Shepparton News Goulburn Valley League Football Player of the Month for August: Hugh Hamilton

At the close of the season, Hamilton claimed second place on the GVL goalkicking leaderboard with 59 and took out The News’ GVL Player of the Month for August.

But such goal scoring prowess hasn’t always been consistently in Hamilton’s repertoire.

In 2024, Hamilton kicked 12 goals from 10 games, and 18 from 8 in 2022 as he played predominantly in the midfield.

However, a seven-goal haul in 2024 indicated Hamilton’s potential as a dynamic forward, and that potential has come to fruition in 2025 after a role change at the start of this season.

“Having more clarity around our roles has been a big factor,” Hamilton said.

“We’ve had a couple injuries during the year where we’ve had to restructure, but we’ve been building that balance now for the last few weeks.

“The biggest thing has been playing less midfield, returning from my back injury we thought it was best to play on a more manageable load, which is why I’ve spent more time up forward.”

In March 2023, Hamilton went under the knife to repair a dislodged vertebrae and two shattered discs.

Hamilton admits minor complications still arise, with hamstring tightness and muscle soreness linked to the complex back injury the Tigers’ gun suffered, but the worst of it is well and truly behind him and has minimal impact on his performances this season.

That was evidently so when Hamilton put the competition on notice with a 10-goal haul against Tatura in round 18, following a fortnight that combined for 13 majors against the Shepparton Swans and Benalla.

In this year’s finals campaign, Hamilton enters as the competition’s most in-form and dangerous forward.

Hamilton hasn’t gone goalless in a game since round three, and has kicked multiple goals on every finalist except Shepparton.

The brother of fellow Rochester guns Cooper and Wil is buoyed by Rochester’s prospects for finals in a young, energetic side.

“We’re just excited to play,” Hamilton said.

“We’ve got a young side, a lot of boys haven’t played in a finals win.

“We know this is a great opportunity to do that.

“I’m not saying we’ll definitely go all the way (to a premiership) but we’re in a great position to give it a red hot crack.”

Scheduled to take on minor premier Kyabram in a fortunate fixture at Moon Oval, Hamilton admitted he was “shocked” at Rochester’s home final circumstances, but knows that Kyabram would be a formidable outfit wherever the contest was held.

“The fixture never works out for everyone; we’re fortunate to be on the good side of it,” he said.

“I feel for Ky as they aren’t rewarded for finishing first, but they got us at our home ground this year so it’s not to say they can’t challenge us this weekend.”

Although Rochester fell to Kyabram comprehensively in round 11, Hamilton was one of the Tigers’ best with three clinical majors.

There’s no doubt Hamilton will play a sizeable role in the Tigers’ flag push, and if his stat sheet is anything to go by, the 22-year-old is peaking at the right time.