The forward line is the glamour position in Australian football, home to the game's most famous and loved players.
The key forward often grabs the headlines with match-winning hauls and highlight-reel moments, providing the finishing touch that turns dominance into scoreboard pressure.
These five superstars epitomise that and will look to spearhead their respective club's attacks again in 2026.
So, who are the favourites to claim the leading goalkicker title this year? And more importantly, could any of them break the elusive 100-goal barrier?
Honourable mentions: Aaron Cadman, Logan Morris, Mitch Georgiades, Nick Larkey, Riley Thilthorpe
Charlie Curnow
In a new state, new city and new colours, there's plenty of pressure on Charlie Curnow to deliver on his proven superstar standards for the Swans.
The media buzz he desires to avoid may dissipate after the highly anticipated Opening Round clash against Carlton but there will be pressure for him to return to the Coleman Medal heights of 2022 and 2023, the latter of which guided the Blues to a preliminary final appearance.
But Swans fans should be confident that will happen. The delivery from the likes of Errol Gulden, Isaac Heeney and Chad Warner is a game changer - particularly Warner, who had one of the better retention rates for inside 50 entries last season.
Fully healthy and motivated with a change of scenery, Curnow will be firmly in the Coleman Medal conversation again in 2026.
Ben King
Ben King's breakout campaign finally arrived in 2025. The key forward kicked 71 goals for the year, and largely stayed at home inside 50, playing a particular role that Damien Hardwick carved out for him as he established himself as the key pillar in Gold Coast's attack.
King will be surrounded with greater forward support in 2026, assuming the development of talls Jed Walter and Ethan Read continue and Jamarra Ugle-Hagan demonstrates the professionalism required to make it in the AFL.
However, that likely won't limit King's ability to hit the scoreboard at an elite rate or change his number of opportunities in front of the sticks. King went at an incredible accuracy rate in 2025, kicking majors 65.7 per cent of the time. That's the third-best shot accuracy this decade among players averaging at least four shots at goal per game and indicates his Coleman Medal potential.
Sam Darcy
If not for a knee injury that disrupted the middle part of his year, Darcy was on pace to kick 70 goals in 2025, highlighting just how close he is to making the AFL his world.
The physical gifts that Darcy possesses make him an almost impossible task for defenders, with the combination of his size, strength and surprising mobility enabling him to dominate aerially but also at the drop of the ball. Among key forwards, Darcy has the second-best win rate of offensive one-on-one contests, claiming victory in 40.4 per cent of his 3.4 per game.
Similarly to King, Darcy has an impressive shot accuracy of 63 per cent. If he can remain fully fit in 2026 and bolster his shots at goal to the levels of a Jeremy Cameron or Jack Gunston, he could very easily take home this award - and potentially become the first Bulldog to eclipse 80 goals in a single season since the great Simon Beasley accomplished the feat in 1988.
Jesse Hogan
Injuries disrupted what could have been a dominant 2025 for Hogan, yet he still demonstrated his force inside 50 in his 16 senior appearances, averaging 2.9 goals per game.
That would put him on pace for 67 goals across a 23-game home-and-away season, or the third-highest tally in the AFL last year.
The 31-year-old's aerial ability, forward craft and goalkicking accuracy have made him one of the most revered key forwards in the competition. The Giants need Hogan at his best if they are to contend for a premiership, and considering the addition of Clayton Oliver into the midfield mix, the Giants' delivery inside 50 to their star spearhead is only going to get better.
Jeremy Cameron
After the season 'Jezza' just had, it's impossible not to pick him as the favourite to claim the 2026 Coleman Medal.
His haul of 88 majors from 26 games, including an 11-goal bag against North Melbourne, are the most in a single season since Brendan Fevola's 86 goals in 2009. Helped by a dynamic and young Cats forward line that will only get better in 2026, Cameron was able to escape lockdown defenders and punish the scoreboard with his running up the ground.
