Who are the contenders for the Coleman Medal, and where are the goals going to come from?

For every player, in every team, the mechanical action of kicking a goal is the same. 

Boot meets ball. Ball goes between the big sticks.

But there are many different paths to get to that last kick. While every goal is worth the same, some are harder work than others.

There's only one individual AFL award based purely on statistical achievement: the Coleman Medal. While other awards are based on how well someone else thought a player did, the Coleman Medal only cares about one thing — goals.

Traditionally, the Coleman Medal was dominated by centrepiece forwards, but as footy has evolved, so have the faces at the top of the scoring race, with contenders from all categories now featuring.

So who might be in the running for the Coleman this year, and where will their goals come from?

Much of footy's rich lore focuses around the spearhead. From Coventry to Lockett, Hudson to Dunstall, the stay-at-home target has brought fans to the game and brought victories to teams.

Carlton's Harry McKay exemplified the concept of a spearhead more than any other player last year. McKay led Carlton from the front, winning the Coleman for a side that struggled to find other pathways to goal.

The calling card of the spearhead forward is the ability to snag marks in tough situations, especially inside the 50. No player was better at converting contested marks into goals than McKay last year, standing alone in scoring more than a goal per game from such opportunities.

McKay often beats out multiple opponents on the ground and in the air to take those marks. He uses his considerable size and natural speed to break through opponents, and times his leaps to take the ball above the fists of spoiling defenders. Manning McKay can be an exercise in futility.

Ev