 51 (1942) (1)
18. Alby Morrison ----- 50 (1928-9) (2)
18. Laurie Sandilands- 50 (1974) (1)
18. Tory Dickson------- 50 (2015) (1)

Interesting list PP. some big name players there. The last time a player for us kicked 100 was in 85 (Beasley) so pretty much 30 years ago. Yes as BAD said in a post those days of players kicking 100+ goals in a season are diminishing with the game style today. Maybe Boydy will Buck the trend and get 100 in the future but no guarentees.

[Twodogs]

Interesting list PP. some big name players there. The last time a player for us kicked 100 was in 85 (Beasley) so pretty much 30 years ago. Yes as BAD said in a post those days of players kicking 100+ goals in a season are diminishing with the game style today. Maybe Boydy will Buck the trend and get 100 in the future but no guarentees.

If any current AFL footballer looks like he is a classic 100 goal a year man it's Toydy

[LostDoggy]

With the amount of I50's and quality ball being delivered in there from our supremely skilled and talented list,
100 in a year from Boydasaur Jr could be a real posibility :D

[LostDoggy]

Gia would be my guess for the 300+ but no fifty.

The guy was a gun, and should, much like Brad Johnson have had more time in the midfield building up his reputation if he wasn't playing forward out of necessity.

Gia did kick 331 goals in 265 games, to me he was an old fashioned small forward who was a better footy player than an athlete. Didn't get a lot of midfield play because of his athletic limitations, but was so, so clever with the ball in his area. His best year was 45.

It's interesting to look a bit deeper into the list. I never saw him play, but George Bissett has a most impressive record. He was first rover (168 cm) and played in an era when we were a low scoring, very ordinary team, but he managed 288 goals in 166 games (and 23 possessions per game in an era when possessions were nearly all contested).

His last 5 years at the Dogs were remarkably consistent, kicking 31, 45, 45, 45, 38 in middling to poor teams (1968-72). He must've been a real champ and crowd favourite given his diminutive stature (I vaguely remember him being known as Wee George Bissett).

[Bulldog4life]

Gia did kick 331 goals in 265 games, to me he was an old fashioned small forward who was a better footy player than an athlete. Didn't get a lot of midfield play because of his athletic limitations, but was so, so clever with the ball in his area. His best year was 45.

It's interesting to look a bit deeper into the list. I never saw him play, but George Bissett has a most impressive record. He was first rover (168 cm) and played in an era when we were a low scoring, very ordinary team, but he managed 288 goals in 166 games (and 23 possessions per game in an era when possessions were nearly all contested).

His last 5 years at the Dogs were remarkably consistent, kicking 31, 45, 45, 45, 38 in middling to poor teams (1968-72). He must've been a real champ and crowd favourite given his diminutive stature (I vaguely remember him being known as Wee George Bissett).

Wee Georgie was one of my favourites as a kid PP. He was robbed of a Brownlow which has been discussed on WOOF already. A great snap for goal as well as a reliable set shot.A fantastic player overall. I was gutted when he went to Collingwood under the 10 year rule.

[Twodogs]

I wonder how much bigger the legend of George Bissett would have been if he hadn't been robbed of his Charlie?

[Bulldog4life]

I wonder how much bigger the legend of George Bissett would have been if he hadn't been robbed of his Charlie?

He was second rover in our Team of The Century with Chocco first rover. Georgie could have easily been first rover but Chocco was a good choice.

[Twodogs]

Brian Royal was the best rover I ever saw play. I only ever saw Bissett play at Yarraville in the VFA when his VFL career had ended and at Kingsville in the FDFL after he had finished playing VFA. He knew where the goals were, that's for sure.

[LostDoggy]

Royal and Bissett had very similar Dogs records. As goalkickers, Royal kicked 299 in 199 (best 42 in 1992) while Bissett kicked 288 in 166. Both were very consistent. Looking at their records, Bissett won a few more possessions than Royal and on the whole played in poorer teams. Royal was a champ, so Bissett must've really been something.

[bornadog]

Royal and Bissett had very similar Dogs records. As goalkickers, Royal kicked 299 in 199 (best 42 in 1992) while Bissett kicked 288 in 166. Both were very consistent. Looking at their records, Bissett won a few more possessions than Royal and on the whole played in poorer teams. Royal was a champ, so Bissett must've really been something.

Bisset should have won the Brownlow and was robbed by the system.

Here is a good interview of Georgie:

http://www.woof.net.au/forum/showthread.php?3125-Interview-with-George-Bisset

[Ozza]

Pretty sure that's not right TD. Wallis was captain and played nearly all year. For the game or 2 he missed, guys like Wynd, Liberatore and Grant had much more experience than Watts and would've surely been acting Captain ahead of him.

Wallis was only the captain in 1989.
In 1996, Scott Wynd was the captain and played 21 of the 22 games.

[LostDoggy]

Wallis was only the captain in 1989.
In 1996, Scott Wynd was the captain and played 21 of the 22 games.

Oh right. My mistake. I was thinking of Wally in Year Of The Dog (the 1996 doco), but you're right he was on it as Club veteran, not as Captain (strange that Wynd is rarely seen).

[Twodogs]

Oh right. My mistake. I was thinking of Wally in Year Of The Dog (the 1996 doco), but you're right he was on it as Club veteran, not as Captain (strange that Wynd is rarely seen).

That's show biz. Probably didn't have the right something the director was looking for.

[merantau]

Georgie Bissett punched above his weight, that's for sure. He was an absolute terrier who gave his heart and soul for the team. Never much looked like a footballer but he could play, don't you worry about that.