The ton: James Harney with sons Cody and Xavier after reaching the 100 goal milestone.
Photo by
Aidan Briggs
With the kick falling short in front of him, James Harney leapt to take the bouncing ball at full stretch above his head, facing away from goal.
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With supreme agility, he lost his direct opponent with a spin to his left, hooking the ball around his body on his non-preferred boot.
Cue pandemonium.
The star Echuca United full-forward was first embraced by his brother, Joe, before he was soon overwhelmed by teammates and fans alike, with the masses swarming the oval.
Elation: James Harney is mobbed by teammates after he kicked goal number 100 for the year. Photo: Cathlyn Herd
The 100-goal barrier had been broken, with the Eagles captain the first man since former Eagle Josh Mellington in 2019 to reach the magical ton in the Murray Football League.
“It’s just unreal,” Harney said following the game.
“It’s obviously individual, but you don’t get to that sort of position without the help of all your teammates.
Well earned: James Harney enjoys a beer post game after kicking 100 goals for the season.
Photo by
Aidan Briggs
“It was pretty cool to get everyone running on the ground, everyone’s saying ‘congrats’. It’s a really cool moment for everyone to be supporting you like that.”
Following his incredible 25 goals against Rumbalara, Harney was left nine goals away from the ton with two games to play, before kicking four against Deni.
Going into the game against Cobram, Harney needed five goals to reach the milestone, a fact that made him slightly nervous.
“I was a bit (nervous), I was even a bit last week,” Harney said.
“I’ve never actually been close enough to get that many goals before, so it was pretty nerve-racking even last week against Deni just knowing that I’m that close now, I’ve actually got to get a few more to actually do it.
“I was pretty tense come Friday, Saturday morning, sort of thing. It was just good to get a couple early yesterday and then get it all done there in third quarter, so it wasn’t dragging out too much and really playing on my mind.”
Coming on past players day, and in front of the 2013 Echuca United premiership team, Harney said to share his milestone with the big crowd made it all the more special.
“It was good to just have all those people around,” he said.
“People I have never met before, and they just congratulated me on being able to achieve that.
“You talk to them about — obviously they played in a premiership — and everyone who has been at the club previous and things like that, it was pretty special to share it with even more people than what would normally be there.”
While his brother Joe was first to get to him after kicking the 100th goal, he also shared a moment with his wife, Shae, and kids Cody, Xavier and Alexandra on the field.
“It’s a big effort playing footy and obviously got the three kids now,” he said.
Sinking in: A relieved Harney after reaching the milestone. Photo: Cathlyn Herd
“It’s just awesome that they ran out on the ground as well. The support of having the kids around, it’s a great feeling.”
United coach Farran Priest, who lured Harney to the club from Elmore where they were teammates briefly, spoke glowingly of his captain following the game.
“He’s such an asset in the air, but he’s even more dangerous on the ground, and that’s what people don’t understand,” he said.
“He doesn’t mind when it hits the ground, because he can turn on a dime really quickly, and that last goal that he kicked was probably how he kicked a lot of his goals.”
Harney finished with a total of seven goals against Cobram, bringing his season total to 102 majors.
The spearhead becomes one of just three Echuca United players to kick 100 goals in a season, behind Mellington in 2019 and Leo Tenace in 1998.
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