By David Nagel
What began as a reluctant dip into reserves football has transformed into an exciting career milestone for Julian Suarez who kicked his 100th goal for the season against Dalyston on Saturday.
Since crossing from Aberfeldie to Tooradin-Dalmore in 2012, Suarez has become a favourite of the football club, kicking 231 goals in 156 senior games.
Five of those goals came in the drought-breaking premiership of 2022 when the Seagulls won their first senior flag since 1997.
But, despite being a premiership hero, Suarez wasn’t feeling the love earlier this year when the Seagulls decided an influx of young talent needed to be exposed at the elite level.
“Initially I was gearing up to play ones, I put my hand up, but the club went in the direction of youth and it sunk in pretty quickly that I would be playing twos this year,” Suarez said.
“I did pretty well, playing half back in a practice match against Devon Meadows, and thought I might be chance, but there’s no hard feelings, it’s just the direction the club is going down.”
A mainstay of the senior side for 11 years, Suarez decided to swallow his pride and get on with the business of making the transition work.
Playing with great mates like Adam Galea, Jake O’Donnell and Justin Smaluch made the evolution an easy one to handle.
“Early on I wasn’t happy about not getting picked in the ones, but having great mates around is what footy is all about,” he said.
“At the start it was just a bit of fun, but then you get a bit more serious when you realise you might be a chance at winning a flag with your mates.
“We go out and have a kick and then enjoy a drink afterwards and there’s a lot less pressure involved.”
Suarez started the season modestly, kicking five goals in the opening fortnight, but soon found his groove up forward.
He kicked eight goals in round three, then 10 in round six, and began thinking about the possibilities after slotting 13 goals against Korumburra-Bena in round 11.
Quiet games against Cora Lynn and Nar Nar Goon – in rounds 14 and 15 – then appeared to stall his charge to the 100.
But he then kicked 11 against Garfield in round 16 and backed it up with 14 against Bunyip a week later to leave him six short of his target on the weekend.
With Tooradin-Dalmore finishing on top and earning a week’s rest, Suarez didn’t want to delay the celebrations any further.
“I probably felt relief more than anything else,” he explained after his 10-goal haul.
“Approaching the game I just wanted to get it done because I would have gone crazy if I had to wait another two weeks.
“It was all a bit of a blur really; you’ve got people running on the field, your teammates jumping all over you, you’re ecstatic, then two minutes later you’re back on the job playing football.
“It was awesome though and a really good experience to be a part of.”
The 36-year-old has one more goal in mind.
“It’s just one tick for me and the playing group; we’ve got another tick to go for this season and hopefully we get that and I can sit back and celebrate a pretty good year,” he said.
“I just want to thank my wife Jacqui, my parents and in-laws, and three kids Jay, Kal and Kyrie for all their support and allowing me the time to do what I love.”
