LANCELIN Pirates forward Luke Smailes just loves playing footy.
And he is very good at it.
Having been informally christened ‘superboot’ on more than one occasion in his illustrious career, Smailes (23) has more than lived up to his reputation with the Central Midlands Coastal Football League team this season.
He has booted 57 goals from just seven games – including 15.8 against Moora Rovers last weekend.
Yet Smailes remains somewhat subdued about his football future.
“I’m in my final year of Law and Commerce at Notre Dame University, so footy isn’t the number one priority for me,” he said.
“But I just really love to play.”
The City Beach resident is well on track to boot 100 goals for the Pirates this season. It won’t be the first time.
He kicked 117 last year for Scarborough in the WA Amateur Football League.
Smailes’ 15 goals last weekend broke the Pirates’ single-game goal-kicking record by three goals.
The effort propelled the Pirates to an effortless, 145-point victory over a hapless Moora.
“It’s an honour to hold the record for the Pirates,” Smailes said.
“Hopefully, I can kick enough goals to win the premiership at the end of the year – that’s my main aim.
“I love the competition… going out on the weekend and competing against 22 other blokes.”
By virtue of their big win, the Pirates jumped Jurien Bay to be in second place on the CMCFL league ladder – their highest position since entering the competition in 2009.
It’s a far cry from last season, when they sometimes struggled to get 10 players to training.
This year, there are upwards of 15 at training in Lancelin and another dozen in Perth under new coach Daniel Norris.