JOEL Amartey's nine-goal haul against Adelaide on Saturday night was just as surprising as it was stunning.

Surprising, not because the Sydney forward hadn't shown glimpses of boundless talent in his previous 40 AFL games, but surprising because he'd never kicked more than four goals in a single game prior to that.

The step from solid contributor to, 'Wow, where did that come from?' was huge.

Which got AFL.com.au to thinking – who else has jumped out of the box over the years to stun the football public with a bag of goals that seemingly came from nowhere?

Like Amartey's haul, which might prove to be a breakout more than an outlier when we look back in the future, we've tried to recall performances that were genuine eye-openers at the time.

Let's start with some early career showstoppers.

It's hard to go past John Georgiades, father of Port Adelaide's Mitch, for his head-turning eight-goal debut for Footscray against Carlton in 1989.

Georgiades' career would last just 15 games, with this day out one to remember.

How about Adrian McAdam? After kicking seven on debut, the dynamic North Melbourne forward bagged 10 in his second game against Sydney.

Keeping the double-figure theme going, there was AFL Team of the Century full-back Stephen Silvagni's 10-goal haul against Fitzroy the same year (yes, he'd previously kicked eight, but 10 is another world).

There was St Kilda small forward Stephen Milne, who lit up Marvel Stadium in 2005 with 11 goals against Brisbane. He'd never kicked more than six prior to that.

What about Josh Bruce's 10 goals for the Western Bulldogs against North Melbourne in 2021 or Mark LeCras' 12 against Essendon for West Coast in 2010? That was twice as many as 'The Frenchman' kicked in any other game through his illustrious career.

Then there was Tom Lynch, of the Adelaide variety, bagging 10 against Greater Western Sydney in 2013.

Let's get to some genuine footy nerd areas.

Essendon fans will remember Kyle Reimers kicking eight goals against fledgling Gold Coast in 2011 and going further back Derek Kickett bagging eight (out of 14 total goals) in a 1993 win over Footscray.

Brodie Holland's eight goals will be long remembered by Collingwood supporters, with the haul coming in a one-point win over West Coast in 2002.

How about Carlton's Simon Beaumont kicking eight against the Magpies in 1999? And he booted them all in the first half. He never kicked more than three goals in his other 178 games at senior level.

Mil Hanna also kicked eight in one game – against Melbourne in 1991. And Carlton lost.

There was Trent Hentschel kicking eight for Adelaide in a flogging of Essendon in 2006, while Swan Ben Ronke (against Hawthorn in 2018) and Lion Jared Brennan (against Collingwood at the MCG in 2014) both kicked seven goals in once-in-a-career performances.