Full-forward is a position in Australian rules football and Gaelic football with a key focus on kicking goals.
The Coleman Medal is awarded to the player, often a full-forward, who has kicked the most goals in an Australian Football League season.
In modern Australian rules football and Gaelic football, in which players do not strictly stick to a single position, the full-forward is often referred to as a "Key Forward" and can often switch positions with the centre half-forward for "team balance" reasons.
The frequency of players kicking 100 goals in a season has decreased in recent years. [1] According to modern great Leigh Matthews, due to contact penalties protecting intercepting defenders, modern tactics and an endurance style of play, the power forward or stay at home lead-up role of the 1980s and 1990s that was capable of kicking 100 goals a season is no longer a feature of the game at the elite level. [2] In the AFL Women's with 2 less players on the ground, provides additional space for more traditional full forward to lead into, however the reduced game duration and season lowers the overall number of goals they can kick. In Gaelic Football, goals don’t come too often with an average of 1 goal per game in a single match.
These are the more notable full-forwards who played in the AFL, SANFL, WAFL and TFL:
B: | Back pocket | Fullback | Back pocket |
HB: | Half-back flank | Centre half-back | Half-back flank |
C: | Wing | Centre | Wing |
HF: | Half-forward flank | Centre half-forward | Half-forward flank |
F: | Forward pocket | Full-forward | Forward pocket |
Foll: | Ruckman | Ruck rover | Rover |
Int: | Interchange | Interchange | Interchange |
Coach: | Coach |
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