Having battled with back injuries early in his career, Carlton forward Harry McKay last season delivered on the promise that saw him snapped up with a top 10 pick.
Having teased with tallies of 21, 26 and 21 over the past three seasons, McKay became the most challenging player to contain in the competition.
The 24-year-old averaged the most contested marks (2.6) and marks inside 50 (3.6) in the competition, and took out the Coleman Medal with 58 goals in 19 games.
After successive drafts with talented talls at the top end, the competition is bustling with young forwards promising to follow McKay to the top of the goalkicking table.
King twins Ben and Max booted 85 between them for Gold Coast and St Kilda respectively, leaving fans of both clubs dreaming of a reunion.
Aaron Naughton booted 47 goals in 25 games for the Western Bulldogs, and led their forward line all the way to a Grand Final after Josh Bruce was injured.
North Melbourne’s Nick Larkey shrugged off an injury-impacted 2020 to sign off with 42 goals, well up on his previous best of 26 in 2019. The 23-year-old's haul included a bag of seven on All-Australian nominee Jacob Weitering.
Port Adelaide forward Mitch Georgiades followed through on the potential he flashed in a seven-game cameo in 2020, and snagged 32 goals before a hamstring injury skewered his finals series.
Over in Perth, Oscar Allen continued to serve his apprenticeship under Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling, and kicked a career-best 28 even having plugged gaps around the ground.
Crows forward Riley Thilthorpe, Swans tall Logan McDonald and Dogs Next Generation Academy graduate Jamarra Ugle-Hagan are younger again, but will hope to cement their spots this season.
Adam Cooney believes it is Saints spearhead Max King who could be the one to follow in McKay’s footsteps.
King came in for criticism midway through last season, after a wayward display in front of goal saw the Saints squander an opportunity to beat eventual preliminary finalists Geelong.
His improvement can clearly be charted however; King improved his 2020 tally of 22 goals to 38, and broke into the top five players in the competition for average contested marks.
“It’s not a stretch to kick 22 more to get to 60, is it?” Cooney asked SEN Breakfast.
“If my mathematics is correct and they don’t play any finals, that’s only one goal extra per game.
“If you could get a 60 goal season out of Max King, that would be absolutely superb.”
Twin brother Ben contributed 47 to claim his second successive Suns’ leading goal kicker award, in a team that ranged from plucky to downright uncompetitive.
“He had a ripper year for an underperforming Gold Coast,” Cooney recalled.
“If they have a good year, he could easily kick 60 plus. He was in the mid-40s in 2021 in a pretty average side, so he’s certainly a chance, he could win the Coleman.”
McKay was the outlier, realistically.
Before the big Blue, the last player under the age of 26 to lead the league for majors was Jack Riewoldt in 2012.
If a young player can’t make the leap, the 2008 Brownlow Medallist is tipping a wily old Cat to take out the honour.
“I want to say Jeremy Cameron,” Cooney tipped.
“He’s got the capability, but he plays higher up the ground with Tom Hawkins as the full forward, he’s had a few injuries and then there’s the way they play…
“I think if they speed up their ball movement, he could be a chance."