The 2025 AFL season is upon us. In an eventful pre-season, footy fans have already been treated to a number of dazzling goals from the league's best, setting the tone for what might be one of the more prolific goalkicking seasons in recent memory.
It was Jesse Hogan who led the way in 2024, winning the Coleman Medal comfortably with 69 snags to his name in the home and away season. The question now is: Can he do it again? If not, who will?
We've picked out the seven favourite candidates for the 2025 Coleman Medal.
Hogan's 10th AFL season was his best yet and he seems primed to dominate again in 2025.
His 3.08 goals per game bolstered GWS into the top four last season, with his brutal strength often being far too much to overcome for defenders as he led the way with a 50% win rate in one-on-one situations and 96 total set shots, 16 more than any other forward.
With the addition of forward line target Jake Stringer, Hogan may have more space to roam inside 50 and potentially less defensive attention as GWS galvanise their front six.
Despite being thumped by Carlton, Hogan still starred as one of GWS' best with three goals to his name and six marks. It is early days, but Hogan's form doesn't appear to have slowed by any rate - in fact, he might look even better.
The Giants have been tipped to be in the finals hunt again in 2025 and that march toward September will become a lot easier if Hogan is able to play at his best. So far, it appears we may get exactly that.
If Cameron can remain consistent in 2025, this award could very easily be his.
Touted as one of the few remaining players who could kick 100 goals in a season, Cameron's ability to produce highlight-reel plays from all over the ground makes him a frightening threat to any opposition.
Geelong played Cameron in some bizarre roles last season, including on the wing during Patrick Dangerfield's absence, as he moved further up the ground than ever in his career. It slightly halted his production on the scoreboard, particularly between rounds 8-11 where he kicked just three goals. Yet despite his unique and ever-changing role, 'Jezza' managed to finish the year with 58 goals to his name.
With a plethora of off-season additions, it is unlikely Cameron will be required to be around the contest as much as he was last season and can go back to his goal-hunting ways.
He produced two ridiculous efforts to score against Essendon in the Cats' pre-season tilt, highlighting what he can still impact for Geelong as they look to recapture the brilliance of the 2022 Premiership.
The West Coast Eagles forwards make up one of the club's few bright spots at the moment. The Eagles were poor last season, yet in spite of this fact, Jake Waterman absolutely dominated for them, kicking 53 goals in his breakout season.
Oscar Allen was the Eagles' star up front in 2023, kicking 53 goals, but after he suffered an early season injury in 2024, someone had to step up... and Waterman jumped at the opportunity.
He showed his strengths with a captivating six-goal display against Richmond in Round 5 and then followed it up with a five-goal derby bonanza the following week as the Eagles upset their cross-town rivals in one of just five wins for the season.
This was only the beginning of Waterman's rise as one of the league's premier forwards, kicking at least three goals on seven more occasions.
Waterman never went goalless in 2024 and you'd have to back him in to continue that form in 2025. His 4.1 performance from six kicks in the Eagles' win over North Melbourne demonstrates that to a tee. Whether he claims the Coleman or not in 2025, he's something Eagles fans can be incredibly excited about.
The Bulldogs' nightmare pre-season injury toll thankfully does not include prized father-son pick Sam Darcy, who might take the biggest leap in scoring out of anyone on this list.
With a more consistent run in the senior squad last season, Darcy kicked a goal in 20 of his 21 AFL games, reaching a pinnacle of seven goals against North Melbourne in Round 23.
Darcy's physical tools give him a significant advantage over his opponents, most notably his near seven-foot stature, and with several years of AFL conditioning under his belt now, he is looking as comfortable as ever on the big stage.
In the Bulldogs' pre-season fixtures, Darcy has impressed massively, kicking 3.2 against Hawthorn from seven marks, signifying the clear momentum he's been building out of the 2024 season.
If his efficiency in front of the sticks can improve to a level we've seen out of Coleman winners in the past, it's not unfair to suggest Darcy can be the young gun to push for the title down the stretch of the home and away season.
Despite an early setback via a minor knee injury, a Coleman list would be invalid without Curnow.
The Blues spearhead will be out for redemption following a subpar year for his standards, kicking 57 goals with a below-average shot accuracy of 53%. It was a pretty significant drop from his 81 goals in 2023 but all signs point to a big year in 2025.
What likely hurt the big man in 2024 was Carlton's injury crisis in the back end of their year, where nearly 40% of their playing list was deemed unfit to play. With a depleted squad, the quality of Curnow's opportunities decreased also. He averaged just two goals per game after Round 15 compared to 3.07 in the 14 games beforehand.
Carlton have caught some of the injury bug impacting most of the AFL this pre-season, but are certainly healthier than they were at the end of 2024.
Their domination of GWS in the Community Series highlighted their hunger to redeem themselves after 2024's late season collapse. Undoubtedly will Curnow play a part in that once he returns in Round 2 so it's not unreasonable to expect another monster year from the Blues' fan favourite.
North Melbourne are gearing up to finally take a leap in 2025, but if that's actually going to eventuate, Nick Larkey will need to deliver on a weekly basis.
Larkey's goalkicking suffered in 2024 with fewer opportunities firing his way, which resulted in a 25-goal decrease from his exceptional 2023. Luckily, the Kangaroos' off-season additions provide a clear pathway for Larkey's return to success, particularly with the addition of Jack Darling.
Darling impressed in his debut in the Roos kit in match simulation against Melbourne, working well to create space alongside Larkey inside 50, which resulted in a three-goal outing for Larkey. A similar presence was seen in the pre-season practice match against West Coast over the weekend with Larkey and Darling both carving out several goal-scoring opportunities.
What should excite North fans most is that Larkey has proven to be one of the more accurate kicks in the competition, his 67.6% shot accuracy ranking second amongst players to kick at least 30 goals last season. This was only a small fall from his 71% accuracy in 2023.
Pairing that with more goal-scoring opportunities coming out of a young and rampant midfield, plus being surrounded with an increasingly dynamic forward line, Larkey's search for a return to that insane 71-goal 2023 season is bound to occur.
One of the more underrated forwards out there and perhaps the biggest smokey for the Coleman Medal is Fremantle's Josh Treacy.
Amongst the goal-scoring leaders last season, Treacy ranked lowly for shots and set shots, but his ability to put together an elite 45-goal campaign stemmed from his accuracy when he got his opportunities.
Treacy's unerring 71.4% goalkicking accuracy is the most accurate in the league over the past five seasons amongst players to kick at least 30 goals, and while that may not be sustainable for another year, his two goals with 70% time on ground in the Dockers hitout against Melbourne on Sunday suggests he has plenty more to give.
Perhaps Treacy will lose some opportunities with an already star-studded forward line that got even better with the addition of Shai Bolton over the off-season. But Treacy may be the guy that flies under the radar in this Fremantle forward line and, in turn, could surprise everyone with another stellar goalkicking campaign.