Australian Football Association of North America

This is a "dictionary" of terms common in Australian football.  While there is a some general Aussie slang here, our emphasis is on footy.  For general references to Aussie slang see these two sources:  http://www.koalanet.com.au/australian-slang.html and  http://www.australiatravelsearch.com.au/trc/slang.html

A/C: acromio-clavicular joint, the shoulder joint; severe injury to the A/C joint can sometimes require a reconstruction and sideline a player for the season

ACL: anterior cruciate ligament - one of several ligaments which support the knee and connect the knee joint to the other leg muscles. A ruptured ACL requires a knee reconstruction and will sideline a player for 12 months

Advantage paid: umpiring decision in which play continues after an infringement if the team with the ball is infringed upon; rather than stop play to award the free kick, the umpire allows play to continue so as not to disadvantage the attacking team.

Ball Magnet: player who accumulates a large number of possessions of the ball is said to be a ball magnet

Ball on a string: same as ball magnet, a player might be referred to as having the ball on a string or even said to have "brought his own ball to the game".

Barrack/Barracker - to cheer for a team, one who supports a team. Origin believed to come from the world wars when army personnel stationed in barracks in Melbourne attended games or their barracks were close to the playing grounds
 
Blinder: excellent performance. E.g., Nathan Buckley had a blinder of a game with 32 possessions and 4 goals

Blue: bad mistake, or a fight

Boil Over: an unexpected upset in which a team not expected to win by any stretch of the imagination pulls off a victory

Brownlow: highest individual honor a player can win. Named for long-time Geelong Football Club servant Charles Brownlow (1862-1924). See AFANA FAQ - Major Awards for more detail

Clanger: extremely bad mistake during play, such as kicking the ball to an opposition player

Claret: blood

Coathanger: an illegal around the neck tackle.  Also refers to the Sydney bridge

Complete Package: refers to a player who can do just about everything - goals, run well, catch the ball, tackle, etc. from just about anywhere on the ground. Often will be used to describe a new recruit.

Corky: bad soft tissue bruising in which small blood vessels break under the skin and bleed into the muscle tissue - most common on thighs and calves

Cotton Wool: a player coming back from injury or an older player whom the club is trying to protect may be said to be "wrapped in cotton wool" - e.g., given lighter training loads and/or limited game time.

Crook: not well, ill, or can refer to an injury, e.g., a crook knee, a player might also say he or the injury is not too flash

Daisy-cutter: low to the ground kick of the footy - also called a wormburner

Dirty: to be angry about something or with someone. E.g., the coach was dirty on the umpires for perceived bad decisions during the game. Filthy can also be used in the same vein.

Disposal: when a player in possession of the ball rids himself of the ball by hand or foot. An effective disposal finds a teammate. An ineffective disposal misses its intended target or ends up with an opposition player

Draw: the schedule, or a tied game

Find The Sticks: a player skilled at kicking goals is said to know how to find the sticks. Usually refers to a player other than the forwards.

Fixture: schedule of games

Flag: the premiership or Grand Final win. Refers to a time before premiership cups when clubs were awarded a "premiership" flag instead.

Hammy: hamstring

Kick A Bag: Refers to a player (usually a forward) who kicks a large number of goals in a game. E.g., Barry Hall kicked a bag with 10 goals.

Ladder: the standings
 
Leather poisoning: a player who gets the ball a lot during the match is said to be risking leather poisoning. Similar to ball maget or having the ball on a string (see above)

Lower colors: to be beaten by a direct opponent in a game - comes from old naval sailing time when a defeated ship would lower its country's flag from the mast to signal surrender

Minor Premier: team which finishes the season in first place. Does not guaratee a Grand Final win or even making the Grand Final as they still have get through the finals series.

On The Pine: sitting on the bench during a game

PCL: posterior cruciate ligament - another knee ligament; injury to this ligament will not sideline a player for a year, but can put a player out for 2 weeks or more, depending on the severity of the injury

Pepper The Goals: when a team has numerous scoring chances, usually said when all those scoring shots result in more misses than goals

Pill: the football. Siome commentators will also refer to the ball as the "nut"

Poster: scoring shot which hits the post, also called hitting the woodwork

Pull The Pin: retire, also hang up the boots or call it a day

Purple Patch: a run of good form. Can refer to a player during a game, eg., Chris Judd had a purple patch in the third term with 10 possessions a two goals; can also refer to a team having a winning streak such as Essendon in 2000 when they had a purple patch in winning their first 20 games

Rainmaker: high soaring kick of t he ball

Reco: short for reconstruction, such as a knee or shoulder reco - and will most often put a player out for the season

Screamer: massively high mark (see speccie)

Shattered: to be extremely disappointed

Slot: to kick a goal; can also refer to a new player - via draft or trade - fitting in well with his new team. E.g., former Lion Jason Akermanis slotted in well with his new teammates at the Bulldogs in 2007

Speccie: (also spekkie) when a player leaps high in the air to catch the ball - i.e., a spectacular mark. Also known as a screamer

Spoil: to foil a player attempting to take a mark. E.g., Matthew Lloyd set himself to take the mark, but Ben Rutten punched the ball away to spoil him.

Spray: severe scolding, usually from the coach to a player or the team - also called a rocket or ear-bashing

Straight Kick: when the difference in the scores is one goal - or six points - commentators will often say the difference is one straight kick

Torpedo: long, high, spiral kick of the ball. Very difficult to catch and is primarily used when kicking for goal from 50 meters (55 yards) or more

Whinge: to complain

White Line Fever: crossing the boundary line onto the field of play turning mild mannered individual into Dr. Jekyll

White Maggot: less than flattering term used by fans to refer to the umpire (this expression may be a bit inappropriate now as the AFL introduced new umpire uniforms several years ago to prevent them from blending in with teams which have a lot of white and blue in their uniforms)

Wooden Spoon: euphemistic award for the team finishing dead last in the standings