FOOTBALL
MID GIPPSLAND FL
WITH five minutes remaining in the regular Mid Gippsland season, Mirboo North forward Tim Traill was stranded on 99 goals for the year.
After marking on a slight angle 30 metres out, the stage was set for Traill’s ton, but the resultant set shot sailed through for a point as an anxious crowd chewed its collective nails. The Tigers fans rejoiced moments later when Traill duly booted his 13th for the afternoon from a free kick to tally his fourth century for the club since 2004 and secure the Mid Gippsland Football League goal scoring title for the seventh time.
The prolific forward added another for good measure before the final siren to break his own Mirboo North record for goals against the lowly Panthers.
Traill said there was “a bit of pressure” to crack the hundred leading in to the match against lowly Yarragon.
“I hadn’t actually kicked a lot of goals against them the first time around… but I was fairly confident we sort of had the wood over them as a team and I was going to get a fair bit of the ball,” he said.
“It was just down to whether I could take the marks and kick straight.
“It was a bit of a relief actually (to get 100). Early in the year… it was looking pretty unlikely but I had a few good games mid year and started thinking well maybe if everything falls into place it’s a chance.
“It’s a good milestone and I’m happy to get over the line and get it out of the way so we can concentrate on the big one.”
Traill kicked 36 goals in the final three rounds to reach the magic number 100, a feat which had eluded him since 2007.
“I think it’s a combination of the weather being better to previous years… and this year too the midfield has been a lot better in terms of… guys who can really dispose the ball well, spot the ball up and kick to a lead which suits me to a tee,” he said.
“It’s always in the back of your mind but it’s not really something you live by. It’s a good thing to have under your belt as a permanent forward.”
The 35 year-old previously won the goal kicking crown in 2004 (119), 2006 (113), 2007 (104), 2009 (79), 2011 (66) and 2012 (77), but had a slow start to the 2013 campaign. A simple tip from a teammate turned Traill’s fortunes around in the second half of the year.
“One thing that straightened me up during the year was one of my teammates, Anthony Bent, he’s told (me) to hold the ball a bit differently and it really helped,” he said.
Mirboo North coach Troy Hamilton praised Traill’s prowess in front of the sticks as a huge catalyst for securing the minor premiership.
“He just keeps going and going, (he’s) a fantastic player. We were all pretty happy, a few people ran on to the ground… we had a good day,” Hamilton said. Mirboo North now has a week off to prepare for finals.
