2012 Youth Coaching Manual - AFL Community

Position Descriptions
The full-forward
AFL footballers are so versatile that full-forward is about the only position on the ground in which a player
may play exclusively and still play out a successful career. They must be able to take great marks, overhead
and on the lead, kick accurately under pressure on both sides of the body and be able to cope with the
constant attention of defenders. Their success depends largely on their capacity to kick goals, but also on
creating marking options and collecting kicks further up the field.
The full-back
The full-back is the team’s last line of defence. Good players in this position don’t give the opposition a
moments rest. They will stand beside the full-forward, harass them, punch the ball away when it comes near
them and generally attempt to spoil their opposition’s day on the field. Full-backs generally enjoy running
straight at the football, have good pace and are strong. They are also reliable and have a cool head in a crisis.
Above all, full-backs are fearless and willing to put their bodies on the line. A feature of AFL full-back of the
century Steven Silvagni’s play was his ability to consistently beat his opponents in one-on-one contests.
Ruck
The style and requirements of the ruck position have evolved over the years. The latest to emerge is the
mobile ruckman, who is reasonably tall and has a good leap, great running power and the capacity to
move forward of the action to provide another scoring option. The older style of rucking, which is still
employed by some players, is to play a kick behind the play, using strength to mark strongly and give
the ball off by handballing to running teammates. Ruckmen are also required to contest at the centre
bounces, ball-ups around the ground and boundary throw-ins, either palming the ball to teammates or
punching the ball towards their team’s goals.
The midfielder
Such is the expectation of constant running that is placed on midfielders (centremen, wingmen, rovers
or ruck-rovers), many clubs rotate a group of up to eight players through the midfield to maintain
the high intensity through that part of the ground. Midfielders must have great endurance, excellent
disposal skills, pace, a good football brain and be capable of coping with the close attention from
opposition players. Games can be won or lost according to a team’s capacity to outrun the opposition
in the midfield. Midfielders are expected to run deep into defence to flood or crowd the opposition’s
forward line which narrows the options for a team bringing the ball into its forward line.
Centre half-forward
Centre half-forward is generally acknowledged as the most difficult position in football. Contesting
for the football in the area forward of the centre circle and just in front of the ‘hot spot’ (an area 30-40
metres directly in front of goal) is no easy task. There are different methods of playing centre halfforward.
Brisbane Lions champion Jonathan Brown is renowned for his capacity to take a contested mark
and use his strength to absorb opposition attention, allowing teammates to gather the loose ball. St Kilda’s
Nick Riewoldt, a four-time All-Australian, tends to get more of the ball at the true centre half-forward
position and in the midfield. Extremely mobile for his size, he is hard to stop because he runs hard to get
to contests and is skilled on both sides of his body.
AFL Youth Coaching Manual
91