JEFF Garlett says he’d “love to crack the half-century” and boot 50 goals for the first time in his career in 2016.
Garlett, who kicked 40 goals from 71 scoring shots in 2015, said he was determined to fix his conversation rate next year and aim for 50 majors.
“Nearly every other season I’ve kicked straighter than I have this year. Every year is always the same – I focus on my pressure and tackling – and if I get them [right] the goals will come from that, so I’ve just got to keep working,” he said.
“I was lucky enough to kick a goal every game [this year] and to finish off with 40 goals, so I was happy with that.
“Now the key is to keep backing that up next year and the plan is to get to that again – then I’ll be happy.”
Garlett has booted 39 goals or more in a season four times, with his best being 48 majors in his third season for Carlton in 2011.
The exciting small forward said inaccuracy had cost him from reaching the milestone, but he was working on some areas to increase his chances for 2016.
“There are just a few little areas I need to fix … which I can definitely do,” he said.
Garlett said former teammate and now Adelaide star Eddie Betts was an inspiration for him to boot 50 goals or more in a season. He added that tried to catch up with Betts as often as he could, as he was a good mate and mentor.
“Eddie Betts smashed it this year and we’ve seen [Hawthorn’s] Luke Breust is up there too, but it’s hard for a small forward to kick that many goals in a year,” he said.
“It’s a very good effort if you can do that.”
In terms of the forward line set-up for 2016, Garlett said he couldn’t wait to play with key forward Jesse Hogan again, while he was looking forward to Jay Kennedy-Harris and Dean Kent returning after interrupted seasons.
“It’s hard to crumb off him [Hogan], because he’s always marking them,” he said with a laugh.
“It’s a pleasure to play with him (Hogan) … to have that presence up there – it’s been an honour to play alongside him.
“I’m looking forward to playing with [Kennedy-Harris and Kent] … and I’m trying to help them to all play a similar role and focus on forward pressure and tackling, so it can help get the club get better. I’ll always been there to help them.”