Yarran way out in front for GFL goal-kicking medal

Railways forward Chris Yarran looks a shoo-in for the Dick Robinson Medal as the Goldfields Football League’s premier goal kicker with just three rounds of qualifiers left.

After an injury-plagued 2023 season restricted him to nine games and 34 goals, Yarran has this year streaked his rivals with 63 goals.

It included 10 goals against Kalgoorlie in round 11 and 13 against Kambalda a fortnight later.

He leads the way by 26 goals over Mines Rovers’ Nick Reghenzani (37).

Boulder’s Brett Blair is a further two goals back, with Railways’ Jack Steel (34) rounding out the top-four.

Yarran won the medal in 2021 with 69 goals and the following season his 15 games yielded 48 goals — including nine in the preliminary final against Mines Rovers.

He opened the 2023 season with 26 goals in the first three games, including 20 against Kambalda in round three that equalled a GFL record dating back 117 years, before injuries stifled his campaign.

The medal honours Robinson, a champion Railways goal kicker who died in 2021 aged 67.

Robinson was the GFL’s original goal-kicking star who led that category five times, including a league-record 139 goals in 1974 when Railways were undefeated.

He topped the list for the first time in 1971, bagged 98 in 1973 and followed up his century haul in 1974 with more accolades in 1980 and 1982.

Apart from winning the goal kicking once in under-14s, Robinson played mainly as a defender.

But ahead of turning up to senior training for the first time out of colts, his father convinced him to tell the coaching staff he was a full-forward because the squad did not have one.

The Panthers, with Robinson the linchpin at full-forward, were the GFL’s glamour team of the 1970s, underpinned by flags in 1971, 1973-75 and 1978-79.

Robinson was also captain-coach of Mines Rovers in 1979 and 1980.

Leading goal kickers:

Chris Yarran (Railways) 63 goals; Nick Reghenzani (Mines Rovers) 37; Brett Blair (Boulder) 35; Jack Steel (Railways) 34; Jack Martin (Kalgoorlie) 26; Shyrone Graham (Boulder) 25; Glen Gascoyne (Kalgoorlie) 21; Andy Higgins (Boulder) 18; Ricky Whitehead (Kalgoorlie) 18; Bevan Bennell (Mines Rovers) 17.