Australian Rules Football Positions - Utility Players

Utility Players

There are very few players in the AFL league who possess the skill and poise to be able to consistently perform to a very high standard in a number of various positions. Some of these players do not receive the recognition they deserve, while others, such as Matthew Pavlich and Adam Goodes, are praised for their versatility and ability to influence a game from any position.

Traditionally, a utility player is an unheralded but nonetheless important player. He does not dominate one position, instead he is like a "spare parts" player because he can fill in at a variety of positions and do a good job in each.

Nowadays, the need for more versatility in players has resulted in many players "doubling up" their roles. Practically every midfielder can play Forward Pocket, Back Pocket, Half-Forward Flank or Half-Back Flank. Most, if not all, starting ruckmen can play as tall forwards, or in rarer cases, tall defenders. Some tall defenders can play as tall forwards and vice-versa. This means that most AFL players have a specialist position and one or two 'fill-in' positions.

One exception to this would be a player who is actually a specialist at two positions, not just a fill-in (i.e. Adam Hunter, the Eagles' best Centre-Half Back, is also one of their most dominant Full Forwards). Another exception would be midfielders, such as James Hird and Anthony Koutoufides, who have the height and strength to play key positions. This requires an extremely rare blend of skills and abilities.

Below are a number of players who are notable for their ability to dominate various positions.

Notable players:

• Anthony Koutoufides Wing, Centre, Ruck, Ruck-rover, Rover, Centre-Half Back, Centre-Half Forward, Full-forward.
• Matthew Pavlich - Centre-Half Forward, Centre, Full Forward
• Cameron Bruce - began his career as a midfielder, but has enjoyed success playing at half-forward and half-back, and in recent years has performed various tagging roles as well.
• Adam Hunter Centre-Half Back, Full Back, Centre-Half Forward, Full Forward, a designated 'swingman' for the Eagles in their GF days of 05-06, had a habit of scoring important goals in big matches.
• Nathan Lovett-Murray Wing, Centre, Rover, Back Pocket, Half-Back Flank, Half-Forward Flank,
• Angus Monfries Wing, Centre, Rover, Half Forward Flank, Forward Pocket
• Mark McVeigh Wing, Centre, Back Pocket, Half-Back Flank, Half-Forward Flank
• Ricky Dyson Wing, Back Pocket, Half-Back Flank, Half-Forward Flank
• Adam McPhee Back Pocket, Half-Back Flank, Wing, Centre, Half-Forward Flank, Tagger
• Henry Slattery Back Pocket, Half-Back Flank, Wing, Centre
• Andrew Embley Wing, Centre, Centre-Half Forward, Full Forward, Half-Forward Flank
• James Hird Forward Pocket, Half Forward Flank, Wing, Rover, Half Back, Centre-Half Back, Centre-Half Forward
• Chad Cornes Centre-Half Back, Half-Forward flank, Centre, Wing, Ruck rover, Back Pocket, Tagger
• Anthony Rocca Full Forward, Centre-Half Forward, Ruck
• Peter Burgoyne Back Pocket, Half-Back Flank, Wing, Ruck Rover, Half-Forward Flank
• Jason Blake Back Pocket, Ruck, Forward Pocket
• Quinten Lynch Can play in all key positions- Full Forward, Ruck, Centre Half-Forward, Centre Half-Back and has even been used with some success as a midfielder.
• Trent Croad Centre Half-Forward, Centre Half-Back. (He is more of a CHB now, bt played CHF in his earlier days)
• Matthew Richardson. Centre-Half Forward, Full-Forward, Wing
• Ben Rutten Started his career at Centre Half-Forward, but has since been transformed to a champion All-Australian Full-Back
• Jarrad Waite Full Forward, Centre-Half Forward, Wing, Centre-Half Back, Full Back
• Andrew Mackie Half Forward, Wing, Half Back
• Brendon Goddard Half Back Flank, Centre-Half Forward, Wing, Half Forward Flanker, Forward Pocket, Back Pocket, Full Forward, Centre-Half Back, Center
• Justin Sherman Half Forward, Half Back, Midfield
• Brett Deledio Midfield, Half Forward, Half Back
• Matthew Pavlich Centre-Half Forward, Full Forward, Midfield, Centre-Half Back, Full Back
• Bryce Gibbs Midfield, Half-Back flank, Half-Forward flank
• Heath Scotland Midfield, Half-Back flank, Half-Forward flank
• Chris Yarran Forward Pocket, Half-Back flank, Wing
• Leigh Brown Centre-Half back, Ruck, Centre-Half Forward
• Patrick Ryder Ruck, Full-Forward, Centre-Half back
• Sam Gilbert Centre-Half Back, Centre-Half Forward, Wing
• Robert Murphy Half Forward, Wing, Half Back
• Tyson Goldsack Back Pocket, Full Back, Forward Pocket
• Martin Clarke Back Pocket, Half-Back flank, Wing, Centre, Tagger, Half Forward flank
• Ben Johnson Half-Back flank, Wing, Half forward flank