- Eastern Park Demons played the first game of the season
- Talented midfielder moved forward due to lack of goals
- Only scored one goal in the first quarter, after which the ball exploded
An Adelaide Footy League club has recorded a record-breaking thrashing to kick off the 2024 season, with a forward-turned midfielder scoring an impressive 22 goals.
Eastern Park enjoyed a huge win over Elizabeth last weekend with a score of 55.17 (347) to 1.1 (7), which was the biggest win for the club and one of the biggest in the history of the competition.
Chris Knapp, a standout midfielder who returned to the Demons from Loxton this season, was moved to striker due to a lack of key players.
He excelled in his new role, scoring 22 of the team’s total
“Honestly, it was surreal,” Knapp said News Corp.
‘I’ve never really been part of a match like that and 22 goals is definitely my best return ever.
‘I usually play on the wing or through the middle, but we had a few players withdraw and I raised my hand to go forward.
“I was hoping to get to the end of a few.”
Chris Knapp was the star of the show, scoring a whopping 22 goals after moving to the attacking line, away from his traditional spot in midfield or on the wing.
The scoreboard says it all, the visitors were put under heavy fire by Eastern Park and could only score one goal in response
The club favourite, after scoring just one goal in the first quarter, scored a further 21 goals in the following three quarters.
Thanks to precise passing from his midfielders, Knapp was able to score goals both inside and outside the 50-metre line, making it a match he will always remember.
“The boys started finding their way in the middle and lowered their eyes to find me,” he said.
“I kicked 10 in the second and they put an extra back on me at one point, so it took some really good ball use from the boys.
“As I approached 20 goals, everyone was quite involved on the pitch and on the sidelines, so it was a good feeling.”
Knapp (right) wasn’t the only hero on the day, Eastern Park’s Luke Smith also scored a whopping 10 goals
Unsurprisingly, the victory has given the club full confidence and Knapp is anticipating an important season.
“I think we are a very strong team this year and the small ground at Eastern Park can be quite overwhelming,” he said.
“This is honestly the strongest I’ve seen in the footy club bin in a long time. We’ve also had some decent recruits and returning players.
‘We don’t have everyone available at the moment, but we hope to get back to full fitness soon and hopefully build some momentum after the big win.
‘Internally we know that we have the potential to be around the goal line this season, but we want to remain level-headed and take each match as it comes.’
Amazingly, the huge score isn’t the biggest in Aussie Rules history – in fact, it doesn’t even crack the top 10.
The biggest ever score in an Aussie Rules senior match was Campell’s Creek in the Maryburough Castlemaine District Football League, who destroyed Primrose 634 to 18 in 1990.
Maryborough Rovers won the premiership in 1990 and unsurprisingly Primrose are no longer in the competition.