A few players that come up on this list are only left off of other lists of this type because their careers were relatively short. Players like Darren Milane, Peter Hudson, and John Coleman, are three players who would arguably dominate more AFL Goat arguments if their careers weren’t cut tragically short for different reasons.

For those too young, or those who have forgotten, Peter Hudson was a tall full forward who played for Hawthorn in the late 1960s and 1970s. For his VFL career. Hudson kicked over 700 goals in 129 games, meaning that he averaged just under six goals a game. Hudson is also one of two players who kicked 150 goals in a single VFL season, alongside Bob Pratt.

There could be a few reasons why Hudson’s name doesn’t appear as often in football Goat arguments as names like Ablett and Lockett. One would be that Hudson’s career was relatively short in the main league, spending only nine seasons at Hawthorn, and during that period, Hudson had a three-year period where he managed to play four games due to knee injuries.

The other reason that Hudson is not mentioned alongside others in the pantheon of all-time greats is that he had the audacity of being good at football but coming from outside of the state of Victoria, and snubbing Victoria’s VFL in order to return to Tasmania to finish his career in the Tasmanian State League instead of continuing to ply his trade in Victoria’s league of choice. He was lured back for one more season in the VFL in 1977, lazily notching 110 goals, before heading back to Tassie again

Ignoring these two factors, it’s hard not to take Hudson as a serious contender, given his list of accomplishments. Out of the six seasons where Hudson played more than two games, the Hawk forward kicked over 100 goals five times and won the Coleman medallist four of those times, including a period in which Hudson kicked 296 over 46 games. In his nine-season career at Hawthorn, Hudson kicked over 100 goals over 50% of the time, which is incredible considering Lockett only managed to kick over 100 goals six times in 18 seasons.

On top of Hudson’s four Coleman medals, he also led the Tasmanian league goalkicking in seven seasons. Despite his prodigious goal-kicking, Hudson only led the Hawks to the Grand Final on one occasion in 1971, but the Hawks emerged victorious, giving Hudson something that Ablett and Lockett never achieved during their respective careers, a premiership medallion.

He also managed to lead the Tasmanian Football League in goalkicking for eight seasons around his VFL commitments.

Hudson is also a two-time winner of Hawthorn’s Best and Fairest award, at the time the J.J Dennis Trophy, which has since been renamed the Peter Crimmins Medal in honour of Hudson’s teammate at the Hawks, who passed away from cancer shortly after the 1976 Grand Final.

Hudson moved to the VFL from Tasmania in 1967 and won his first goal-kicking medal in his second season at the club. Hudson’s presence only grew, peaking in 1971 when he kicked 150 goals. However. Hudson struggled over the next three seasons, failing to play more than four games over three years, returning to Tasmania to play and coach Glenorchy.

After the 1976 Grand Final, Hudson returned to Hawthorn, seeking additional glory, kicking a modest 110 goals from 24 games. Unfortunately, the Hawks would lose the qualifying final to Collingwood by two points, before losing to eventual premiers, North Melbourne in the Preliminary Final. Hudson then returned to Tasmania, where he played another five seasons for Glenorchy, including a single season where he served as the senior coach alongside his playing role.

After his VFL career ended, Hudson returned to Glenorchy, where he again took over as coach in the 1981 season before he finished his playing career in 1982. Over his 288 career games for all three clubs, Hudson kicked 1,721 goals, putting his average at close to 6 goals a game.

Hudson then coached Hobart in the Tasmanian State League for two seasons before retiring for good.

 

Performances of Note

 

Hawthorn versus Melbourne, Round 5, 1969

Only six players in the history of the VFL/AFL have kicked more than 16 goals in a game. In the fifth round of the 1969 season, Peter Hudson tore the Melbourne Football Club apart, kicking 16 goals and 1 behind from 27 possessions. Hudson, whose total score contribution for the game totalled 97 points, was 7 points behind Melbourne’s total. Hawthorn also only had three other goal-kickers that game outside of Hudson, with Peter Crimmins the only other multiple goal-kicker, bagging three goals for himself.

 

Hawthorn versus South Melbourne, Round 11, 1969

One of Hudson’s favourite opponents to play against during his career was South Melbourne. In the 10 games  Hudson played against the Bloods, he scored 66 goals, giving him a goal-per-game average of 6.6. In the 1969 season, Hudson only lined up against South Melbourne once, where he kicked 13 goals and 2 behinds for the game.

 

Hawthorn versus South Melbourne, Round 8, 1970

In the 1970 season, Peter Hudson kicked 146 goals over the 22-game season, finishing with a goal-per-game average of 6.6. This average was helped by his performance against South Melbourne in Round 8. Hudson kicked 13 goals and 2 behinds just behind South Melbourne’s total of 14 goals, and 14 behinds for the entire game. Hudson would gather 26 possessions that day, with 22 kicks and 4 handballs for the game.