Commonwealth Football Glossary:
- 19th man: expression used to describe fans present at a football match, especially when they make such noise as to provide increased motivation for the team. The metaphor is based on the fact that a team numbers 18 active players at the start of a game. The term can also be used where a referee is perceived to be biased in favor of one team. "They had a 19th man on the pitch", is a complaint made by fans.
- Advantage: decision made by the referee during a game, where a player is fouled, but play is allowed to continue because the team that suffered the foul is in a better position than they would have been had the referee stopped the game.
- Arena: The playing surface.
- Assist: To kick to a player who then scores either a goal (for a goal assist) or a behind (for a score assist).
- Bag: Colloquialism for a large number of goals scored by one player.
- Ball boy: One of several children, male or female, stationed around the edge of the pitch, whose role is to help retrieve balls that go out of play.
- Ball burster: Colloquialism for a massive kick, usually a torpedo punt which travels over 70 meters.
- Ball-up: The act of a field umpire putting the ball back into play, either by throwing it vertically upwards into the air, or by bouncing the ball in such a way that it mimics the throwing action. See bounce-down. A ball-up is required at the start of each quarter, after a goal is scored or to restart the game from neutral situations in the field of play.
- Baulk: A maneuver where a player holds the ball out to the side in one hand, then runs in the other direction to evade a defender.
- Behind: A score worth one point, earned by putting the ball between a goal post and a behind post, or by the ball hitting a goal post, or by the ball being touched prior to passing between the goalposts.
- Behind posts: Two shorter vertical posts 19.2m apart on the goal line at each end of the ground, centered about the taller goal posts.
- Bench: The interchange area. The "bench" refers to the seat used by the players in this area.
- Best on ground: The player judged the best player taking part in any game. Sometimes also referred to as BOG, pronounced "bee-oh-gee".
- Bicycle kick: A move made by a player with their back to the goal. The player throws their body into the air, makes a shearing movement with the legs to get one leg in front of the other, and attempts to play the ball backwards over their own head, all before returning to the ground. Also known as an overhead kick.
- Boundary line: The line drawn on the ground to delimit the field of play.
- Boundary throw-in: The act of throwing the ball back into play by the boundary umpire. The boundary umpire stands with his back to the arena and throws the ball backwards over his head. This is used to restart play from neutral situations whenever the ball goes out of bounds.
- Boundary umpire: An official who patrols the boundary line, indicating when it has fully crossed the line, and who then executes a boundary throw-in to return the ball to play. There are typically two of these umpires per game, one on each side of the oval, but there will be four in top grade games.
- Bump: A contact between players using the hip and/or shoulder.
- Central umpire: An official who patrols the field of play, awarding free kicks, indicating time-on and time-off, and restarting the game after stoppages, goals etc.
- Chicken wing tackle: A tackle that locks in an opponent's arm so that he cannot legally dispose of the ball. This term originated in Rugby League.
- Clanger: A blatant, unforced error. Most typically, this will be either conceding a free kick, or kicking the ball directly to an opponent.
- Clearance: The clearing of the ball out of a stoppage situation, to the advantage of one team or the other.
- Coach: The manager of the team who controls the team's tactics during a match.
- Contest: An in-game scenario where two or more players have an opportunity to win the ball.
- Contested possession: A possession achieved as a result of winning a contest.
- Corner flag: Flags are placed in each of the four corners of the pitch to help mark the boundaries of the playing area.
- Corner kick: A kick taken from within a one-yard radius of the corner flag; a method of restarting play when a player puts the ball behind their own goal line without a goal being scored.
- Corridor: The imaginary strip of the ground that runs through the center from goal to goal; a team who moves the ball in this area is said to "play through the corridor".
- Cross: A delivery of the ball into the penalty area by the attacking team, usually from the area between the penalty box and the touchline
- Daisy cutter: A kick that runs along the ground rather than through the air. See grubber. Also may to refer to a drop punt in which the ball travels through the air, but low to the ground.
- Defender: One of the three main positions in football. Defenders are positioned in front of the goalposts and have the principal role of keeping the opposition away from their goal.
- Designated kicker: A player who is given the ball by another player who has a set shot for goal, so that the receiving player may have a shot on the run for a long-distance goal or a supergoal. Typically done when the designated kicker is known to have a better likelihood of scoring the goal than the player taking the set shot.
- Disposal: Indicates that a player disposed of the ball legally by either hand or foot. Synonymous with possession or touch.
- Dribble goal: A goal kicked using the grubber technique. It is often utilized from the boundary line at a tight angle with players manipulating the bounce of the ball to bend it through the goals.
- Emergency umpire: A qualified field umpire who sits on the interchange bench during a game. He can pay free kicks only for interchange infringements and may report players, and can replace an injured or fatigued umpire.
- Equaliser: A goal that makes the score even.
- Fat side: An imaginary area of the ground that indicates the greatest space occupied by the least number of players.
- Final siren: The siren that sounds to signal the end of the game.
- First eleven: The eleven players who, when available, would be the ones usually chosen by the team's manager to start a game.
- Flags: A white flag waved by a goal umpire to signal a goal or behind.
- Flight: The way a ball travels through the air.
- Flood: The act of getting as many players as possible between the ball carrier and the goal a team is defending.
- Forward: One of the three main positions in football. Strikers are the players closest to the opposition goal, with the principal role of scoring goals.
- Free kick: A possession of the ball given to a player as a result of an infringement by an opposition player. These are only awarded by the central umpire.
- Goal: A maximum score (equivalent to 6 points) achieved by kicking the ball between the two goal-posts without it touching either post or any other player.
- Goal average: The number of goals scored divided by number of goals conceded. Used as a tie-breaking method before the introduction of goal difference.
- Goal difference: The net difference between goals scored and goals conceded.[30] Used to differentiate league positions when clubs are tied on points.
- Goal posts: Two tall posts at each end of the ground indicating the major scoring zone, positioned 6.4m apart.
- Goalside: When a player is located closer to the goal than his opponent.
- Goal umpire: An official who adjudicates the score, signals the score (out-of-bounds, point, or goal), waves flags to indicate the score to the crowd, and serves as official scorekeeper. There are two of these umpires per game, one at each end.
- Gorilla: Colloquially, a large, strong defender who plays body-on-body defense against the strongest forwards.
- Grubber: A kick that runs along the ground rather than though the air. See daisy cutter.
- Guernsey: The jersey worn by players.
- Hat-trick: when a player scores more than three goals in a single match.
- Header: Using the head as a means of playing or controlling the ball.
- High tackle: A tackle that results in contact to the opposition play over the top of his shoulders or to the neck or head.
- Holding the ball: A free kick awarded to a defensive player who tackles an opponent and prevents him from legally disposing of the football.
- Hospital Kick: A very high kick to a teammate, allowing opposition players to run in and crash into the person attempting to mark the kick. Can also be a hospital pass.
- Jumper punch: Where a player takes hold of an opponent's jersey and then pushes in a punching motion.
- Kick: a legal disposal of the ball by foot.
- Kick-in: The return of the ball back into play after a behind has been scored.
- Loose man in defense: A player who typically spends an entire game without a direct opponent, who assists other defenders in the team when necessary, and is often heavily involved in rebounding.
- Low tackle: A tackle resulting in contact made to a player below his knees. Results in a free kick against the tackling player. This is more commonly referred to by the colloquial term of legging the opponent.
- Man-on-man: The "traditional" defensive style of a defender playing close to an opposition forward. See zone-off.
- Man on the mark: The defensive player who stands where his opponent took a mark or received a free kick. The man on the mark holds his arms in the air, in an attempt to block his opponent's kick, or at least force him to take the kick from several meters further back to prevent it from being blocked.
- Man of the match: An award, often decided by pundits or sponsors, given to the best player in a game.
- Mark: A clean catch of the ball after it has been kicked by another player (either by a teammate or by the opposition), before it has touched the ground, or been touched by any other player, and after it has traveled a minimum of 15 meters. The term also refers to the spot on the ground where the mark or free kick took place.
- Melee: An unacceptable gathering of players involved in deliberate physical contact. Can lead to suspensions and fines.
- Midfielder: one of the three main positions in football. Midfielders are positioned between the defenders and strikers.
- Odd Bounce: In part due to the shape of the ball, where its rotation or spin induces an unexpected bounce direction.
- Off the side of the Boot: A kick that misses the proper top surface of the boot (between arch and toe) and is hit with the sloping angle of the foot resulting in a deflected or winged shot.
- On the ball: A player who is not in any set position but who follows the ball all over the ground; also known as a follower or onballer, and not the direct opposite of off the ball.
- Out on the full: A kick that travels across the boundary line without first being touched by a player or hitting the ground. This will result in a free kick to the opposition team, taken by the player closest to the point at which the ball crossed the boundary line.
- Over the mark: A player from either team who crosses from his side of the mark when there is a free kick being taken is said to have gone over the mark. If the attacking player does this, he is called to play on; if the defending player does this, he is penalized with a fifty meter penalty.
- Pack: A mass of players from both sides all attempting to get the ball at the same time. Can be used for players flying for a mark or scrambling for the ball at ground level.
- Pass: A kick that ends with the ball in the possession of a teammate.
- Pill: Colloquialism for the ball.
- Playmaker: A player who directs a team play by action or deed during a game.
- "Play on!": The call made by an umpire whenever a player who is taking a mark or a free kick runs or handpasses rather than kicking over the mark; or, the call made by an umpire to alert players that a mark or free kick will not be paid, when they may be expecting that one would be paid.
- Possession: The act of obtaining the ball. Also used synonymously with disposal and touch. Often quoted as a total for a player or team, it is the sum of the number of handballs and kicks that the player or team had during the game
- Point: The basic scoring unit. Used for both the total score (10 goals, 8 behinds, 68 points) and can be used interchangeably with behind ("His shot for goal missed and was only a point").
- Poster: Common expression for a kicked ball which hits a goal post, resulting in a behind being scored rather than a goal.
- Prior opportunity: A player who has had the ball for long enough to make a reasonable attempt to dispose of it before being tackled is said to have had prior opportunity. This is important for holding the ball decisions, where a player who has had prior opportunity must dispose of the ball immediately, while a player who has had "no prior" has a few extra seconds to dispose of the ball.
- Protected zone: An imaginary corridor 5 meters to either side of a player who is taking a free kick, into which no players from either team are permitted to be.
- Rainmaker: A ball that is kicked very high up but not very far
- Raking: A kicking style that results in long kicks.
- Rebound: The act of moving the ball forward after winning it as the result of a turnover in the defensive end of the ground.
- Run through the mark: When a player runs between the man on the mark and the player who is taking a free kick. If a defending player does this, and he is not immediately following his direct opponent, a fifty-meter penalty will be awarded.
- Screamer: A spectacular high mark, usually in a contested situation.
- Set Shot: An attempt to kick a goal from a mark or a free kick.
- Shepherd: A block placed on an opposing player. This can be to stop him tackling a teammate in possession of the ball, or attempting to gather it; to stop him intercepting a ball heading for goal; or just to stop him possessing the ball himself.
- Shirtfront: An aggressive front-on bump.
- Shot: An attempt to kick a goal.
- Slingshot: A goal where the ball is moved from one end of the field to the other in a short amount of time.
- Smother: The act of stopping a kick immediately after it leaves the boot. Generally undertaken with the hands or body.
- Snap: A shot at goal, usually executed under pressure from an unlikely scoring position. It is almost invariably a kick across the body (i.e., for a right footer, a kick aimed to far left) and typically exaggerates the natural tendency of the ball to drift slightly right to left from a right footer, and left to right from the left footer. It is in this way the reverse of a "checkside" or "banana".
- Specky: Short for "spectacular mark". Generally refers to the act of leaping onto another player's back or shoulders to take a high mark, usually in a contested situation.
- Spillage: Occurs when a ball comes off the top of a pack of players attempting to mark a ball.
- Spoil: A punch or slap of the ball which hinders an opposition player from taking a mark.
- Spray shot: A poorly executed kick at goal that comes 'off the side of the boot' and produces a point.
- Stab shot: A kick that travels very low to the ground to a teammate.
- Substitute: An interchange player who cannot be freely interchanged, but may be brought onto the ground to replace a player for the rest of a game.
- Tackle: The grabbing of an opposition player in possession of the ball, in order to impede his progress or to force him to dispose of the ball quickly.
- Tagger: A defensive player whose task is to prevent an opposition midfielder from having an impact on the game.
- Thin side: An imaginary area of the ground that indicates the least space occupied by the greatest number of players.
- Throw: An illegal disposal of a ball by hand. Will result in a free kick to the opposition.
- Touched: Indicates that a ball was touched by another player after being kicked; such a kick cannot result in a mark, a goal, or an out of bounds on the full free kick.
- Trip: A low tackle which will result in a free kick to the opposition. Furthermore, tripping or attempting to trip an opponent with the foot or leg will lead to a player being reported.
- Turnover: The loss of possession of the ball to the opposition.
- Tunnelling: Bumping an airborne player attempting a mark with the intention of unbalancing them.
- Twenty-two meter penalty: An extra 22m of field position awarded to a player following a mark or free kick when an opposition player infringes after the mark/free kick is paid.
- Uncontested possession: A possession achieved without having to engage in a contest.
- Utility: A player adept at playing several non-key position roles.
- Work rate: The extent to which a player contributes to running and chasing in a match while not in possession of the ball.
- Zone: A defensive arrangement of players on a section of the ground, designed to stifle the forward movement of the ball by the opposition. Probably borrowed from basketball.
- Zone off: The act of a defender leaving some space between himself and his opponent. This is contrary to the normal defensive style of man-on-man.