TheColeman Medal is anAustralian rules football award given annually to theAustralian Football League (AFL) player who kicks the mostgoals in thehome-and-away season. It is named after Essendon full-forwardJohn Coleman, one of the most prolific goalkickers in the league's history, who was league leading goalkicker for five consecutive seasons.[1]
In September 2001, the AFL decided to recognise all leading goalkickers prior to Roach's victory;[8] leaders from 1955—the year after Coleman's last match—to 1980 were named retrospective Coleman Medallists, while winners prior to 1955 were named Leading Goalkicker Medallists.[6] Medals were presented to winners or their surviving relatives in a ceremony atMelbourne Town Hall in July 2004.[6][9]Jack Collins, who had been a leading advocate for naming the award after Coleman[10] and honouring leading goalkickers prior to 1981,[11] was the only player to receive both a Coleman and a Leading Goalkicker Medal.[12] Upon receiving the accolades, he was "bloody angry" and complained to theAFL Commission, as he perceived the Leading Goalkicker Medal to be an inferior award.[13]
Collingwood is the club most frequently represented by Coleman and Leading Goalkicker Medallists: its players have won on 23 occasions, six clear of Geelong's tally of 17. The majority of Collingwood's awards were contributed byDick Lee (7) andGordon Coventry (6), which stand as the most and second-most in league history. Coleman himself won the Leading Goalkicker Medals in all five of his complete VFL seasons to have the third-most. As of 2023, there have been five four-time medallists, five three-time medallists, and 16 dual medallists.
Jack Leith tied withEddy James for the most goals (22) in1897, the VFL's inaugural season.Percy Martini was retrospectively awarded a Leading Goalkicker Medal for his 51-goal performance in1910.Greg Stockdale's 68-goal haul for the1923 season from just 18 out of 19 games broke the league record (when including finals).[14] Stockdale would go on to be Essendon's leading goalkicker in three seasons between 1923 and1928.Gordon Coventry led the VFL in goalkicking six times, including five consecutive occasions from1926 to1930.Des Fothergill scored the most goals (63) in the1946 VFL season.John Coleman, the namesake of the medal, led the VFL in goalkicking five times in a row (1949–1953).Brian Taylor scored 100 goals in1986, winning the season's Coleman Medal.John Longmire led the AFL in goalkicking for1990 at the age of 19, making him the youngest Coleman Medallist.[15]Lance Franklin (pictured playing for Sydney) has won four Coleman Medals at two clubs:Hawthorn (2008,2011) andSydney (2014,2017).
Note:Bold text denotes player currently plays in the AFL
Conflicts arise between the sources on three occasions; an additional source for each dispute is provided:
1910: AFL.com.au notesDick Lee as joint leading goalkicker. AFL Tables omits Lee, supported by the 2018 Grand Final edition of theAFL Record.[17]
1977: AFL.com.au gives Hudson's goal total as 105. AFL Tables records 99, supported by the 2015 Grand Final edition of theAFL Record.[18]
2004: AFL.com.au gives Gehrig's goal total as 103. AFL Tables records 90, supported byABC News; the difference is because the AFL erroneously implies Gehrig got 103 goals to win the medal, but these extra 13 goals were kicked in finals and therefore are not included in this list.[19]
^Three teams which have participated in the VFL/AFL no longer compete today.Fitzroy, a founding member of the league, played from 1897 to 1996 before its severe financial problemsforced a merger with theBrisbane Bears, an expansion club that had competed in the VFL from 1987, to form theBrisbane Lions.University, an amateur club, played in the VFL from 1908 to 1914.[7]
^abcd"Chronology".AFL.com.au. Telstra Media.Archived from the original on 31 January 2020. Retrieved31 January 2020.
^Gould, Russell (14 September 2001). "Old champs in from the cold".Herald Sun.News Limited. p. 116.THE AFL is set to reward more than 90 past champions with retrospective medals for leading the goalkicking ...
^Oakes, Dan (27 July 2004). "A night of tribute to the rich history of the game".The Age. Fairfax Media. p. 12.[P]ast ... AFL players ... gathered at Melbourne Town Hall last night ... [t]he occasion was the retrospective presentation of medals ... to the ... leading goalkickers ... since the start of the VFL/AFL.
^Palmer, Scot (27 May 2001). "Medals for goal greats".The Sunday Mail. News Limited. p. 118.Former Footscray champion Jack Collins ... supports the move.
^Palmer, Scot (16 September 2001). "Dogs star's pain".Herald Sun. News Limited. p. 50.[Collins] has ... written a ... complaint to the AFL Commission ... Jack will receive what he feels is an inferior ... medal.
^Lovett, Michael, ed. (29 September 2018). "Collingwood – Leading Goalkicker Medallists".AFL Record. Vol. 107. Melbourne:Crocmedia. p. 129.
^Lovett, Michael, ed. (3 October 2015). "Hawthorn – John Coleman Medallists".AFL Record. Vol. 104. Melbourne:AFL Media. p. 120.
^"Gehrig clinches Coleman medal".ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 30 August 2004.Archived from the original on 27 October 2016. Retrieved31 January 2020.
TheColeman Medal was established in1981, with retrospective awards dating back to1955. Prior to that, the award was known as the Leading Goalkicker Medal.
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