Full-forward
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.
Notable full-forwards
[edit]Present key forwards
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- Charlie Curnow
- Ben Brown
- Jeremy Cameron
- Tom Hawkins
- Taylor Walker
- Charlie Dixon
- Ashleigh Saint
- Kate Hore
- Jesse Wardlaw
Past great full-forwards
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These are the more notable full-forwards who played in the AFL, SANFL, WAFL and TFL:
- Gary Ablett Sr.
- Malcolm Blight
- Bonny Campbell
- John Coleman
- Fred Cook
- Gordon Coventry
- Rick Davies
- George Doig
- Jason Dunstall
- Tim Evans
- Ken Farmer
- Brendan Fevola
- Lance Franklin
- Fraser Gehrig
- Barry Hall
- Scott Hodges
- Peter Hudson
- Josh Kennedy
- Dick Lee
- Matthew Lloyd
- Tony Lockett
- John Longmire
- Alastair Lynch
- Peter McKenna
- Jim "Frosty" Miller
- Tony Modra
- Bernie Naylor
- Matthew Pavlich
- Fred Phillis
- Bob Pratt
- Rino Pretto
- Alan Rait
- Matthew Richardson
- Michael Roach
- Austin Robertson, Jr.
- Jack Riewoldt
- Anthony Rocca
- Saverio Rocca
- Bruce Schultz
- Jamie Shaw
- Norm Smith
- Cora Staunton
- Peter Sumich
- Jack Titus
- Doug Wade
Field Positions
[edit]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 |
References
[edit]- ^ Lalor, Peter (25 August 2012). "Great full-forwards are born and will come again, says Hudson". The Australian.
- ^ Days of the great full-forward are over by Leigh Matthews for afl.com.au May 6, 2009