Can someone please explain to me these AFL slang terms?

[Power King]

What I think they mean will be in brackets.

Fringe player (Someone who hasn't got a cemented spot in the team's best 22, but does not necessarily mean they are a crap player)

Downhill skier (no idea)

Front runner (someone who only plays well when his team are doing well and are in a comfortable position in the match)


I ask because when people use these terms, I have seen them used in what appears to be conflicting interpretations.

 

[McManus2Waterhouse]

downhill skier and front runner is the same thing

 

[LongBomb]

Fringe player

Shannon Byrnes.

Downhill skier

Shannon Byrnes.

Front runner

Shannon Byrnes.

 

[krisholio14]

What I think they mean will be in brackets.

Fringe player (Someone who hasn't got a cemented spot in the team's best 22, but does not necessarily mean they are a crap player)

Downhill skier (no idea)

Front runner (someone who only plays well when his team are doing well and are in a comfortable position in the match)


I ask because when people use these terms, I have seen them used in what appears to be conflicting interpretations.

First one is correct, the second two are pretty much the same thing,

 

[krisholio14]

shannon byrnes.



Shannon byrnes.



Shannon byrnes.

dat GOLD!

 

[FieryNayta]

Some people use them in conflicting contexts because people are idiots.

 

[Power King]

Fringe player IMO is somewhat akin to a seagull. Someone who skirts around the outside of the action waiting for a handball or kick to come out. They may be cheap disposals but everyone needs fringe players, they generally use the ball well.
Downhill skier, someone who runs fast in straight lines but has a turning circle like a mack truck.
Front runner, you got that right. You only see them when the teams doing well.
These are my thoughts anyway, will be interesting to see other ones.

^So your interpretation of downhill skier, is someone who is a good outside player (runs fast on their own), but struggles when in close (poor agility/evasiveness) ?

 

[MF]

Fringe player IMO is somewhat akin to a seagull. Someone who skirts around the outside of the action waiting for a handball or kick to come out. They may be cheap disposals but everyone needs fringe players, they generally use the ball well.
Downhill skier, someone who runs fast in straight lines but has a turning circle like a mack truck.
Front runner, you got that right. You only see them when the teams doing well.
These are my thoughts anyway, will be interesting to see other ones.

Whenever I hear it used in the media it is always in the context mentioned in the OP. I can't say I have ever thought of the term as a way to describe an outside midfielder.

 

[T Rick]

Fringe Player - someone who usually just makes up the numbers when there are injuries

Downhill Skier/Front Runner - Travis Johnstone - only play well when it's easy for them.

 

[JUBJUB]

Fringe player (Someone who hasn't got a cemented spot in the team's best 22, but does not necessarily mean they are a crap player)

Shannon Byrnes.



Shannon Byrnes.



Shannon Byrnes.

LongBomb,I have to disagree with your first nomination of Byrnes if you go by the highlighted bit.He is a crap player.

 

[STC]

LongBomb,I have to disagree with your first nomination of Byrnes if you go by the highlighted bit.He is a crap player.

I also disagree with... Oh no, it didn't say that fringe players try really hard.

 

[Belly #12]

Who is Shannon Byrnes?

 

[Marns]

Downhill Skier/Front Runner - Travis Johnstone - only play well when it's easy for them.

I had someone tell me he'd win the Brownlow this year. Obviously not a Melbourne supporter.

 

[GreyWind]

Fringe Player: Not necessarily a crap player, just a player who always comes in and out of the team depending on injuries, suspensions, conditions ect. Prismal at Geelong is a good example only because Geelong are so good he is unable to be in the best 22 every week.

Downhill skier: there are two meanings I reckon. First is a person who only plays well when the team is playing well and then usually gets a lot of the credit (Dale Thomas). The second is a person who when their team has the ball runs hard forward, but when there is a turn-over will refuse to run back into the backline to help out (Nathan Eagleton).

Front runner: is a person who only plays well when the team is playing well and then usually gets a lot of the credit (Dale Thomas).

 

[Perth Swans]

Who is Shannon Byrnes?

A crap Geelong player

 

[Jamie007]

Downhill skiier............... See Nick Stevens.. All offense, no defense. Runs forward of play regardless of wether we win the clearance or not. Is always caught out when we dont win the ball. Also soft as snow.

 

[Power King]

downhill skier in the context of running forward then 'struggling' to get back up makes good use of the imagery

 

[Stereophonic]

I had to fill my wife in on "Shank" and "roost" the other night

 

[Hanis]

I had to fill my wife in on "Shank" and "roost" the other night

Don't you mean you filled her in with a "shag" and a "root"

 

[Belly #12]

A crap Geelong player

Thats odd.

 

[Illinois Nazi]

I had to fill my wife in on "Shank" and "roost" the other night

That's interesting, because I filled in a "skank" with a "root" the other night.

 

[BigBadCam]

A front runner in my book is someone who hangs around the front of packs and waits for the easy give from those who are prepared to put their body on the line. They are already half a dozen steps forward of the play and are not accountable.

A downhill skiier is someone who only plays well when his team is going well. They wont be anywhere to be seen when their team is crap.

 

[94_Eagles]

Shannon Byrnes.



Shannon Byrnes.



Shannon Byrnes.

Loooooool.

And the only way Byrnes should be spelt is Burns.

 

[*PAF]

What I think they mean will be in brackets.

Fringe player (Someone who hasn't got a cemented spot in the team's best 22, but does not necessarily mean they are a crap player)

Downhill skier (no idea)

Front runner (someone who only plays well when his team are doing well and are in a comfortable position in the match)


I ask because when people use these terms, I have seen them used in what appears to be conflicting interpretations.

Fringe player is a Y generation thing. In generation X we had mullet heads.

A downhill skier is slowly disappearing out of the game. In the old days, when ovals weren't perfectly level like nowadays, it used to be a player that seemingly glided over the ground when running downhill. The fatter kids have trouble running down slopes.

A front runner is someone that has a big front on running action (like the Jamaican Bolton) and has such has a hard time turning around when the ball goes behind them. Not a good idea to have too many in the one side.

 

[Bomber Man]

Shannon Byrnes x 3

The last 2 are a bit unfair. You could practically say every Geelong player only plays well when the team plays well over the last 2 years...

He's definitely on their fringe though.