Peter Hudson

Peter John Hudson AM (born 19 February 1946) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and for the New Norfolk Football Club and Glenorchy Football Club in the Tasmanian Australian National Football League (TANFL).

A legend in the Australian Football Hall of Fame, Hudson is considered one of the greatest full-forwards in the game's history. He holds the highest career goal-per-game average (5.64) in VFL/AFL history, and he is only one of two VFL/AFL footballers (the other being Essendon's John Coleman) to average more than five goals per game. He was the first VFL/AFL player to kick 100 or more goals in a season five times, equalled Bob Pratt's VFL/AFL record of 150 goals in a season in 1971 and, after the AFL decided to retrospectively recognise the leading VFL goalkickers during the home-and-away season back to 1955, won the Coleman Medal four times.

Hudson was a superb reader of the play and knew how to use his body well in one-on-one contests. He had a safe pair of hands and although he was known for using the flat punt when kicking for goal, he was usually very accurate.

Over his career, he kicked 1721 goals in 288 premiership games between 1963 and 1979, and in 1981. His final match was in the 1981 TANFL Preliminary Final for Glenorchy, where Hudson, who had made a brief comeback with two rounds remaining due to Glenorchy having a string of injuries, kicked 30 goals in three matches, including six in his team's Preliminary Final loss to New Norfolk. Hudson was kept goalless just four times during his career in premiership matches by Richmond's Barry Richardson in Round 7 of 1969, Collingwood's Ian Cooper in Round 2 of 1974, Carlton's Rod Austin in Round 14 of 1977, and in the TANFL, Bruce Greenhill of Sandy Bay in 1978.

Some sources list Hudson as playing 92 games and kicking 460 goals for New Norfolk, and playing 93 games and kicking 687 goals for Glenorchy, for a TANFL total of 185 games and 1147 goals, and a career total of 314 games and 1874 goals. These discrepancies arise from the TANFL including games played and goals scored in intrastate matches representing the TANFL in TANFL players' premiership career statistics at that time, a ruling that was later rescinded.

Hudson also kicked 135 goals - 92 for Tasmania and 43 for Victoria - in 27 interstate football matches - 19 for Tasmania and eight for Victoria - and kicked 153 goals in 26 intrastate matches for the TANFL, as well as 182 goals in 33 night series matches - 63 goals for Hawthorn in 14 matches, ten goals for Tasmania in two matches, and 109 goals for Glenorchy in 17 matches. Hudson also played four International Rules matches on the 1968 Australian World Football Tour.

If these are considered, Hudson played a total of 378 career senior games and kicked 2191 senior career goals – an average of 5.8 goals a game over his entire career.

Hudson also kicked 120 goals in 19 matches for Upper Derwent (where his father Robert was the playing coach) in the Southern DFL in 1962, and kicked 10 goals in an interleague match for the Southern DFL: if this is also considered, then Hudson played a total of 398 overall career games and kicked 2321 overall career goals.

Hudson also experienced success as a coach during and after his playing days, leading Glenorchy to a TANFL premiership as playing coach and later coaching Hobart to successive finals appearances. He also became a respected club administrator, serving as CEO at St Kilda and Hawthorn during the 1990s.