Saints forward Matthew Walsh is within reach of Ken Rainsford's long-standing goalkicking record with one game left this season. His brilliant form has seen him yield 122 goals, just six shy of the former Cairns Saints spearhead's historic best of 128 in 1999. Five times this year Walsh has kicked 11 or more goals in a game and current form suggests he should notch the necesssary bag to reach the record tomorrow in their home clash with South Cairns. Teammate Nick Gill said watching Walsh go about this business had been a highlight of the year. "He just has a set of clamps for hands," Gill said. "I'm not the best kick and he seems to just mark it no matter where it goes. And he reckons he has lost his leap in the last few years, too." Gill, the former Adelaide Crow, has been parked behind Walsh at centre-half forward, himself booting 81 majors to sit second on the competition list ladder this season. Despite playing at the highest level, he said there was still something about finals footy, no matter what the standard. "I've played in four grand finals over the years and never won," he said. "It doesn't matter what stage you're on, it's still exciting." His side have run rampant this season, losing just once when he, Walsh, Brenton Powell and Alex Macqueen were away on Queensland country representative duty. The evidence sugggests they should be way too good for fourth-placed Souths, having beaten them by 178 and 139 points this season. But in typically modest fashion, Gill said they would be focusing on the process,not the result. "It sounds boring, but we aren't aiming for a big year - we just want to employ the game plan we will need for finals," he said. "It's a dangerous mindset to be thinking about winning big."
Last Modified on 25/09/2012 11:13