In the Goulburn Valley League reserves match between Shepparton and Euroa at Deakin Reserve, the Bears were in cruise control, winning 27.15 (177) to 0.3 (3).
But that wasn’t the main headline.
Young forward Noah Brodie stepped up to kick the biggest bag of his career, booting more than half of his side’s tally in a rampant day around the big sticks.
Brodie finished with 16 goals — yes, you read correctly: 16.
Not only was it the largest haul of any player in the GVL across seniors, reserves and thirds this season, Saturday’s collect equalled the 19-year-old’s total goal tally across his entire career before the 2025 campaign.
So what did the man himself think of it?
“My highest (goal tally) personally was the week before with six. I was not expecting to go out there and kick 16,” he said with a laugh.
“I just went into the game same as any other, just trying to play the best footy as I could — play as a team, play as one.
“It seemed to go all to plan.”
While PlayHQ records can be dicey at times, the statistics provider had Brodie nailed down for exactly 16 goals from 2016-24, with five goals for Shepparton’s under-18s in 2023 marked as his best season return.
Brodie gave an inkling the week prior of what was about to happen on Saturday, kicking six goals in a 169-point thrashing of Benalla.
But against the Magpies, the dead-eye Bear found another gear.
Brodie took less than three minutes to open the scoring for the game, adding two more before the first quarter ended as Shepparton went up 37-0 at the first break.
He’d slot three more in the second, four in the third and a whopping six goals in the final quarter as the Bears made mince meat of the Magpies, taking his season count to 28 from eight games.
Shepparton reserves coach Paul Newman said Brodie had bags of talent and it took a shift of the magnets to get the best out of him.
“He’s played at half-back, he’s played wing, on ball — it’s probably only in the last few weeks we’ve put him forward,” Newman said.
“He’s got ability, there’s no doubt about it; he’s got a great leap on him, really good hands, good kick.
“He kicked six last week — mind you, with Benalla and Euroa who are just battling away, you’ve still got to get your hands on it.
“When he’s played ones, he’s sort of been wing or half-back but he’s definitely a forward, that’s for sure.”
Brodie said he worked on his forward craft recently while returning from a concussion and that may have contributed to his dizzying display at Deakin at the weekend.
But while kicking 16 in a match is a feat few can say they’ve achieved, the young Bear is just glad to be out there playing alongside his mates.
“This year’s been great — the past few years we’ve struggled a bit with numbers, but this year has been amazing, really,” he said.
“Just being able to fill a side every week and playing well too.”
If Brodie can mirror that sort of form consistently, it’s unlikely he’ll be kicking around in the reserves much longer, however.
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