VFA-VFL LEADING GOALKICKERS

VFA LEADING GOALKICKERS (1877-1888)

Thoughout this era the clubs rather than the VFA were responsible for fixturing their respective premiership matches. The season officially ran from May to October each year and it was common for VFA clubs to depart on regional and intercolonial tours during the season with most of these matches counting towards the premiership. Thus, the leading goalkicker's tally included all matches rather than only those against VFA opponents.

It was not until 1888 that the VFA finally introduced an official ladder, with only matches against other VFA clubs counting towards the premiership. The Association also introduced a rule that season that clubs needed to play at least eighteen senior matches to be eligible for the premiership. This rule left the Ballarat clubs short of the required number of games and by season's end they departed the VFA.

Note that for the tables below I have adopted Mark Pennings' model to determine the leading goalkicker of each season:

1877-84 - goals against all opponents are included
1885-88 - only goals in matches between the senior VFA clubs (including those from Ballarat) are included

Figures shown in red indicate potential discrepancies that are still being researched.

YEAR	LEADING GOALKICKER (ALL matches)		SENIOR	OTHER	ALL	MOST GOALS IN SENIOR MATCHES
1877	Charles Baker	Melbourne	8	6	14	(8) Baker
1878	George Coulthard	Carlton	10	8	18	(10) Coulthard
1879	George Coulthard	Carlton	13	8	21	(13) Coulthard
1880	George Coulthard*	Carlton	6	15	21	(9) *Eddy Brookes (Carlton) - 18 in all games
1881	Eddy Brookes*	Carlton	4	16	20	(11) *R.Morrison (Geel) & W. Stiffe (Melb) - 15 & 14 in all
1882	Hugh McLean*	Geelong	15	10	25	(17) *Don Curdie (Geelong) - 21 in all games
1883	Phil 'Paddy' McShane	Geelong	14	10	24	(14) McShane
1884	Phil 'Paddy' McShane	Geelong	14	19	33	(14) McShane
1885	R. 'Dick' Houston	Hotham (NM)	22	13	35	(22) Houston
1886	Phil 'Paddy' McShane	Geelong	36	15	51	(36) McShane
1887	Tom McShane*	Geelong	22	2	24	(22) *McShane & Will Morton (Port Melb) - 24 & 23 in all
1888	Dennis 'Dinny' McKay*	South Melbourne	25	25	50	(31) *William 'Billy' Brown (Richmond) - 39 in all

 

There are a large number of errors for this era in the various tables that have appeared online at Wikipedia, FullPointsFooty, etc.
These errors can be traced back to two or three published sources:

1877
Some sources have G. Baker rather than C. Baker as leading goalkicker. This stems from a typo on the FullPointsFooty website.

1878
Many sources have Coulthard and Geelong's Arthur Christey ("Christie") leading on 15-goals apiece. This error first appeared in The Australasian (12-10-1878) and was later reprinted in the 3AW 1989 Book of Footy Records [referred to from here-on as 3AW-89] which led to it becoming widely adopted across online sources. The table in the 1878 edition of The Footballer annual has their correct totals of Coulthard 18 and Christey 15.
(NOTE - Christey actually scored no goals against senior opponents with all his goals scored against regional and junior teams).

1879
Many sources have Coulthard's total as 19. This error has spread across most sources online and has been traced back to the 1982 footy statistics book Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Australian Football (But Couldn't Be Bothered Asking) [referred to from here-on as EYEWTN]. 
The Australasian (11-10-1879), The Footballer 1879 annual and Pennings all have Coulthard's correct total of 21. 

1880
All sources correctly list Coulthard on 21 goals but EYEWTN and 3AW-89 have him second behind Geelong's Percy Douglass with "33 including interstate and tour matches" (Douglass actually only kicked 11 for the season - 7 against senior opponents and 4 against junior/country opponents).

1881
EYEWTN and 3AW-89 have Brookes on 25 goals which has spread to online. The Australasian (15-10-1881) and Pennings have his correct total (20).

1882
EYEWTN and 3AW-89 have McLean on 29 goals which has spread to online. The Australasian (7-10-1882) and Pennings have his correct total (25).

1883
EYEWTN and 3AW-89 have Paddy McShane on 29 goals which has spread to online. Marc Fiddian's VFA History Book: The VFA also has 29 goals but lists Tom McShane (Paddy's brother) as the leading goalkicker (p.198). The Australasian and The Leader (6-10-1883) have 25 goals. Pennings has the correct total of 24.  

1884
All sources other than The Australasian (4-10-1884) and The VFA have the correct info: Paddy McShane with 33 goals. The Australasian credits the 33 goals to his Geelong teammate, Dave Hickinbotham. The VFA again confuses Paddy with his brother Tom and also has him kicking 34 goals.

1885
EYEWTN and 3AW-89 have G. Houston instead of D. Houston kicking 38 goals which has spread to online. The Australasian (3-10-1885) and Pennings have Richard 'Dick' Houston and the correct total of 35 goals.

1886
All sources finally reach consensus, correctly listing Paddy McShane with 51 goals. Note that a footy history article published many years later in The Argus (23-6-1934, p.23) incorrectly credits McShane with 59 goals.

1887
Pennings has Tom McShane on 36 total (26 in senior matches). EYEWTN & 3AW-89 etc all have 36 total. The VFA (p.198) incorrectly has 37 total. The Australasian (1-10-1887) has him on 26 in senior matches. The Leader (1-10-1887) has McShane on 22 senior goals with Port Melbourne's Morton on 24. By my reckoning McShane's 26 senior goals could only be correct if 2 goals in the April 30th South Ballarat match were included, but matches before May 1st were not official so this cannot be correct. Research on this season is continuing....

1888
All sources except The VFA (51 goals) have McKay on 50 total goals for the season.

VFA LEADING GOALKICKERS (1889-1896)

With matches against the Ballarat clubs no longer included in premiership calculations, the leading goalkicker during this era was based on performances against VFA senior clubs only.

YEAR	LEADING GOALKICKER (SENIOR matches)		SENIOR	OTHER	ALL
1889	Edgar Barrett	South Melbourne	29	11	40
1890	Jim Grace	Fitzroy	37	7	44
1891	Jim Grace	Fitzroy	49	14	63
1892	Albert Thurgood	Essendon	56	3	59
1893	Albert Thurgood	Essendon	63	11	74
1894	Albert Thurgood	Essendon	63	9	72
1895	Dave De Coit	Geelong	42	1	43
1896	Norman Waugh	Essendon	29	1	30

 

1889
According to Wikipedia it was Australian test cricketer John Edward "Jack" Barrett" who had a stunning debut season for South Melbourne in 1889. This can be attributed directly to EYEWTN and 3AW-89 listing the leading goalkicker as "J.E. Barrett". This has also spread to other online sources as well. The VFA correctly names him as Edgar and notes that he was actually Jack's younger brother,  but incorrectly lists his total senior goals for that year as 27 instead of 29).

Note that during his debut season, Barrett kicked the then-unimaginable total of 11 goals in a single game (against Richmond).

1890-96 - notes to follow...

VFA LEADING GOALKICKERS (1897-1915)

The VFA's strongest teams broke away to form the VFL, leading to the emergence of new Association stars such as Lou Daly, Bert Ryan and Jack Hutchinson.

YEAR	LEADING GOALKICKER (SEASON)		H&A	FINALS	SEASON
1897	Lou Daly	Port Melbourne	41	n/a	41
1898	Joe Sullivan*	Port Melbourne	22	4*	26
1899	Lou Daly	Footscray	39	n/a	39
1900	Lou Daly	Footscray	32	n/a	32
1901	Jack Hutchison*	Port Melbourne	26	n/a	26
1902	Jack Hutchison	Port Melbourne	46	n/a	46
1903	Albert 'Bert' Ryan*	West Melbourne	43	1	44
	Charles 'Bones' Clements	Brunswick	43	-	43
1904	Albert 'Bert' Ryan	West Melbourne	43	-	43
1905	Len Mortimer	Williamstown	46	0	46
1906	Jack Hutchison	Richmond	53	3	56
1907	Jack Hutchison	Richmond	66	1	67
1908	Jack Hutchison	Footscray	64	4	68
1909	Henry Chase*	Brunswick	33	6	39
	Syd Sykes	Prahran	33	2	35
1910	Frank Caine	North Melbourne	70	5	75
1911	Dave McNamara	Essendon 'A'	71	10	81
1912	Dave McNamara	Essendon 'A'	93	14	107
1913	Tom Clarke	Essendon 'A'	53	5	58
1914	Tom Clarke	Essendon 'A'	42	4	46
1915	Bob Merrick	Port Melbourne	43	-	43
1916-17	The VFA competition went into recess due to World War I

 

1901
After four dominant seasons (VFA leading goalkicker three times, and second in the other year), Daly played for West Perth in 1901 and won the WAFL goalkicking with 36 goals.

1903
EYEWTN has Jack Hutchinson (Richmond) as the sole leading goalkicker with 44 for the season. 3AW-89 then lists him as the joint-leading goalkicker with West Melbourne's Bert Ryan and it is the latter version which was embraced by various online sources.

In reality, Hutchinson only played the 1903 pre-season. There is no record of him taking the field during the premiership season. He was either injured or, more likely, forced to endure the early-1900s version of free-agency... sitting out of football for a year when the club he was contracted to (Port Melbourne) refused to clear him to his desired club (Richmond).

Ryan finished the home and away rounds tied on 43 goals with Brunswick's Charles "Bones" Clements, before taking the season lead with a single goal in the finals.

1904
EYEWTN and 3AW-89 have Hutchinson and Ryan tying again, this time on 51 goals. Again, this has spread to a number of online sources.
In reality Ryan finished on 43 goals, three ahead of Hutchinson on 40 (after finals).

VFA LEADING GOALKICKERS (1918-1937)

YEAR	LEADING GOALKICKER (SEASON)		H&A	FINALS	SEASON
1918	Tom Stevens	North Melbourne	43	11	54
1919	Harry Morgan	Footscray	64	8	72
1920	George Taylor	Port Melbourne	71	2	73
1921	George Taylor	Port Melbourne	74	3	77
1922	George Taylor	Port Melbourne	79	14	93
1923	George Taylor*	Port Melbourne	58	7	65
	Fred Carpenter	Williamstown	61	2	63
1924	George Gough	Northcote	80	1	81
1925	Leo McInerney	Brunswick	75	4	79
1926	Jim Walsh	Brighton	81	10	91
1927	Paddy Gardiner	Coburg	82	13	95
1928	Frank Plant	Coburg	71	7	78
1929	Leo McInerney	Brunswick	80	4	84
1930	Frank Seymour	Northcote	102	8	110
1931	Don Fraser snr	Oakleigh	77	6	83
1932	Frank Seymour	Northcote	109	13	122
1933	William 'Billy' Luff	Camberwell	106	-	106
1934	Frank Seymour	Northcote	122	8	130
1935	William 'Billy' Luff	Camberwell	64	11	75
1936	Lance Collins	Coburg	116	-	116
1937	Geoff McInnes	Brunswick	77	8	85

 

VFA LEADING GOALKICKERS (1938-1960)

The adoption of the "throw-pass" by the VFA in 1938 led to more free-flowing football and phenomenally high goalkicking totals during seasons 1939-45.

YEAR	LEADING GOALKICKER (SEASON)		H&A	FINALS	SEASON
1938	Edward 'Ted' Freyer	Port Melbourne	86	-	86
1939	George Hawkins	Prahran	150	14	164
1940	Edward 'Ted' Freyer	Port Melbourne	133	24	157
1941	Bob Pratt	Coburg	165	18	183
1942-44	The VFA competition went into recess due to World War II
1945	Ron Todd	Williamstown	179	9	188
1946	Ron Todd	Williamstown	114	0	114
1947	Bill Findlay*	Port Melbourne	100	7	107
	Jack Douglas	Brighton	100	-	100
1948	Ray Potter	Preston	84	-	84
1949	Keith Warburton	Brighton	90	11	101
1950	Bruce Harper	Sandringham	71	-	71
	Johnny Walker	Williamstown	66	5
1951	Bruce Harper	Sandringham	101	3	104
1952	Johnny Walker	Williamstown	103	-	103
1953	Johnny Walker	Williamstown	98	1	99
1954	Peter Schofield	Moorabbin	95	1	96
1955	Alby Linton*	Williamstown	73	11	84
	Jim Hewes	Coburg	83	-	83
	Peter Schofield	Moorabbin	80	3	83
1956	Bob Bonnett	Port Melbourne	88	7	95
1957	Bob Bonnett	Port Melbourne	88	9	97
1958	Bob Bonnett	Port Melbourne	76	8	84
1959	Denis Oakley	Sandringham	113	6	119
1960	Denis Oakley	Sandringham	89	1	90

 

VFA LEADING GOALKICKERS (1961-1988)

YEAR	VFA LEADING GOALKICKER (Div.1)		H&A	FINALS	SEASON
1961	Bob Bonnett	Port Melbourne	111	-	111
1962	Bill Bryan	Sandringham	73	6	79
1963	Bob Bonnett	Port Melbourne	44	-	44
1964	Alan Cook	Brunswick	65	-	65
1965	Denis Oakley	Sandringham	77	1	78
1966	Johnny Walker	Preston	78	6	84
1967	Johnny Walker	Preston	80	3	83
1968	Jim 'Frosty' Miller*	Dandenong	72	4	76
1969	Jim 'Frosty' Miller	Dandenong	91	15	106
1970	Jim 'Frosty' Miller	Dandenong	80	-	80
1971	Jim 'Frosty' Miller*	Dandenong	84	15	99
	Bob Johnson	Oakleigh	87	4	91
1972	Len Clark	Preston	100	7	107
1973	Jim 'Frosty' Miller*	Dandenong	94	14	108
	Ian Cooper	Sandringham	104	-	104
	Graeme McLean	Geelong West	99	-	99
1974	Jim 'Frosty' Miller	Dandenong	74	5	79
1975	Joe Radojevic	Geelong West	110	9	119
1976	Fred Cook	Port Melbourne	115	9	124
1977	Fred Cook	Port Melbourne	107	18	125
1978	Fred Cook	Port Melbourne	103	12	115
1979	Kim Smith*	Prahran	94	3	97
	Joe Radojevic*	Geelong West	81	16
	Renato Serafini	Prahran	95	-	95
1980	Fred Cook	Port Melbourne	101	11	112
1981	Rex Hunt	Sandringham	95	15	110
1982	Fred Cook	Port Melbourne	127	13	140
1983	Mark Fotheringham	Williamstown	108	-	108
1984	Mark Fotheringham	Williamstown	114	-	114
1985	Ian Morrison	Sandringham	105	3	108
1986	Jamie Shaw	Preston	135	10	145
1987	Brett Weatherald	Coburg	73	-	73
1988	Jamie Shaw	Preston	99	6	105
YEAR	VFA LEADING GOALKICKER		H&A	FINALS	SEASON
1989	Ian Rickman*	Williamstown	104	21	125
1990	Jamie Shaw*	Preston	93	10	103
	Rino Pretto	Oakleigh	98	-	98
1991	Rohan Welsh*	Dandenong	69	15	84
	Frank Rugolo	Sandringham	78	-	78
1992	Ian Rickman*	Williamstown	73	9	82
	Frank Rugolo	Sandringham	73	6	79
	Jamie Shaw	Preston	73	-	73
1993	Joskun 'Jack' Aziz*	Werribee	83	14	97
	Rino Pretto	Dandenong	86	-	86
1994	Rino Pretto	Dandenong	86	1	87
1995	Danny Sexton*	Port Melbourne	48	16	64
	Steve Amiet	Sandringham	50	11	61
	Dominic Berry	Port Melbourne	54	1	55
YEAR	VFL LEADING GOALKICKER		H&A	FINALS	SEASON
1996	Joskun 'Jack' Aziz	Werribee	67	7	74
1997	Shayne Smith	Springvale	89	17	106
1998	Shayne Smith	Springvale	70	8	78

 

1962 - B. Ryan is listed as leading goalkicker in some sources. Match reports in the Football Recorder and The Age confirm his name was actually Bill Bryan (B. Bryan). This appears to be an example where the use of initials rather than full names has resulted in an error that became official.

1977 - Fred Cook's total is usually listed as "155 (includes Centenary Cup matches)" - prior to the Centenary Cup Grand Final, the VFA made the ruling that these were official matches and would count towards a player's career statistics. For the rest of the season the Melbourne newspapers listed two totals in their VFA goalkicking tables - the number of goals kicked in premiership matches and a second column showing a combined premiership/Centenary Cup total for the season.

[AUTHOR'S NOTE - just as the AFL separates a player's Night Series/Pre-Season Cup statistics from their premiership statistics the same principle should be applied in this situation. The Centenary Cup was a separate competition, its statistical records should not be combined with those of the 1977 premiership season. Therefore, Cook's total in the above table is shown as 125, which is the number of goals he kicked in premiership matches. The 30 goals he kicked in Centenary Cup matches are not included]. 

VFA-VFL LEADING GOALKICKERS (1989-1998)

YEAR	LEADING GOALKICKER (SEASON)		H&A	FINALS	SEASON
1989	Ian Rickman*	Williamstown	104	21	125
1990	Jamie Shaw*	Preston	93	10	103
	Rino Pretto	Oakleigh	98	-	98
1991	Rohan Welsh*	Dandenong	69	15	84
	Frank Rugolo	Sandringham	78	-	78
1992	Ian Rickman*	Williamstown	73	9	82
	Frank Rugolo	Sandringham	73	6	79
	Jamie Shaw	Preston	73	-	73
1993	Joskun 'Jack' Aziz*	Werribee	83	14	97
	Rino Pretto	Dandenong	86	-	86
1994	Rino Pretto	Dandenong	86	1	87
1995	Danny Sexton*	Port Melbourne	48	16	64
	Steve Amiet	Sandringham	50	11	61
	Dominic Perry	Port Melbourne	54	1	55
1996	Joskun 'Jack' Aziz	Werribee	67	7	74
1997	Shayne Smith	Springvale	89	17	106
1998	Shayne Smith	Springvale	70	8	78

 

*1989 - Oakleigh's Rino Pretto officially finished with 103 goals in the H&A rounds, one behind Rickman. He would have led after H&A on 115 if his 12 goals against Sunshine in Round 4 hadn't been erased from VFA records due to Sunshine withdrawing from the competition eight games into the season. Pretto did not play finals so Rickman would have still finished as the season leader with 125 goals in total. 

JIM 'FROSTY' MILLER MEDAL WINNERS (1999-)

In 1999 the VFA-VFL inaugurated the Frosty Miller Medal and adopted the Coleman Medal model of honouring the leading goalkicker of the Home & Away season rather than of all matches (including finals).

YEAR	'FROSTY' MILLER MEDALLIST (H&A)		H&A	FINALS	SEASON
1999	Nick Sautner	Sandringham	82	7	89
2000	Nick Sautner	Sandringham	60	10	70
2001	Nick Sautner	Frankston	73	4	77
2002	Nick Sautner	Frankston	93	-	93
2003	Nick Sautner	Northern Bullants	82	-	82
2004	Nick Sautner	Sandringham	60	7	67
2005	James Podsiadly	Werribee	66	6	72
2006	Aaron Edwards	Frankston	88	12	100
2007	Nick Sautner	Sandringham	59	10	69
2008	Nick Sautner	Sandringham	74	-	74
2009	Nick Sautner*	Sandringham	71	-	71
	James Podsiadly	Werribee	68	4	72
2010	Matthew Little	Williamstown	80	4	84
2011	Patrick Rose	Port Melbourne	67	12	79
2012	Dean Galea	Port Melbourne	65	11	76
2013	Dean Galea	Port Melbourne	55	3	58
	Michael Lourey	Frankston	54*	-	54
2014	Sam Grimley	Box Hill	38	7	45
	Dan Connors	Port Melbourne		2	40
2015	Sam Grimley	Box Hill	42	4	46
	Jordan Lisle	Port Melbourne		-	42
	Liam McBean	Richmond		-	42
2016	Ahmed Saad	Coburg	49	-	49
2017	Jordan Lisle	Port Melbourne	46	5	51
2018	Nick Larkey	North Melb. Res.	41	-	41
2019	Jordan Lisle	Port Melbourne	40	6	46

 

NOTE:
[A] Frankston's Michael Lourey also kicked 55 goals but a headcount in the Round 14 match against North Ballarat revealed his side had an extra player on the field. Under VFL rules Frankston's score to that stage in the match was erased, in the process removing a goal kicked by Lourey from his season tally. This reduced his official total for the season to 54 goals and cost him the medal.

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Written and researched by David Eastman

First published 1/11/2017
Last updated 9/10/2019

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