"I kicked a few goals I would never kick again. Bananas from the boundary, ones out of stoppages running towards the boundary. It was pretty special. One of those days."
Those are the words of Nagambie Lakers forward Tom 'Brick' Barnes after producing one of the most remarkable individual performances in local football history — a stunning 23-goal haul in the club's 299-point demolition of Violet Town.
The incredible effort came in Barnes' 50th game for the Lakers, after joining the club ahead of the 2023 season in the Kyabram District Football Netball League.
The milestone was shared with Nagambie great Mark Nolan, who celebrated his 250th game for the club on the same day.
"They were hyping me up, being like, ' This is your day," Barnes told Zero Hanger.
"Obviously, because I've kicked a few goals this season, they said they'd look after me, and we'll see how we go. Back yourself in and the confidence was up, and the goals were going through."
Barnes' remarkable afternoon was another chapter in the Lakers forward's dominant season, who has consistently found the goals with hauls of 10, nine and seven this year. His efforts last week, despite starting slow, pushed his tally to 81 majors, closing in on the century.
"First quarter, I only had two goals. My first goal was kicked over the head and three of our blokes running onto it. They let me have that one. Nice cheapy to get it underway. Missed a set shot and kicked a set shot. I was like 'come on, I got to do better than that'. In the second quarter, I ended up kicking nine. So I had 11 at half-time," Barnes said.
"At three-quarter time, I kicked 16. I kicked 16 on one fella, and they got the hint, and I had three or four on me in the last quarter. But because it was wet conditions, I was like, I'm not going to beat them if they kick it in the air. So I had to wait until the ball got kicked down (to the ground) and beat them on foot and taking chest marks out in front."
Ironically, Barnes joked with coach Anthony Haysom at half-time he'd reach 20 goals.
"I was saying at half-time after I got the 11, I was joking with him saying I'm getting the 20, and then he was like, 'Yep, you can be one-out in the square'. And everyone is up the ground. They're doing all the work. I'm just taking the marks and need to kick straight. They were helping me in that aspect, clearing the 50 and getting a bit of me-time going.
"After 20, I ended up playing in the midfield and kicked another three from the middle."
Nagambie scored 47.18 for 300 points, keeping Violet Town to one solitary behind.
The Lakers sit a game clear on top of the ladder with 11 wins from 12 starts, with a healthy percentage of 432.44.
Barnes, who previously played for the Shepparton Swans and Seymour, joined Nagambie in a bid to continue a family legacy of winning premierships, joining his parents and cousins in the feat.
