Outer East league: Mt Evelyn star shrugs off injury to kick 12 goals

Quite simply, it was also the Callum Urquhart show.

The 30-year-old fired off 12.2 in what Rovers coach Connor O’Sullivan labelled “the best individual performance I’ve ever seen”.

“Like, ever. Unbelievable,” O’Sullivan enthused.

“He was unstoppable and was one hundred percent the difference. There’s no doubting that. If he doesn’t play we don’t win.”

O’Sullivan revealed Urquhart went into the game under an injury cloud.

“He had a niggle and was touch and go to play to be honest with you,” O’Sullivan said.

Like a shot from a gun, Urquhart — who normally plays in the backline — drilled five goals in the first quarter as Mt Evelyn hurried to a 39-31 lead.

But Pakenham refused to lie down and with Jai Rout also putting on a goal-kicking clinic the Lions went goal-for-goal in a classic local footy shootout.

Urquhart, though, slotted three goals in the last quarter as Mt Evelyn prevailed 17.8 (110) to 16.7 (103).

Jack Hourihan and Max Kleverkamp also showed the way for Mt Evelyn with outstanding four-quarter displays in the midfield.

Cooper Colee off half back, Michael Gibbons on a wing and Lachy Baxter up forward were also in the Rovers best players.

For Pakenham, Rout finished with seven goals and James Harrison and Tahj De La Rue never gave up.

O’Sullivan said Rout was “a heck of a player”.

“We really struggled to find a match up for him,” he said of Rout, who’s joined the Lions this season from Cora Lynn.

“Just a really, really good player, super quick off the first two steps and knows where they are. He will continue to cause headaches for opposition.”

Urquhart was playing only his third match for the season after returning from a European holiday.

“He’s an unbelievable mark and he’s just so smart in his timing, he just times his leads and his jump,” O’Sullivan said.

“And his body work, he will push off at the right time. It’s just all timing.

“He’s had an interrupted season, he was away in Europe with his partner to begin the season. And he’s been carrying a niggle so he’s only played three games.

“He usually plays down back but we swung him forward and we’re pretty happy about that.

“If we had two of him, mate, that would be the ideal scenario.”

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Mt Evelyn has won three of its past four games to climb to sixth spot.

“Outside of that Woori Yallock loss all our games have been quite close, so we feel like we are thereabouts,’’ O’Sullivan said.

“The league is quite even and our results reflect that. Our plan is to continue to improve.’’

Originally published as Outer East league: Mt Evelyn star shrugs off injury to kick 12 goals