Coleman Medal race: Should Charlie Curnow be worried?
With just one round left in the 2022 home-away season, the Coleman medal race looks all but over with a fresh injury to a key contender.
Geelong’s Jeremy Cameron, who is second behind Carlton’s Charlie Curnow, had picked up a hamstring injury that ruled out the 2019 Coleman Medal winner from the Round 23 clash.
Cameron has scored 59 goals so far this year and returned to his best goal-scoring ability, hitting the scoreboard at will.
However, we saw a change in his game where Chris Scott has allowed the 29-year-old to move higher on the ground and even put him through midfield.
This comes as no surprise to the Cats, as Cameron boasts an elite aerobics ability on a key forward and emerges as the most damaging player in the game.
Painful timing for the Cats, star forward Jeremy Cameron has picked up a minor hamstring injury. Geelong hopes he will be ready for the first week of finals. pic.twitter.com/3hycseaVC8
— Triple M Footy (@triplemfooty) August 15, 2022
With the number five injured, Curnow had all but secured the medal, scoring 62 goals so far and leading Cameron with three and Tom Hawkins and Tom Lynch (with seven).
The Carlton forward has shown his immense talent in 2022, showing consistent form that has usually been prevented by lingering injuries.
The 25-year-old’s rise to stardom has been watched by every Carlton fan and is now reaping the rewards, with the club hoping he reaches the final for the first time since 2013.
Curnow can lead the club into September in a battle for anything and everything against their arch-rivals this Sunday against Collingwood.
Can Tom Lynch or Hawkins catch Curnow?
With Curnow the all-time favourite, and Cameron revealing another hamstring injury leaving Geelong fans in trepidation, Lynch looks like the only real contender, despite falling by a sizable margin.
The former Sun has kicked 16 majors in the past three weeks, including an eight-goal win over Hawthorn at the weekend.
The Tigers take on Essendon on Saturday night in what is seen as a one-sided affair.
Earlier in the year, Lynch went scoreless in the win against the Bombers, kicking four butts in what was one of two occasions he didn’t put one through the big sticks this year.
Curnow’s inevitable clash with Darcy Moore and Nathan Murphy could be one for the ages as the former slammed four goals against him in round 11 from the Carlton powerhouse, potentially putting the medal out of reach.
Hawkins is the other option, albeit unlikely, but with Cameron out of the team the veteran Cat will become the key forward against the struggling West Coast at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday.
The 34-year-old, who has averaged nearly three majors a game against the Eagles over his career, will need to do his best to get his goal.
Hawkins’ current record is seven goals in a game (scored three times) but he needs to pick up at least one to stand a chance.
Although the task looks bad, it has happened before.
In 2019, North Melbourne’s Ben Brown led the Coleman medal after scoring 64 goals that year.
Aside from the Giants running to their first-ever AFL Grand Final, Cameron scored nine goals in the final round to steal the medal from Brown and finished the year with 67 majors.
GWS deliberately took aim at their powerhouse forward, who ironically finished the game with 14 hits to the big sticks.
In 2017, Lance Franklin won his fourth Coleman medal from a five-goal deficit as teams prepared for the final game of the year.
Franklin kicked 10 majors and took the lead from Josh Kennedy and Joe Daniher.
So, can Hawkins or Lynch emulate a similar outcome?
View the Coleman Medal Rankings.