At first glance, the race for the 2016 Coleman Medal is no different to any other year.

Lance Franklin, Jarrad Waite, Eddie Betts, Josh Kennedy, Jack Riewoldt…

…hang on a second, isn’t that Alex Fasolo?

That’s right. The 23-year-old is in equal eighth place in the Coleman race with 18 goals in seven rounds of football.

He is a clear leader among his Collingwood teammates, too, sitting eight goals clear of Darcy Moore (ten).

Fasolo's form has been a bright spot in a challenging seven weeks for the Black and White.

With the days of injury trouble behind him, the 23-year-old is in the midst of the best run of form in his six-year career.

He kicked 28 goals in 2012, and another 27 last year, figures he is sure to improve on in the weeks to come.

But’s not just kicking goals. He’s working to keep the ball in attack, laying a team-high 13 tackles inside 50 this season.

Importantly, Fasolo’s radar is as sharp as ever. He has kicked just three behinds from 21 scoring shots, and has contributed an equal team-high 12 score assists.

What’s more, he’s averaging 16.2 disposals (another career-high) and 4.0 marks per game.

He is not getting a mention in any All-Australian discussions - not yet, anyway - but you can be sure that he will find himself on the selectors’ radars if he maintains his formline for the remainder of the season.