If Tom Stewart’s 4th quarter snap for goal wasn’t enough to get your attention, and it should have, the celebration certainly would have, and there is good reason too.

But first, let’s set the scene.

As Jeremy Cameron rode a Jack McCrae tackle, he was able to find the competition’s best defender suddenly open and ready for the give.

Stewart goes left, then right, evading Bulldog Caleb Daniel, and then dropped it on the right and, as Hamish McLachlan said on the broadcast, ‘he tumbles it long.. he tumbles in straight!’

And then unleashed one of the great defender-kicking-a-goal celebrations, and according to Jake Kolodjashnij there was a very good reason why.

“Oh (the goal) was brilliant, there was plenty of carry on,” he told geelongcats.com.au after the game. 

“I think he was on a 100+ streak of games with no goals. We didn't let him know about it, but he got the monkey off the back tonight and a real momentum changer, but plenty of carry on.” 

A quick check of the record books found that Kolodjashij’s calculations weren’t far off at all with the Stewart streak at 108. His last goal? A Round 7, 2018 win over GWS at GMHBA Stadium, his 28th career game. 

That was career goal number three, and he now goes into the bye with goal number four firmly in the bag. 

If anyone knows a bit about being a defender waiting a while before kicking a goal, it’s Kolodjashnij who famously kicked his first career major in game 128, incidentally against the Giants at GMHBA Stadium back in 2021. 

Who doesn’t love a defender hitting the scoreboard? That’s something well worth celebrating.