Are the days of key forwards kicking big bags of goals back?
That’s the question that has been asked after Charlie Curnow and Tom Hawkins kicked nine and eight goals respectively in Round 7.
On top of big weekly hauls, both Curnow and Geelong’s Jeremy Cameron have kicked 30 goals each so far in 2023, putting them on track to potentially break the 100-goal barrier for the first time since Lance Franklin achieved the feat in 2008.
One of the game’s great key forwards, Dermott Brereton, was asked whether he felt big bags were back or if Curnow and Hawkins’ performances on the weekend were an anomaly.
“It’s a common theme here,” Brereton said on SEN Afternoons.
“When a team gets beaten up, that’s when somebody can cash in.
“You won’t see a six or seven goal haul (from an individual) between two teams that are at anywhere near the top of their game.
“I felt for the West Coast backmen against Charlie (Curnow), he’s a star.
“You’ve got to play what you’ve got and to put Shannon Hurn, who is a non-jumping back flanker (on Curnow) … Charlie jumped all over his head and took screamers on him.
“(Tom) Barrass was a much better matchup, but Barrass likes to lag off and intercept mark. You don’t want him on a pure agile forward.”
Using Curnow’s big game against the bottom of the ladder Eagles as a reference point, Brereton believes big individual hauls for gun goal kickers will only be common against struggling teams.
“So yeah, those big bags are going to be kicked by the boys against the bottom three or four teams,” Brereton explained.
“That’s when those bottom three or four teams are out of sights injured, down on personnel and having a bad day.”
Hawkins’ bag of eight - a career-high - came against an Essendon team that currently sits ninth on the ladder with a 4-3 record.
Other bags this season include Jeremy Cameron’s seven for Geelong against Hawthorn (Round 4) and Charlie Cameron’s seven for Brisbane against GWS in (Round 6).