Full-forward

Last updated

Full-forward is a position in Australian rules football and Gaelic football with a key focus on kicking goals.

Contents

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.

Notable full-forwards

Present key forwards

All Stars full forward Taylor Walker kicks for goal from the 50 metre line during the State of Origin for Bushfire Relief Match. Taylor Walker (2) 28.02.20.jpg
All Stars full forward Taylor Walker kicks for goal from the 50 metre line during the State of Origin for Bushfire Relief Match.

Past great full-forwards

Lance Franklin, the dominant full-forward of the modern era, attempting a difficult kick for goal from outside the boundary beyond the 50 metre line. With more than 1,000 goals, he is 6th-highest all-time VFL/AFL goal kicker. Franklin prepares to kick for goal.jpg
Lance Franklin, the dominant full-forward of the modern era, attempting a difficult kick for goal from outside the boundary beyond the 50 metre line. With more than 1,000 goals, he is 6th-highest all-time VFL/AFL goal kicker.
Cora Staunton, one of the all-time great AFLW full forwards. Cora Staunton 03.02.18.jpg
Cora Staunton, one of the all-time great AFLW full forwards.

These are the more notable full-forwards who played in the AFL, SANFL, WAFL and TFL:

Field Positions

Positions on the Australian rules football field
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

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alastair Lynch</span> Australian rules footballer, born 1968

Alastair Graeme Lynch is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is best known as a three-time premiership full-forward for the Brisbane Lions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leigh Matthews</span> Australian rules footballer (born 1952)

Leigh Raymond Matthews is a former Australian rules footballer and coach. He played for Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and coached Collingwood and the Brisbane Lions in the VFL and renamed Australian Football League (AFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coleman Medal</span> Australian rules football award

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Brown (Australian footballer)</span> Australian rules footballer, born 1981

Jonathan Brown is a former Australian rules footballer and radio presenter. He is the former captain of the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Coleman (Australian footballer)</span> Australian rules footballer (1928–1973)

John Douglas Coleman was an Australian rules footballer who played for and coached the Essendon Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

The 2003 AFL season was the 107th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level of senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featured sixteen clubs, ran from 28 March until 27 September, and comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top eight clubs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Riewoldt</span> Australian rules footballer (born 1982)

Nicholas Fredrick Riewoldt is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was the first draft selection in the 2000 AFL draft. He was the captain of St Kilda in 2005 and from 2007 to 2016. Riewoldt is a five-time All-Australian. He holds the all-time record for most marks in VFL/AFL history, surpassing Gary Dempsey in late 2017.

Peter John HudsonAM is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and for the New Norfolk Football Club and Glenorchy Football Club in the Tasmanian Australian National Football League (TANFL).

Scott Cummings is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Essendon, Port Adelaide, the West Coast Eagles, and Collingwood in the Australian Football League.

Jason Hadfield Dunstall is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sav Rocca</span> Australian sportsman (born 1973)

Saverio Giovanni Rocca is an Australian former professional sportsman. He played Australian rules football for Collingwood and the Kangaroos in the Australian Football League (AFL), and then switched to playing American football as a punter for the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins in the National Football League (NFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruck (Australian rules football)</span> Playing position in Australian rules football

In Australian rules football, the ruck is the name given to both the contests for the ball initiated by a field umpire to commence play, and to the players' specialist position who nominate to contest them. The ruck occurs at centre bounces and stoppages when the umpire sends the into the air during a Ball-up or a boundary throw-in. According to the Laws of Australian Football only a nominated ruck may contest the ruck. The rucks are among the most important players on the field as they are the first to set up play for their team. As reach is instrumental to winning ruck contests, height, arm span, vertical leap and endurance are huge physical advantages so the rucks are usually the tallest on each team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian rules football positions</span>

In the sport of Australian rules football, each of the eighteen players in a team is assigned to a particular named position on the field of play. These positions describe both the player's main role and by implication their location on the ground. As the game has evolved, tactics and team formations have changed, and the names of the positions and the duties involved have evolved too. There are 18 positions in Australian rules football, not including four interchange players who may replace another player on the ground at any time during play.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VFL/AFL goalkicking records</span>

This page is a collection of VFL/AFL goalkicking records. The Australian Football League (AFL), known as the Victorian Football League (VFL) until 1990, is the elite national competition in men's Australian rules football. This list only includes home-and-away matches and finals; representative games, pre-season and night series games are excluded from the totals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lance Franklin</span> Australian rules footballer (born 1987)

Lance Franklin, also known as Buddy Franklin, is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League (AFL). He played for the Hawthorn Football Club from 2005 to 2013 and the Sydney Swans from 2014 to 2023. Regarded as the greatest forward of his generation and among the greatest players of all time, Franklin kicked 1,066 goals, the fourth-most in VFL/AFL history; he was his club's leading goalkicker on 13 occasions and kicked at least 50 goals in a season 13 times. Franklin was selected in the All-Australian team on eight occasions, including as captain in the 2018 team, and won four Coleman Medals throughout his career, with his biggest haul coming in 2008 with Hawthorn, when he kicked 113 goals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Riewoldt</span> Australian rules footballer (born 1988)

Jack Riewoldt is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is a three-time premiership player, a three-time Coleman Medallist, a three-time All-Australian, an 12-time Richmond club leading goalkicker, a two-time Jack Dyer Medallist and a Tasmanian Football Hall of Famer. He served as Richmond's vice captain during all three premiership seasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2003 AFL Grand Final</span> Grand final of the 2003 Australian Football League season

The 2003 AFL Grand final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Brisbane Lions and the Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 27 September 2003. It was the 107th annual grand final of the Australian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 2003 AFL season. The match, attended by 79,451 spectators, was won by Brisbane by a margin of 50 points, marking the club's third premiership victory, all won consecutively from 2001 to 2003.

The 1977 VFL season was the 81st season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 2 April until 1 October, and comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top five clubs.

The 2008 AFL season was the 112th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featured sixteen clubs, ran from 20 March until 27 September, and comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top eight clubs. A significant feature of the season was the celebration of the 150th anniversary since the sport of Australian rules football was first established in 1858.

Edwin Ernest 'Eddy' James was an Australian rules footballer who played for Geelong in the years before and following the formation of the VFL.

References

  1. Lalor, Peter (25 August 2012). "Great full-forwards are born and will come again, says Hudson". The Australian.
  2. Days of the great full-forward are over by Leigh Matthews for afl.com.au May 6, 2009