Tasmanian Football Legends

 

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SIXTIES FOOTBALL LEGENDS

PETER HUDSON

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peterhudson3.gif (98908 bytes) Born on the 19th February 1946 Peter Hudson was a freakish full-forward who just kept accumulating goals.
He made brilliant use of the body, was deadly accurate and had an amazing ability to read the play.
Arguably the greatest full-forward of all time – his amazing career average of 5.64 goals per game is the best in League history and his 150 goal season in 1971 matched Bob Pratt’s record for most goals in a season with 150.
Peter had attracted the attention of every League scout with 469 goals in just four seasons in Tasmania and was the centre of huge media attention when he debuted against rugged Carlton full-back Wes Lofts in Round 2, 1967. Despite being battered all day, he kicked four goals out of Hawthorn’s total of six.

peterhudson.gif (89198 bytes)

Peter’s sturdy frame, brilliant judgment, sure hands and deadly accurate kicking style (generally using flat punts) gave him the complete full-forward’s package that was near impossible to counter.
Hawthorn’s strategy of leaving a third of the ground open for him to be left one-out against the full-back worked brilliantly, and Peter kicked bag after bag of goals, including an amazing 16.1 against Melbourne in 1969 – his best ever effort in a single VFL game (he once kicked 18.2 in a Tasmanian senior game).

Between 1968 and 1971, he was virtually unstoppable, kicking 125, 120, 146 and 150 goals respectively.

His dramatic attempt to break Bob Pratt’s all-time season goalkicking record of 150 in the dying stages of the 1971 Grand Final remains as one of football’s most unforgettable moments. He was concussed just before half-time and battled through the second half in a daze, equalling the record but not breaking it.

  In a sensational start to the 1972 season at Glenferrie Oval, Peter kicked 8 goals in the opening two quarters, before tearing a cruciate ligament in his right knee in an awkward collision with his Melbourne opponent.

The condition of Peter’s knee was headline news for months and he missed almost two full seasons, making a phenomenal comeback in the second last round of 1973 against Collingwood at Waverley.

After making a movie-star arrival to Waverley in a helicopter before the game and despite being unable to run freely or jump for marks, he incredibly managed to kick eight goals, beating four opponents in the process!

At one stage, his opponent turned his back to the play and just watched Peter, who still managed to goal!

The reverence in which Peter was held by the Hawk faithful was illustrated by a sign outside a Hawthorn church which once read “What would you do if Jesus Christ came to Hawthorn?â€