Matthew Lloyd has shown himself to be a remarkable goalkicker in his time as a senior footballer. Two bags of 100 goals and consecutive John Coleman Medals in the past two seasons are a testament to that. Full forwards are obviously there to help teams kick winning scores but from a personal point of view, the ton and the Coleman Medal measure your success. When Lloyd was injured in the Bombers’ Round 6 clash with Fremantle any hope of a third consecutive century went out the window. His seven weeks on the sidelines also dashed his Coleman Medal hopes .... or did it?

After six rounds Lloyd sat on top of the AFL goalkicking list with 21 goals to his name. But seven weeks on the sidelines has seen him drop to equal 21st. The problem for his opposition and the bonus for Lloyd is that the other key forwards haven’t really grabbed their opportunity to put a big gap between themselves and Lloyd. Barry Hall sits on top of the goalkicking list with 42 – Lloyd is just 16 behind him.

Make no mistake, Lloyd still has a very big job on his hands. The Coleman Medal is awarded to the player with the most goals at the completion of the home and away season so that leaves him just eight rounds to make up a lot of ground. Most had dismissed the idea of him winning the medal with many believing it would take him some time to return to his best. But his five-goal effort against the Bulldogs last weekend showed he is marking and kicking well.

Barry Hall has averaged three goals per game to this stage of the season and if he maintains that he will finish with 66. Lloyd has kicked just under four goals per game and if he maintains that for the remainder of the season he will wind up with 56. Lloyd will need to kick a couple of big bags if he is to reel in Big Barry but he is more than capable of doing that.

Of course there are a number of players between Hall and Lloyd also capable of winning the Coleman Medal but you would think that Hall – without the presence of Lockett – will be the man to catch. The Coleman Medal – unlike the past two seasons when Lloyds has dominated – will be very tight in season 2002. It has thrown up a huge challenge for Lloyd although it will be well and truly secondary to team performance in his mind. However, it might just inspire him to new heights and if it does the Bombers will be the major beneficiaries.