Footy lingo - especially for newbies

[bloodspirit]

I came to footy relatively late and have been slowly and then steadily learning and getting more interested for the past 20 years, to the point that I now watch all our matches (live or on tv) and spend on average more than an hour day following football and Swans news, I know all our listed players and something about their back stories and have a fair grip on the rules etc. Still, despite now following with passion and dedication, it's still not the same as growing up with the sport or having played it. One way this manifests is that there are still footy expressions where I am uncertain of their meaning. I daresay this must be true for many others in the same boat as me and for some who, perhaps, are even more recent converts than I, especially given that many Sydney-based Swans fans didn't grow up with the game. So I invite any of you who are wondering 'What is Tiggy Touchwood?' or 'Is there a difference between a banana and a checkside?' to use this forum to ask your questions and get enlightened.

I will get the ball rolling with a couple of questions:

* What is a "required player"? As best I can tell it means a player we don't intend to de-list. One that we'll keep if they don't feel like moving on or we can't get a decent trade for. It doesn't seem to mean a player that there is no chance we'll let go of. Nor does it seem to mean a player in our best 22.

* What does it mean to be "running on top of the ground?" My best estimate is it means to be fit and able to cover a lot of distance running at fair pace during a game - is that right? Whereas if a player has "wheels" it seems to mean they are quick.

Please explain!

The last two questions, I don't really know the answer to. But now I'll throw in a bonuse trivia question that I think I can answer: who can name the plumber, carpenter and electrician amongst the Swans?

[Beerman]

But now I'll throw in a bonuse trivia question that I think I can answer: who can name the plumber, carpenter and electrician amongst the Swans?

Current or former Swans? Mattner trained as a cabinetmaker and Seaby was doing an apprenticeship as a plumber I think.

[O'Reilly Boy]

I came to footy relatively late and have been slowly and then steadily learning and getting more interested for the past 20 years, to the point that I now watch all our matches (live or on tv) and spend on average more than an hour day following football and Swans news, I know all our listed players and something about their back stories and have a fair grip on the rules etc. Still, despite now following with passion and dedication, it's still not the same as growing up with the sport or having played it. One way this manifests is that there are still footy expressions where I am uncertain of their meaning. I daresay this must be true for many others in the same boat as me and for some who, perhaps, are even more recent converts than I, especially given that many Sydney-based Swans fans didn't grow up with the game. So I invite any of you who are wondering 'What is Tiggy Touchwood?' or 'Is there a difference between a banana and a checkside?' to use this forum to ask your questions and get enlightened.

I will get the ball rolling with a couple of questions:

* What is a "required player"? As best I can tell it means a player we don't intend to de-list. One that we'll keep if they don't feel like moving on or we can't get a decent trade for. It doesn't seem to mean a player that there is no chance we'll let go of. Nor does it seem to mean a player in our best 22.

* What does it mean to be "running on top of the ground?" My best estimate is it means to be fit and able to cover a lot of distance running at fair pace during a game - is that right? Whereas if a player has "wheels" it seems to mean they are quick.

Please explain!

The last two questions, I don't really know the answer to. But now I'll throw in a bonuse trivia question that I think I can answer: who can name the plumber, carpenter and electrician amongst the Swans?

'Running on top of the ground' just refers to a visible sense of effortlessness and flow, as opposed to that kind of slogging through the ground that you see with fatigued teams. It's like being 'up on one's toes', which captures the feeling of running without effort, and extends to the comportment of one's body even when not running: the head held high and shoulders back, rather than hands on knees and bent over. The great rugby league halfback Peter Sterling used to talk about never letting his head drop, not only to ensure that his attention was 'out there' across the entirety of the field, but also to deny his opponents the respite of seeing his fatigue.

The other great expression is '(delivering the ball) lace out', referring to a perfectly shaped drop-punt that presents itself to a player's chest for an effortless mark. Of course the ball will be spinning through the air, and cannot actually be 'lace out' when taken; the expression points to a sense of perfection, though, and captures it perfectly. And of course the drop punt is always better when the lace is out and facing forward as it is kicked.

[ugg]

Plumber is Papley as we heard ad infinitum during the finals series.

[dejavoodoo44]

I think Derickx had gone back to working as a carpenter before being thrown a lifeline by the Swans.

[ugg]

I'm pretty sure Derickx is pursuing a music career (not joking)

[KTigers]

Lace out also means when you kick the ball it is done so precisely that the laces on the ball don't touch the hand
of the person marking it. The idea is the smooth side of the ball is easier on the hands of the person marking it
because there are no protruding laces on the underside of the ball.
It's meant to be kind of a joke, but a way of describing a perfect kick.

[liz]

Both Skilton and Kelly were also plumbers by trade.

[ScottH]

Grundy and Malceski were doing a carpentry course recently.
Papley is definitely the plumber.
No idea on the sparky.

[jono2707]

"Xxxx is a required player" is normally a line trotted out by a club just prior to said player being dropped, traded or delisted.

[Mug Punter]

I came to footy relatively late and have been slowly and then steadily learning and getting more interested for the past 20 years, to the point that I now watch all our matches (live or on tv) and spend on average more than an hour day following football and Swans news, I know all our listed players and something about their back stories and have a fair grip on the rules etc. Still, despite now following with passion and dedication, it's still not the same as growing up with the sport or having played it. One way this manifests is that there are still footy expressions where I am uncertain of their meaning. I daresay this must be true for many others in the same boat as me and for some who, perhaps, are even more recent converts than I, especially given that many Sydney-based Swans fans didn't grow up with the game. So I invite any of you who are wondering 'What is Tiggy Touchwood?' or 'Is there a difference between a banana and a checkside?' to use this forum to ask your questions and get enlightened.

I will get the ball rolling with a couple of questions:

* What is a "required player"? As best I can tell it means a player we don't intend to de-list. One that we'll keep if they don't feel like moving on or we can't get a decent trade for. It doesn't seem to mean a player that there is no chance we'll let go of. Nor does it seem to mean a player in our best 22.

* What does it mean to be "running on top of the ground?" My best estimate is it means to be fit and able to cover a lot of distance running at fair pace during a game - is that right? Whereas if a player has "wheels" it seems to mean they are quick.

Please explain!

The last two questions, I don't really know the answer to. But now I'll throw in a bonuse trivia question that I think I can answer: who can name the plumber, carpenter and electrician amongst the Swans?

Great thread.

Tiggy Touchwood is a highly questionable technical pedantic decision. Not necessarily a shocker (as in GF) but one that is nonetheless questionable

Re Banana and Checkside, both are curved into goal but a banana is kicked with the in-step whereas a checkside kick is kicked off the outside of the boot. For a right footer a banana will curve to the left but a checkside will curve to the right.

As few other terms

* Selling the candy - a baulk or other fancy play where opposition players are given a glimpse of the footy and then left in the holders wake being made look silly in the process. Well known candy sellers include Cyril Rioli, Isaac Heeny and indeed just about every indigenous player to have played the game

* Spud - an overpaid and over-rated player, can be but is not always a list clogger who is a player on a list that has no hope of playing senior football (e.g. Tom Derrickx)

* Charlie - The Brownlow Medal

* Crumber - somewhat of an outdated term that refers to a small player who picks up the ball at ground level, often from the ruckman or as a small forward, often as a resting rover in the forward pocket (think Steve Wright, Tom Papley)

* Hanger, Speccy, Screamer - A mark taken above ground level, usually having gained leverage using an opposition player as a step ladder

* Sausage Roll - A goal

* Showpony, Flat Track Bully, Sheep Dog, Pea Heart - a player who is gifted in the skills area but shirks the tough stuff and "goes missing"

[Vonsteinman]

My understanding is that a checkside in South Australia and a banana from Victoria are the same thing and kicked with the outside of the foot. A kick using the instep is a 'snap', I would have thought.

Posing the question, what do they call the banana in WA? The most common response being, "Who cares?"

[Beerman]

Footy lingo - especially for newbies

I'm always puzzled by the phrase "gut runner", which seems to mean someone who runs very hard for most of the game, even if they aren't particularly quick.

Am I close?

[bloodspirit]

RE: trivia question

All were players on the 2016 list. So far as I know, none of them had completed formal qualifications. The plumber and the carpenter have been correctly identified (at least they were who I had in mind).

Loving the other contributions. Never head of the term 'sheep dog' before. Nor did I actually know the difference between banana and checkside. For that matter I don't know how you kick a torp or why it goes further.

My understanding of 'Tiggy Touchwood' is that it is a children's game from the playground and is used to distinguished the hard, tough game played on the footy field, as in "We're not playing Tiggy Touchwood out there, you know!!" The connection to pedantic decisions might arise when umpires overlook the hard realities of the game and give 'soft' (albeit possibly technically accurate) decisions.

[Mug Punter]

I'm always puzzled by the phrase "gut runner", which seems to mean someone who runs very hard for most of the game, even if they aren't particularly quick.

Am I close?

Pretty close, it refers to the endurance to run at pace for extended periods up and down the field. Also often referred to as "two way running". Usually associated with midfielders, Hanners and Jack are noted Swan gut runners and JPK demonstrated a memorable example in the Prelim