DESPITE coming so close to the magical century mark with 99 goals in season 2008, Carlton spearhead Brendan Fevola hopes he never gets close to the elusive milestone again.

Provided the Blues are playing regular finals football, of course.

Fevola was delighted to have finished third in the club's 2008 best and fairest count on Thursday, behind Chris Judd and Marc Murphy, but admitted he won't mind if his shot at the ton has come and gone.

"I think the way the game's going, and for us to be a better team, I don't think I need to be kicking 100 goals," Fevola said.

"Hopefully I can kick 60 or 70 and you get two or three other blokes kicking 30 or 40 and get six or seven players, like a Geelong team, kicking over 20 goals.

"For me to be aiming for 100 goals would probably be a bit selfish … for us to be better, I don't need to be kicking 100 goals.

"I'm very happy with the season I had -- to kick 99 goals was great, but the main objective for us as a group … is for us to play finals. Hopefully we can do that next year and that will be my main objective."

Fevola, 27, has finished second and third previously in the John Nicholls Medal count – when the team was in the doldrums in 2006 and 2003 – but this year's third placing gave him much greater satisfaction.

"It's obviously a big honour to poll well in the best and fairest," he said.

"I've obviously had pretty good years over the last couple of years with the club not finishing so well, but to have a good year alongside a lot of players that have played pretty well [is great].

"We'd won [about] 10 games in three years [prior to this one] and to win 10 games this year is a great stepping stone for the boys to jump off and I think next year's just going to be a super year."

Fevola has had to time to digest the memorable round 22 match-up that saw Hawk Lance Franklin reach 100 goals, while he fell agonisingly short. But the forward maintains he would do nothing different in that game or any of the 21 that preceded it.

"I reckon it's a pretty rare occasion where two blokes are gunning for a hundred goals in the same game," he said.

"Obviously the media pump up Buddy Franklin like he's the best player, and he is a freak – what did he have nearly 200 shots at goal? – he might kick 100 again, but I don't think too many other players will crack the ton.

"As I said to a few of the boys; if I had of kicked another goal when I hand-balled one off or passed one off, the whole game would have changed and I might not have kicked as many goals as I did [in that game].

"So in hindsight you think maybe you shouldn't have [hand-balled] but whatever you do on a footy field is done on instinct; you just do it."
 
Fevola's initiation to AFL football, in which he played regular finals football, probably warped his perspective a little, but the barren period between then and now has only served to sharpen his finals focus.

"Hopefully all the boys come back in super nick for the pre-season," he said.

"I just can't wait to get back in October and have a crack at some finals. I played in, I think, five finals in my first three years and I can't really remember them.

"Next year will be my 11th year, and having not played finals for eight years it's going to be pretty special to win a few games.

"We'll be setting the bar to play finals and hopefully we can achieve that."