By Nick Creely
It’s hard to imagine a more dominant figure in the NPL than Brandon Barnes.
When Barnes streams into goal, it is obvious that this is a player meant to dominate the round ball code.
The Dandenong Thunder striker continues to make waves after another strong start to the season sees him surpass 50-goals since joining the club for the 2016 season.
That means it has taken him just 31 games to reach the freakish milestone, with calls he is set to be scouted by A-League clubs sooner rather than later. In just 25 matches last season for the Thunder, Barnes scored 41 goals, including a whopping eight-goal effort against Nunawading FC – to put this into perspective, the next highest goal-scorer last season was just 19.
The haul, which was spoken about in every adoring soccer corner in Australia is yet to be broken, and is still the most goals scored by an individual in the top-two tiers of Victorian Football since the inception of the NPL.
He is the reigning NPL2 Victoria Best and Fairest winner, as well as the Golden Boot winner for 2016, and an integral part of the Thunder’s desire to reach the top-tier of Victorian Football.
Barnes has had an interesting soccer journey, and right now in his peak, is one of the top-flight players playing the game in the state.
Spending time in various football academies across the UK as a youngster, including Bristol City, Swindon Town and Southampton, Barnes was unable to break into the professional scene.
During his travels around the world playing football, he has had a stint with Waitakere United in the New Zealand Football Championship, which eventually landed him in the hands of a stoked Dandenong Thunder out of George Andrews Reserve.
Barnes’ Thunder has started the NPL2 season in strong fashion, currently sitting third on the ladder with an impressive start.
Once again the Thunder is high on the ladder for goals scored, currently sitting second in that statistical category behind Melbourne City FC
