Forward line

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In Australian rules football, the forward line refers to a set of attacking positions on the field.

The forward line consists of three players, a left and right forward pocket, and a full-forward. Up until approximately 20 years ago, the forward pockets were often the resting rover or ruckman. The advent of unlimited interchanges, as opposed to single player replacements in the mid 70s has changed the roles to specialist positions, rather than temporary placements.

The forward pocket player is usually a medium-sized leading forward, or a small-sized crumbing forward. Examples of a small crumbing forward pocket players include Stephen Milne, Nathan G. Brown, Phillip Matera Jeff Farmer and Ashley Sampi. Examples of medium sized leading forwards include Brad Johnson, Mark L. Williams and Paul Medhurst.

A full-forward is a larger stronger player who uses their strength to take marks and outmuscle their opponents (full-backs), and most importantly, kick goals. Examples of full-forwards include Tony Lockett, Fraser Gehrig, Scott Cummings, Matthew Lloyd, John Coleman and Brian Taylor.