Glossary of Australian Rules Football - B

B

Bag

colloquialism for a large number of goals scored by one player.

Ball!

usually yelled by spectators when an opposition player is tackled in possession of the ball. Short for "holding the ball".

Ball burster

colloquialism for a massive kick, usually a torpedo punt which travels over 70 metres.

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.

Banana

a kick which causes the ball to swing in the air in the opposite direction to the usual. See checkside.

Barrel

a "torpedo punt" kick. See also screwie.

Baulk

a manoeuvre 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 19.8m apart on the goal line at each end of the ground, centred 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

player judged the best player taking part in any game. Sometimes also referred to as BOG, pronounced "bee-oh-gee".

Bounce-down

(or simply bounce) the act of a field umpire putting the ball back into play by bouncing the ball in such a way that it mimics a vertical throw. See ball-up.

Boundary line

the line drawn on the ground to delimit the field of play.

Boundary throw-in

(or simply 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.

Break

short for "break in play"; e.g. quarter-time, half-time, or three-quarter-time.

Brownlow

the Brownlow Medal is awarded the week of the Grand Final to the player judged to be the best and fairest player in the league for the season, based on accumulated points awarded by the field umpires at the conclusion of each match during the season.

Bump

a contact between players using the hip and/or shoulder. See hip-and-shoulder.