Football broadcaster Max Rushden was in record-breaking form at Howard Dawson Reserve when his Melbourne University SC side faced Swinburne FC’s Thirds on Sunday afternoon.

Straight off the bat Rushden set a new benchmark on the ‘People with the largest Twitter following to play at HDR’ index.

His 337.6k followers puts him on top of the list, well ahead of Swinburne FC defender, physiotherapist and occasional goalkeeper Lucas Wallace who sits in second place with 295.

Wallace’s following was largely built back when he played at higher levels before joining Swinburne FC in 2021.

Not satisfied with that record, Rushden, who hosts the popular Football Weekly podcast for The Guardian, became the first person ever to use the word ‘carpet’ to describe the HDR surface in August.

Typically the HDR deck presents well for pre-season before deteriorating (literally) as soon as the winter rain hits. Prior to Sunday, the latest recorded usage of the word ‘carpet’ to describe HDR in a calendar year was February.

The carpet-like surface worked in favour of Melbourne Uni who ran out 2-0 winners over the Thirds, although Football Weekly sidekick Barry Glendenning would have been disappointed with the distinct lack of Ethan Pinnock-style Goal of the Season contenders.

Football Weekly on … goal of the season injustice for Brentford’s Ethan Pinnock.

With @maxrushden and @bglendenning pic.twitter.com/7Fll8ghj4y

— Guardian sport (@guardian_sport) May 23, 2022

Please note: Swinburne FC’s website is currently being rebuilt so some pages and links are inactive.