Remove ads
The Coleman Medal is an Australian rules football award given annually to the Australian Football League (AFL) player who kicks the most goals in the home-and-away season. It is named after Essendon full-forward John Coleman, one of the most prolific goalkickers in the league's history, who was league leading goalkicker for five consecutive seasons.[1]
 Jesse Hogan, recipient of the Coleman Medal in 2024 | |
| League | Australian Football League |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Most goals in the home-and-away season |
| History | |
| Most wins | Dick Lee (7) |
| Most recent | Jesse Hogan (Greater Western Sydney) |
The medal has been presented at various different events, including the preliminary[2] and grand finals,[3] the All-Australian awards ceremony,[4][5] and club award ceremonies. Greater Western Sydney's Jesse Hogan is the most recent recipient, kicking 69 goals in 2024.
Remove ads
The award was first presented in 1981 to Richmond's Michael Roach.[6] At the time, the competition was known as the Victorian Football League (VFL); it would become the AFL in 1990.[7] It was named after John Coleman, a full-forward and Australian Football Hall of Fame Legend who scored 537 goals in 98 games for Essendon between 1949 and 1954.[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 at Melbourne 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 the AFL 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 by Dick Lee (7) and Gordon 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.
Remove ads
| Note: Bold text denotes player currently plays in the AFL |
Multiple recipients
Club totals
.jpg)
| † | Club no longer participates in the AFL[b] |
|---|---|
| LG | Number of Leading Goalkicker Medals (1897–1954) |
| C'man | Number of Coleman Medals (1955–present) |
Remove ads
- AFL Women's leading goalkicker
- Ken Farmer Medal – equivalent award in the South Australian National Football League
- Jim 'Frosty' Miller Medal – equivalent award in the Victorian Football League
- Bernie Naylor Medal – equivalent award in the West Australian Football League
- The following websites are used as sources for recipients:
- AFL.com.au[1]
- AFL Tables[16]
- 1910: AFL.com.au notes Dick Lee as joint leading goalkicker. AFL Tables omits Lee, supported by the 2018 Grand Final edition of the AFL 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 the AFL Record.[18]
- 2004: AFL.com.au gives Gehrig's goal total as 103. AFL Tables records 90, supported by ABC 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 problems forced a merger with the Brisbane Bears, an expansion club that had competed in the VFL from 1987, to form the Brisbane Lions. University, an amateur club, played in the VFL from 1908 to 1914.[7]
- Known as South Melbourne prior to 1982 relocation.[7]
- Known as Footscray prior to 1997.[7]
Remove ads
![\"This](\"//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e7/Cscr-featured.svg/30px-Cscr-featured.svg.png)
\n"}">Wikiwand in your browser!
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
Remove ads