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Find your frequency here29 in 3: Former AFL forward on a tear in country footy
Andrew Slevison • August 14th, 2025 5:04 pm
Former Geelong and Sydney forward Dan Menzel has been on a tear in country footy in South Australia.
Menzel is the player-coach of the Coorong Cats - the reigning River Murray Football League premiers - who have been putting up cricket scores in recent times.
The Cats have kicked a combined 89 goals (29, 29, 31) in their last three wins - 186 v 2, 186 v 39 and 199 v 36 - averaging 190 points per game in that time.
The quality of Menzel, now 33, has been evident in his past three games which have yielded a remarkable 29 goals (three behinds) with bags of 10, 7 and 12.
What makes it an even more remarkable feat is that Menzel has also been spending time in the midfield and not solely inside forward 50.
He says he’s hit a purple patch of form which has coincided with a devastating run from the Cats who have won four on the trot since going under to Imperial in late June.
“I’m enjoying my footy at the moment,” he said on SEN’s Sportsday SA.
“I’ve got my goal-kicking technique down pat at the moment which is nice. You’d hope because I do a bit of coaching in a one-on-one capacity.
“It’s been really enjoyable. I’d never kicked more than 10 in a game so to do it two in three weeks…
“Everyone who has played footy will understand this - when you have a purple patch it’s almost a pinch-yourself moment when you’re like ‘did that actually happen?’.
“It’s never going to happen again. You take it for granted, definitely.
“Body-wise I feel good and I’m loving it at the moment.”
Coorong, unbeaten in 2024, sits atop the RMFL ladder with a 13-1 win-loss record with two home and away games to play before finals.
“We’re in a nice position heading towards the finals,” he added.
Menzel has kicked three or more goals in all 14 games so far in 2025 for a season tally of 72.
He is 20 goals clear on top of the league goal kicking list.
