HISTORY was made at Melville Oval, as Port Fairy forward, Jason Rowan, became just the second player to kick 1000 Hampden Football Netball League goals on Saturday.

The former Blue-turned-Seagull had to wait though, as he was sniffing around in the first quarter, but eventually broke loose from his Kangaroos opponent, Mick McMeel, to grab a chest mark in the second quarter and duly slotted the goal.

Rowan celebrated almost immediately after the football left his boot, as he was swarmed by teammates and spectators who ran onto the ground to mark the historic moment.

The 36-year-old told The Spectator after the game

“There is a lot of outside news, it is an individual honour and something I am very proud of and I will look back on it when my footy days are done and dusted, but it was great to get it out of the way,” he said.

“It will sink in over the next few days, and there have been so many people along the way that have shared this award with me.

“I have played 16, 17, 18 years of Hampden football, so to think of all the people who have been apart of it, those who retired, move to different clubs, different leagues and I think this honour needs to be embraced by all those as well.

“I definitely do think this milestone goes down to me, but there is a really big outer circle who have played an important part as well.”

With 1001 goals to his name, one more milestone awaits the crafty forward, as he hunts down Tony Russell’s league benchmark of 1020 goals.

Despite a lean start to the season, if Rowan can stay fit for the year, the record should be his by the end of the season, but league veteran isn’t looking too far ahead.

“Rusty’s record is in sight, that will just happen itself and I need to be kicking goals to play my role, so if I am doing that each week, then that record will happen in time,” he said.

“The old man (Phillip), there are a lot of good coaches but there is one thing that really sticks in the mind, what we used to do as kids and kicking the footy through posts we made up.

“He gets a lot of credit for being there and teaching me.

“And Bec my wife, we have four kids under six and for her to sacrifice so much to get me on the track and away two nights a week and all day Saturday, it is something I will be forever grateful for.”

Adding to the day was a last-quarter blitz to overrun the Roos to break a 735-day winless drought – stretching back to May 1, 2021 - giving Rowan a chance to sing the Port Fairy song for the first time.

“There were so many mixed emotions, to see so many people embrace the football and netball, the whole community of Port Fairy just love it and they get behind us,” he said.

“To walk inside the room and see so many people lined up, emotions were high and to hear the boys belt out the song, it is something I will remember for a long time.

“I had been sitting at home with the four young kids and they were asking me the song, so we got on Youtube and pumped it out a couple of times, so we knew the words by now.”