By Connor Schmidtke
As Noble Park prepare for their annual Queen’s Birthday weekend showdown with Balwyn, they will be celebrating a different milestone to ‘Her Majesty.’
Bulls club legend, Shayne Allan will play his 200th game with Noble Park on Saturday.
His timing has once again proved to be a blessing, with Allan to play his milestone game in front of the Noble Park faithful in a standalone Premier Division game this weekend.
It has been a career that has had it all, from leading goalkicker awards, to premierships, to representative games and just about everything in between that a local footballer could hope for.
Playing the majority of his football at Noble Park, Allan was part of the 2010 and 2011 premiership sides, kicking 115 goals over these two seasons, spearheading the premiership charge whilst crafting the beginning of a brilliant career personally.
Dug out some photos last week ahead of Noble Park FC forward Shayne Allan's 200th game. Plenty to choose from; he's been a tremendous player for the Bulls, just as his father, Dangerous Dave, was a terrific president. The Allans are a fine family. Hope he kicks a bag. pic.twitter.com/qv92IiRanT — Paul Amy (@PaulAmy375) June 7, 2022
When asked what his 200th game meant to him, Shayne said he was very grateful to be reaching this milestone with Noble Park.
“It’s a massive thing for me personally,
“It means the world to me, especially with my old man passing about 12 months ago. He was the president at Noble Park for a few years.
“So, to come back and do it for him, to honour him, to play that game means a fair bit to me.”
Allan has gone on to kick over 400 goals for Noble Park throughout his career, stamping his legacy as one of the greatest to pull on the Bulls jumper.
Through all the goals, the premiership glory and the personal success on field, Shayne said there was a handful of moments that stood out to him amongst all his achievements.
“The premierships will always stand out, head and shoulders above the rest,
“But from an individual standpoint, winning the goalkicking in 2012.
“Being a small forward, it was a bit different to a big forward winning it like normal, so that was probably the highlight for me, from an individual point of view.
“But nothing compares to the flags, that’s for sure.”
Allan hasn’t quite been a one club player throughout his career, spending a handful of years away in the Essendon District and Mornington Peninsula Football Leagues.
.@NobleParkFC champion Shayne Allan will play his 200th game for the club this Saturday when the Bulls host Balwyn in the @Eastern_FNL Premier stand-alone. Allan has booted a nudge under 450 club majors, in what has been a mighty career to date. pic.twitter.com/TUbdFYcjYq — Tyler Lewis (@tmlew_) June 6, 2022
But when asked what Noble Park means to him and why he came back, Allan said the Bulls will always be home for him.
“When I left, I made the decision with my head, but my heart was saying to stay. I didn’t really want to end my football career at another football club, I wanted to finish it at Noble.
“I’ve gone to other clubs, and it didn’t have the same feeling for me. With Dad being president, it definitely pulls on the heartstrings a little bit.
“I love the club; I’ll always be a Noble Park player through and through.
“I’m just glad to be back and playing some okay football, just playing my role each week, which has been great. It’s just where my heart is at.”
Noble Park have not reached the same heights since their back-to-back premierships that Allan holds so dear, but they showed signs of a return to the top last season, finishing the shortened year in second spot on the ladder.
The side currently sits in the top four at the halfway point of the season, with the chance to make a run deep into the finals this year.
Allan says he still has the hunger for one last flag.
“Any individual success is trumped by team success; you can celebrate it with not only your mates but with your supporters as well. That’s a massive driving factor for me.
“That team success is what I want to strive for this year, that’s what we are striving for as a team as well.”