In a weekly series leading up to round one, AFL.com.au writers will debate the best moments, players and teams since the turn of the century. From the pick of the Brownlow and Norm Smith medallists to the finest wooden-spooners, non-finalists and premiership teams, a rotating panel will turn their minds to footy's big moments since 2000.
This week, Michael Whiting, Ben Guthrie, Ben Collins and Dinny Navaratnam turn their minds to the question of the greatest Coleman medallist this century has seen. While the days of several players kicking the ton in a season look long gone, the game has still seen its share of champion full-forwards. Essendon champ Matthew Lloyd, St Kilda maverick Fraser Gehrig and Hawthorn star Lance Franklin have all kicked more than 100 goals in a season, while Carlton's Brendan Fevola went agonisingly close.
Lance Franklin, 2008
Some of the game's great forwards have won the Coleman Medal since 2000 (Matthew Lloyd and Jonathan Brown among them), but there can be only one winner here – Buddy. The Hawthorn spearhead kicked 113 goals for the season and led his team to an unlikely premiership triumph over Geelong, despite playing as a decoy in the decider. Nine times that season Franklin kicked bags of six goals or more. He was virtually unstoppable. Undoubtedly the enduring memory from his historic season is bringing up the century in a round 22 shootout with Brendan Fevola's Carlton, and watching the packed Etihad Stadium crowd rush the field to celebrate. While others (Lloyd in 2000, 2001 and Fraser Gehrig in 2004) have notched 100 goals in a season including finals, Buddy is the only man to do so in the home-and-away season, thus making him an easy choice here. - Michael Whiting
Matthew Lloyd, 2000 and 2001
A fine effort from Buddy, but the stats speak for themselves. Matthew Lloyd is the only player since 2000 to kick 100 goals in consecutive seasons and therefore deserves his standing as the Coleman king. As a 10-year-old, I was lucky enough to be sitting in the MCG stands when the star Bomber brought up his ton against North Melbourne in the 2000 qualifying final. The milestone was reached in fine style too, with Lloyd kicking seven goals to power the eventual premiers to a 127-point shellacking of North Melbourne. Quick off the mark, he was almost unstoppable when he got his sticky mitts to the footy on the lead and a joy to watch for any Essendon supporter. Lloyd's accuracy, he booted 109.60 in 2000 and 105.36 in 2001, was phenomenal and his famous grass-throwing routine made him one of the most recognisable players in the game. In 2000 at just 22, Lloyd booted seven or more goals five times to stamp himself as an instant star and led to him becoming one of the greatest goalkickers of all time. – Ben Guthrie
Fraser Gehrig, 2004
Impossible to go past Franklin and Lloyd, and a standout for No. 3 is yet another left-footer who boasted the next-best goal tally (90 in 20 minor rounds, and 103 in total) and certainly the best nicknames. The 'G-Train', also known as the 'Carpet Snake', was a cult figure whose brooding demeanour resembled that of a WWE villain – an intimidating proposition for most fullbacks. The Wodonga product, who started his AFL career with West Coast, took his game to new heights when he was swung from defence to full-forward, and in 2004 his rare combination of speed, strength and one-on-one marking prowess made him a superstar. With hauls of 10, nine and eight goals, Gehrig was one of the keys behind the club's rise under Grant Thomas. However, his century couldn't have come at a worse time – the Saints were all over a shaky Port Adelaide early in the preliminary final at Football Park but the resultant ground invasion (which included tagger Steve Baker's father!) upset the Saints' momentum and they suffered an agonising six-point defeat. – Ben Collins
Brendan Fevola, 2009
Supporting Carlton during the noughties was hard work. The club was crippled by salary cap penalties and there was barely a reason to watch the Blues play. Save for one man: Brendan Fevola. The team's fortunes heavily depended on how the full-forward played, but there was debate about whether Carlton could be a good team while it relied so heavily on one man to kick its goals. However, in 2009, 'Fev' booted 86 goals as the Blues made the finals for the first time in eight years. Despite many other teams trying to have multi-pronged forward lines, Carlton showed it was dangerous with Fevola shouldering a significant burden as the club finished the home and away season ranked third for points scored. – Dinny Navaratnam
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