MOST defenders harbour a hidden ambition to float forward and kick a goal or two, and Hawthorn’s Taylor Duryea is no different.
The small defender is running hot at the moment – he’s on a nine-goal streak, having not kicked a behind since Round 11 last year.
Duryea’s goal kicking prowess came to the fore against Fremantle, when he marked strongly before converting a 45-metre set shot into the wind at Aurora Stadium.
He said the Hawks’ defenders prided themselves on their ability to impact the scoreboard.
“I don’t know what the forwards are complaining about in terms of goal kicking,” he joked.
“Each week we like to kick at least one goal from the backline and I’ve managed to kick a couple this year.
“I missed five or six in my first year before I actually kicked one, and now I’m looking for the opportunity to get in front of goal, whereas early on in my career I was a bit nervous.”
Duryea’s accuracy is a stark contrast to some of his fellow defenders, and he joked the likes of Josh Gibson and Brian Lake were giving the Hawks’ defence a bad name.
“It’s the key defenders that really need to take their chances, because they don’t get too many,” he joked.
“Gibbo had his chance a couple of weeks ago, unfortunately we all know what happened there.
“I’ve had a few quiet words with him behind the scenes and gave him a few pointers that have helped me the last couple of years… It’s all a bit of fun for the defenders.”
Duryea said with Jarryd Roughead currently on the sidelines, Brian Lake might have been auditioning for a forward-line berth against the Dockers.
But he’s not sure if Lake will be Alastair Clarkson’s preferred option.
“Lakey seemed to get close on the weekend – he was starting to run up and get near the forward 50 – I think he actually had a shot from the arc which didn’t quite make the distance,” Duryea said.
The 24-year-old has no preference between kicking for goal from set shots or on the run – he just enjoys the opportunity when one presents itself.
His tip for up-and-coming footballers is to just “keep things as natural as possible” - and not change anything between set shots and shots on the run.
It seems to be working well at the moment – and Duryea isn’t ruling out trying to break Luke Breust’s streak of 29 straight goals from last year, although he admits it’s highly unlikely.
“If we’re going at the current rate, I’d say by 2017 I might be a chance to get Punky’s record,” he laughed.
“I daresay there will be one where I might slip up, but at the moment the streak’s alive."
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