John Coleman has been honoured again by being inducted into the AFL’s 200 CLUB. He played 98 games and coached 91 for Essendon so his state games were included and any acknowledgement of John Coleman is relevant.
A high leaping mark and dead eye dick at goal his average of 5.36 goals per match is second only to Peter Hudson.
There is never any doubt for anyone who saw him play and anyone who has read the biographies that Coleman was the best, but little is said about the era in which Coleman played.
The “out on the full” a rule which freed up the forward lines and made for a more open game of football was in first in use in the VFL golden era from 1925 to 1939 in which there five champion full forwards.
These were Gordon Coventry, Bob Pratt, Bill Mohr, Jack Titus and Ronn Todd. In 1940 it was revoked and finally and sensibly reinstated in 1969. Titus (100) 1940 and Hudson (125) 1968 were the only two other full forwards to kick 100 goals a season in the era without the “out on the full rule”.
There were other great full forwards in this era, Fred Fanning in the 40s and John Peck in the 60s were standouts. Also, there was Geelong player George Goninon who Essendon had to let go because Coleman kept him out of the side.
Coleman played from 1949-55 in this era of little protection for full forwards before a knee injury ended his career.
He kicked 100 goals a season three times and 97 in a year in which Essendon did not make the finals.
He would have kicked 100 goals in that 51 season if he had not been terribly ill going into the last game.
On debut he kicked 12 goals. No other player has reached double figures on debut.
He is also the only player to kick 100 goals in his debut season.
He played in an era where there were 18 or 19 home and away games a season.
Coleman’s seasons were cut short with injury, and in one of the most dramatic incidents in football history, suspension.
He was named full forward in the AFL /VFL Team of the Century and later premiership coach of Essendon.
When reading about any great full forward, it becomes apparent it’s these players who make the game great. Tactics like flooding only impinge the game from being a spectacle and leads to the public missing out on the best it’s superstars have to offer.
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