Footy lingo - especially for newbies

[bloodspirit]

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?

I think so. I can't perfectly explain it but it's about digging really deep and perhaps running until you throw up and then keep on running.

[Mug Punter]

A term increasingly used that I find very annoying is the continual reference to "Midfield Bulls", i.e. heavy bodied inside mids who are hard at the footy. JPK being our classic example

[bloodspirit]

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

Didn't Teddy give him a shout out in his retirement speech? And then there's also his modelling career. Despite Ludwig's numerous posts this is also not a joke.

[Mug Punter]

Didn't Teddy give him a shout out in his retirement speech? And then there's also his modelling career. Despite Ludwig's numerous posts this is also not a joke.

Even Horse made note of what a popular member of the playing group Tom was, every footy club has a Tom Derrickx and they are usually the centre of all shenanighans

[dejavoodoo44]

I think so. I can't perfectly explain it but it's about digging really deep and perhaps running until you throw up and then keep on running.

It probably has its origins in the phrase, 'busting a gut': which means something like, running through the abdominal pain that you can get from running to exhaustion.

[The Big Cat]

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* Crumber - somewhat of an outdated term that refers to a small player who picks up the ball at ground level, often from the ruckman or as a small forward, often as a resting rover in the forward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"

"Selling the candy" sounds American to me. The original Aussie Rules term is "Selling the dummy"

"Charlie" is a Channel 7 fabrication and has never been in the vernacular of the game.

"Sheep Dog" is exemplified by Nathan Buckley

[Hotpotato]

What's a FLOG ?

[56-14]

"Selling the candy" sounds American to me. The original Aussie Rules term is "Selling the dummy"

"Charlie" is a Channel 7 fabrication and has never been in the vernacular of the game.

"Sheep Dog" is exemplified by Nathan Buckley

Yes "Kelpie".

[bloodspirit]

What's a FLOG ?

I love the term flog! It's so nasty. (I don't actually like nastiness but it is a term that gets its message across colourfully and immediately.) I don't know what it means but it reeks of contempt. Perhaps wanker (someone who 'flogs' themself)? Or just an idiot. As in you could flog them but it would make about as much difference as flogging a log, they still wouldn't get it? I dunno.

[Meg]

"Flog" is a lazy term used by people who want to go along with the crowd and express their dislike for someone, even though they have no idea what it is about the person they supposedly dislike. It's a term I abhor.

[goswannies]

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?"

That's my understanding too. I always called it a checkside when I played footy in Vic (unless I was always wrong?). It's a banana here in SA

[Swansinger]

Some more for you , Bloodspirit :

1)TOYME - a measurement of seconds/minutes . This term is used by Leigh Matthews.

2)Sevva-neen : a favourite of Brian "I have a pet sleeping on my head" Taylor.
It is not exactly a word , but a number , between sixteen and eighteen.

3)Across : a simple word , but if you ever utter it in relation to Australian Rules Football , it must - MUST - be followed by "half back".
One CANNOT play "across half-forward" or "across the back line". AFL rules prohibit this.
Infractions carry a minimum one-game ban , even with an early plea.

4)"Yeah-no-yeah-no" : This is the answer given to the first journalist question at all Paul Roos's press conferences.

5)"Nothing in that" : a phrase used by commentators (ex-footballers only : never , ever Bruce or Sandy) .

It means "He's just been run over by a freight train , but there's no need for a free-kick."

It sounds like serious commentary , but in reality , it's an attempt to send the subliminal message of "back in my day , we were a lot tougher".

One can only marvel at how such laconic phrasing can convey so much meaning.

I don't think there's an AFL-specific term for how Cameron Ling creeps around dressing-rooms at half-time , whispering , in a faux attempt to convey both tact and pathos. The best I can offer for that is "plain bloody annoying".

[mcs]

What's a FLOG ?

I absolutely hate that term. After all the Goodes rubbish in 2015, I'd love to see that term sent to the dustbin of history. It was the excuse used by most for their abhorrent behaviour - he's just a 'flog'.

[bloodspirit]

Some more for you , Bloodspirit :

1)TOYME - a measurement of seconds/minutes . This term is used by Leigh Matthews.

2)Sevva-neen : a favourite of Brian "I have a pet sleeping on my head" Taylor.
It is not exactly a word , but a number , between sixteen and eighteen.

3)Across : a simple word , but if you ever utter it in relation to Australian Rules Football , it must - MUST - be followed by "half back".
One CANNOT play "across half-forward" or "across the back line". AFL rules prohibit this.
Infractions carry a minimum one-game ban , even with an early plea.

4)"Yeah-no-yeah-no" : This is the answer given to the first journalist question at all Paul Roos's press conferences.

5)"Nothing in that" : a phrase used by commentators (ex-footballers only : never , ever Bruce or Sandy) .

It means "He's just been run over by a freight train , but there's no need for a free-kick."

It sounds like serious commentary , but in reality , it's an attempt to send the subliminal message of "back in my day , we were a lot tougher".

One can only marvel at how such laconic phrasing can convey so much meaning.

I don't think there's an AFL-specific term for how Cameron Ling creeps around dressing-rooms at half-time , whispering , in a faux attempt to convey both tact and pathos. The best I can offer for that is "plain bloody annoying".

Brilliant! Thank you.

[Hotpotato]

What's ESSADEN ?