List of Essendon Football Club leading goalkickers

The following list details all of the major goalkicking records relating specifically to Essendon Football Club, including season highs, career highs, and game highs for both the Australian Football League (formerly the Victorian Football League) and AFL Women's, as well as the club's pre-VFL/AFL records. The AFL's annual leading goalkicker award, the Coleman Medal, is named after Essendon's John Coleman. At the 2009 Essendon Best & Fairest awards night, outgoing CEO Peter Jackson announced that the Essendon leading goalkicker medal would be named the Matthew Lloyd Medal in honour of the recently retired Matthew Lloyd.^[1] This is sometimes referred to as the Matthew Lloyd Leading Goalkicker Award.^[2]

Leading goalkickers by season

The following is a list of Essendon leading goalkickers in each season.^[3]

Pre-VFA era

Season	Player(s)	Goals
1873	[data missing]
1874	James Robertson	4
1875	[data missing]
1876	W. Martin	5
	George Miller

VFA era

Season	Player(s)	Goals
1877	Bob Amess	3
1878	M. O'Meara	7
1879	Alf Goding	7
1880	Tom Bloomfield	7
1881	J. M. Carter	4
	A. Crow
1882	G. Cairns	13
1883	Wilfred Kent-Hughes	14
1884	H. C. Caldwell	13
1885	Phil McShane	18
1886	H. C. Caldwell (2)	11
1887	H. C. Caldwell (3)	11
1888	Alf Carter	9
	Finlay
1889	Alf Carter (2)	15
1890	Fergusson	14
1891	W. Christian	20
1892	Albert Thurgood	56
1893	Albert Thurgood (2)	63
1894	Albert Thurgood (3)	62
1895	Alec Hall	9
	Norman Waugh
1896	Norman Waugh (2)	29

VFL/AFL era

✪	Player won Coleman Medal (or equivalent)
†		Team played finals (which count for the tally)
Bold text indicates player currently plays in AFL or AFLW

Season	Player(s)	Goals
1897	Norman Waugh (3)	23†
1898	Charlie Moore	20†
1899	Arthur Cleghorn	15
1900	Albert Thurgood ✪ (4)	25†
1901	Fred Hiskins ✪	34†
1902	Albert Thurgood (5)	32†
1903	Mick Madden	15
1904	Mick Madden (2)	25†
1905	George Barker	29†
1906	Norman Yeo	31†
1907	Jim Martin	16
1908	David Smith	26†
1909	Paddy Shea	40†
1910	Bert Armstrong	30†
1911	Lou Armstrong	35†
1912	Jack Kirby	43†
1913	Jack Kirby (2)	29
1914	Ernie Lumsden	28
1915	Bill Walker	14
1916	Did not compete due to WWI	—
1917	Did not compete due to WWI	—
1918	Norm Hall	15
1919	Dave Walsh	15
1920	Frank McDonald	33
1921	Frank McDonald (2)	17
1922	Jack Moriarty	36†
1923	Greg Stockdale ✪	68†
1924	Tommy Jenkins	50†
1925	Tommy Jenkins (2)	37†
1926	Greg Stockdale (2)	36†
1927	Jack Vosti	35
1928	Greg Stockdale (3)	39
1929	Keith Forbes	40
	Len Johnson
1930	Keith Forbes (2)	54
1931	Ted Freyer	50
1932	Ted Freyer (2)	52
1933	Ted Freyer (3)	51
1934	Ted Freyer (4)	61
1935	Keith Forbes (3)	52
1936	Ted Freyer (5)	50
1937	Keith Forbes (4)	44
1938	Tom Reynolds	68
1939	Tom Reynolds (2)	71
1940	Ted Bryce	48†
1941	Tom Reynolds (3)	65†
1942	Tom Reynolds (4)	61†
1943	Dick Reynolds	31†
1944	Ray Powell	42†
1945	Bill Brittingham	48
1946	Bill Brittingham (2)	66†
1947	Ted Leehane	50†
1948	Bill Hutchison	52†
1949	John Coleman ✪	100†
1950	John Coleman ✪ (2)	120†
1951	John Coleman ✪ (3)	75†
1952	John Coleman ✪ (4)	103
1953	John Coleman ✪ (5)	97†
1954	John Coleman (6)	42
1955	Hugh Mitchell	51†
1956	Graham Willey	33
1957	Fred Gallagher	34†
1958	John Birt	31
1959	Ron Evans ✪	78†
1960	Ron Evans ✪ (2)	67†
1961	Hugh Mitchell (2)	33
1962	Charlie Payne	39†
1963	Charlie Payne (2)	36
1964	Hugh Mitchell (3)	32†
1965	Ted Fordham	54†
1966	Ted Fordham ✪ (2)	76†
1967	Alan Noonan	40
1968	Alan Noonan (2)	51†
1969	Alan Noonan (3)	43
1970	Geoff Blethyn	33
1971	Alan Noonan (4)	31
1972	Geoff Blethyn (2)	107†
1973	Alan Noonan (5)	63†
1974	Alan Noonan (6)	77
1975	Alan Noonan (7)	48
1976	Geoff Blethyn (2)	39
1977	Max Crow	38
1978	Wayne Primmer	47
1979	Terry Daniher	57†
1980	Simon Madden	45
1981	Tony Buhagiar	42†
1982	Simon Madden (2)	49†
1983	Terry Daniher (2)	64†
1984	Paul Salmon	63†
1985	Mark Harvey	48†
1986	Alan Ezard	47†
1987	Paul Salmon (2)	43
1988	Paul Salmon (3)	37
1989	Paul Salmon (4)	39†
1990	Paul Salmon (5)	43†
1991	Simon Madden (3)	42†
1992	Paul Salmon (6)	59
1993	Paul Salmon (7)	65†
1994	Scott Cummings	32
1995	James Hird	47†
1996	James Hird (2)	39†
1997	Matthew Lloyd	63
1998	Matthew Lloyd (2)	70†
1999	Matthew Lloyd (3)	87†
2000	Matthew Lloyd ✪ (4)	109†
2001	Matthew Lloyd ✪ (5)	105†
2002	Matthew Lloyd (6)	47†
2003	Matthew Lloyd ✪ (7)	93†
2004	Matthew Lloyd (8)	96†
2005	Matthew Lloyd (9)	59
2006	Scott Lucas	67
2007	Matthew Lloyd (10)	62
2008	Matthew Lloyd (11)	62
2009	Matthew Lloyd (12)	35†
2010	Angus Monfries	24
2011	Stewart Crameri	34†
2012	Stewart Crameri (2)	32
2013	Stewart Crameri (3)	30
2014	Joe Daniher	28†
2015	Joe Daniher (2)	34
2016	Joe Daniher (3)	43
2017	Joe Daniher (4)	65†
2018	Jake Stringer	30
2019	Jake Stringer (2)	33†
2020	Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti	19
2021	Jake Stringer (3)	41†
2022	Peter Wright	53
2023	Kyle Langford	51
2024	Kyle Langford (2)	43

Multiple leading goalkickers

Multiple leading goalkickers (5 minimum)
12	Matthew Lloyd
7	Alan Noonan
7	Paul Salmon
6	John Coleman
5	Ted Freyer

Leading career goalkickers for Essendon

Matthew Lloyd is the club's career leading goalkicker. In addition to being the club's leading goalkicker a record 12 times, Lloyd has 926 career goals, also a club record.

	Player	Games	Goals	Average	Seasons
1	Matthew Lloyd	270	926	3.43	1995–2009
2	Simon Madden	378	575	1.52	1974–1992
3	John Coleman	98	537	5.48	1949–1954
4	Paul Salmon	224	520	2.32	1983–2002
5	Bill Hutchison	290	496	1.71	1942–1957
6	Scott Lucas	270	471	1.74	1996–2009
7	Terry Daniher	294	447	1.52	1978–1992
8	Dick Reynolds	320	442	1.38	1933–1951
9	Alan Noonan	182	420	2.31	1966–1976
10	Keith Forbes	152	415	2.73	1928–1937
11	Ted Freyer	124	372	3	1929–1937
12	Tom Reynolds	109	361	3.31	1937–1944
13	James Hird	253	343	1.36	1992–2007
14	Tim Watson	307	335	1.09	1977–1994
15	Darren Bewick	238	332	1.39	1988–2000
16	John Birt	193	303	1.57	1957–1967
17	Hugh Mitchell	224	301	1.34	1953–1967
18	Paul Vander Haar	201	278	1.38	1977–1990
19	Gordon Lane	131	256	1.95	1940–1949
20	Mark Mercuri	207	242	1.17	1992–2004

Coleman, seen here taking a spectacular mark over North Melbourne's full-back Vic Lawrence in 1953,^[4] retired with a record average of 5.48 goals per game (subsequently only beaten by Hawthorn's Peter Hudson), and his 14 goals in a single game remains a club record.

Most goals in a game

Goals	Player	Opponent	Round	Year	Venue
14	John Coleman	Fitzroy	R7	1954	Windy Hill
13	Matthew Lloyd	Sydney	R3	1999	M.C.G.
13	John Coleman	Geelong	R8	1952	Brisbane Exhibition Ground
13	John Coleman	Hawthorn	R18	1952	Windy Hill
12	Fred Gallagher	Geelong	R8	1957	Windy Hill
12	John Coleman	Hawthorn	R1	1949	Windy Hill
12	Ted Freyer	Melbourne	R1	1935	M.C.G.
11	Matthew Lloyd	Western Bulldogs	R19	2003	Docklands
11	Paul Salmon	West Coast	R15	1987	W.A.C.A.
11	Paul Salmon	Richmond	R19	1986	VFL Park
11	Geoff Blethyn	Footscray	R12	1972	Windy Hill
11	John Coleman	South Melbourne	R2	1953	Lake Oval
11	John Coleman	South Melbourne	R2	1950	Windy Hill

AFL Women's

Leading goalkickers by season

Season	Player(s)	Goals
2022 (S7)	Daria Bannister	8
2023	Bonnie Toogood	16†
2024	Daria Bannister	10†

See also

• Coleman Medal
• VFL/AFL goalkicking records
• List of Essendon Football Club honours
• Essendon Football Club#Honours