Steve Lawrence has been a staple at Melton Hockey Club for years, and is closing in on 500 goals for the club, but he’s never had a day quite like last week.
Going into the club’s Vic League Three clash with Collegians in round 10 needing a win to solidify a hold on a top four spot, Lawrence ensured they would walk away with the points and do so in style.
While the side recorded a comfortable 9-0 victory, it was the six-goal haul from the striker which had the club talking.
It was his best in the senior side, and remarkably comes after playing down the grades for the past three years due to injuries.
Lawrence was magnanimous after the performance, praising the work of his teammates.
“The last couple of weeks we’ve been providing more pressure across the field, which in turn has provided us with more opportunities to score goals,” Lawrence said.
“I was pretty lucky, I played centre striker so that was my job and it was good to get it done.
“Only one goal came from a corner and the others were just finishing off the good work of the team to get it into the circle.”
The haul shot Lawrence to the top of the competition goalscorers, with 14 goals from seven games heading into round 11.
“I don’t think I’ve changed anything in my game, it’s just getting to the right spot and everyone else doing their little bit extra,” he said. “That’s my best performance in the firsts by a long way.
“I generally score quite a lot of goals, but not in so few games so it’s nice to be at the top.”
Far from being done for the day, the veteran suited up in the reserves straight after the seniors, getting the chance to play with his sons.
He slotted two more goals in the 4-0 win, giving him eight for the day.
“I was really keen to get out there and play with my boys,” he said.
“This was the first time we’ve played together, and it was straight after the seniors so I was a little bit sore after but it was good fun out there.”
In the most recent round, Melton fell to Greater Dandenong 5-3, but kept their hold on fourth place ahead of this week’s game with third-placed ECHO.
