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]
In September 2001, the AFL decided to recognise all leading goalkickers prior to Roach's victory;[10] 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.[8] Medals were presented to winners or their surviving relatives in a ceremony at
Melbourne Town Hall in July 2004.[8][11]Jack Collins, who had been a leading advocate for naming the award after Coleman[12] and honouring leading goalkickers prior to 1981,[13] was the only player to receive both a Coleman and a Leading Goalkicker Medal.[14] 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.[15]
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.
Recipients
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 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.[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.[9]
^
abcd"Chronology". AFL.com.au. Telstra Media.
Archived from the original on 31 January 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
^Gould, Russell (14 September 2001). "Old champs in from the cold". Herald Sun.
News Limited. p. 116 – via
EBSCO. 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 – via EBSCO. [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 – via EBSCO. Former Footscray champion Jack Collins ... supports the move.
^Palmer, Scot (16 September 2001). "Dogs star's pain". Herald Sun. News Limited. p. 50 – via EBSCO. [Collins] has ... written a ... complaint to the AFL Commission ... Jack will receive what he feels is an inferior ... medal.
^"Coaches: John Longmire". sydneyswans.com.au. Telstra Media. 22 November 2019.
Archived from the original on 31 January 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
^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. Retrieved 31 January 2020.