I thought given we are in the off season it would be an intresting or worth while excerise to go over some commonly used and misused football terms. Hopefully this will in some small way reduce the amount of discussions that are all over the place with people having different understandings of the same term.
Inside- Is pretty much exactly that. Players who work well in tight space. Clearances, First touch, and contested possesions are all features of a "inside" player.
It is commonly misunderstood and misused for tough. Being tough is often a trait of inside players but is not a requirement. Just because your not a tough nut doesn't mean your not good inside although the best pure inside players are tough in and under players.
Outside- Pretty much the opposite, it is used for players who are good at opperating in space. Running bounces, handballs recieved and uncontested marks are all stats the indicate outside possesion. It is commonly misused to describe "soft" players.
AS Figjam has so well explained there should be a dulux paint scheme of inside / outsideness as they aren't really exclusive. In such a scheme there would be Inside first touch gurus- Guys who are clearance and ball winning specialists. Inside linking players the players who are neat inside and good outside and then outside players who only function well when in space.
"Soft"- Is a pretty harsh term and should only really be used by players who "short step" or avoid and dodge contact. In games there will be times where a ball is in dispute and a player should be commited to go and but their body on the line to win the ball, any player who doesn't go into the contest or goes in half hearted starts to fall into the soft catergory. To use an old favourite Ryan Lonie on a number of occasions would pull up and make a choice to avoid the contest and then try and tackle rather then to win the ball.
Upside- Is used for young players with room for great improvement. This mainly applies to young guys who have great skills but lack the physical development or fitness required for AFL level. Not all young players have a huge deal of upside. Sidebottom for one doesn't have a huge deal of upside. Lack of upside is not as terrible as people seem to seem guys like Sidebottom and Rich have a lot of already AFL ready attributes which means they won't need to improve or work on as much to be AFL players.
Other common misconceptions Goal kicking and field kicking. They are different skills. Being poor at one doesn't always result in being poor at the other. Someone like Medhurst is a good goal kick but a very average field kick, Someone like Ried is a terrible goal kick but a decent field kick. This get even more tricky in someone like Thomas's case who has the ability to kick freak check side goals but is an average kick for goal in general and an average field kick.
Inside- Is pretty much exactly that. Players who work well in tight space. Clearances, First touch, and contested possesions are all features of a "inside" player.
It is commonly misunderstood and misused for tough. Being tough is often a trait of inside players but is not a requirement. Just because your not a tough nut doesn't mean your not good inside although the best pure inside players are tough in and under players.
Outside- Pretty much the opposite, it is used for players who are good at opperating in space. Running bounces, handballs recieved and uncontested marks are all stats the indicate outside possesion. It is commonly misused to describe "soft" players.
AS Figjam has so well explained there should be a dulux paint scheme of inside / outsideness as they aren't really exclusive. In such a scheme there would be Inside first touch gurus- Guys who are clearance and ball winning specialists. Inside linking players the players who are neat inside and good outside and then outside players who only function well when in space.
"Soft"- Is a pretty harsh term and should only really be used by players who "short step" or avoid and dodge contact. In games there will be times where a ball is in dispute and a player should be commited to go and but their body on the line to win the ball, any player who doesn't go into the contest or goes in half hearted starts to fall into the soft catergory. To use an old favourite Ryan Lonie on a number of occasions would pull up and make a choice to avoid the contest and then try and tackle rather then to win the ball.
Upside- Is used for young players with room for great improvement. This mainly applies to young guys who have great skills but lack the physical development or fitness required for AFL level. Not all young players have a huge deal of upside. Sidebottom for one doesn't have a huge deal of upside. Lack of upside is not as terrible as people seem to seem guys like Sidebottom and Rich have a lot of already AFL ready attributes which means they won't need to improve or work on as much to be AFL players.
Other common misconceptions Goal kicking and field kicking. They are different skills. Being poor at one doesn't always result in being poor at the other. Someone like Medhurst is a good goal kick but a very average field kick, Someone like Ried is a terrible goal kick but a decent field kick. This get even more tricky in someone like Thomas's case who has the ability to kick freak check side goals but is an average kick for goal in general and an average field kick.
