Ah, Smeltzy.
He could drift gently through a game almost unnoticed and then, boom!
A cross into the box, or a ball over the top, a flurry of action and all of a sudden the net would be bulging.
And Smeltz would be wheeling away, arms outstretched, highlights glistening.
But other than the fact that it’s always nice to reminisce about one of the club’s best ever strikers, why exactly has he been selected as the subject of this week’s Retro Corner?
Well, when we dug out the pictured framed memento of his hat-trick against Melbourne Heart, we just felt pieces falling into place.
Sunday 1 April 2012 was the date, nib Stadium the venue and with an hour gone in the first-round finals game and the scoreline still locked at 0-0, the natives were getting a little bit restless.
Cue Smeltz.
A loose ball bobbling around just inside the box was hooked home for goal number one and that was swiftly followed by a looping far-post header from an Andrezinho cross that floated almost serenely over Clint Bolton, struck the post and crossed the line before the Heart ‘keeper could claim it.
And to round off the hat-trick, a well-timed run to stay onside and collect a pinpoint pass from the late Liam Miller, followed by an imperious finish and a sprint over to receive the adulation of a delirious Shed.
On Sunday, of course, Glory face Heart again, this time in their Melbourne City guise and if Andy Keogh manages to bag what would be his seventh goal at AAMI Park, he will break the club Hyundai A-League season scoring record of 12 which is currently held by Diego Castro and, yes you’ve guessed it, a certain Shane Edward Smeltz.
So as the countdown to the weekend continues, how about we take a moment to salute the Kiwi frontman who scored 28 goals in his 58 appearances in purple and played such a key role in driving Glory to the 2012 Grand Final?
We’d love to hear your memories of Shane, so do join the conversation via Facebook HERE or Twitter HERE.
#OneGlory
