Watching footy can bring up just about every kind of emotion
imaginable. A single game can cause sheer joy, heartbreak, nerves, anger and
relief all within a half an hour! But something that’s a bit rarer on the field
is humour. While we all appreciate the lighter side of the game off field and
in the media, it’s not every day you see a genuinely funny thing happening when
you’re watching an intense game of footy. That’s what makes them so enjoyable!
Here we count down some of the more memorable hilarious moments you might
remember.
1.Corey
Enright running around in his jocks
This is truly one of the classic moments in recent times and
has simply got to be at the top of the list. In a relatively one-sided matchup
against the Brisbane Lions, Corey Enright side stepped a tackle on the forward
flank, but the defender did manage to rip of his shorts before he got the kick
away. This is something that happens from time to time, but what happened next
was a bit out of the ordinary. There was no break in the play so Enright had to man his
position or risk giving a kick or even a goal away to his opponent. When the
ball came back into Geelong’s backline, the Cats regained possession and
Enright received a handball before getting a kick in his jocks! Unfortunately
it resulted in a turnover but the kick still brought a smile to the face of
coach Bomber Thompson.
2. Umpire
marking the ball
Peter Carey umpired 307 matches at the senior VFL/AFL level,
including 4 grand finals. But the game we’ll always remember him for was played
between Fremantle and St Kilda at Subiaco in 1997. The then-veteran ump marked
a kick from Adrian Fletcher on his chest, before promptly blowing the whistle
and calling a ball up. Most put this down to a moment of confusion for Carey, a
mental blank where he acted impulsively. Some might even say it shows that he
wished he could be playing at the professional level! We can’t even imagine
what the consequences would be from the AFL today, but at the time it was more
or less laughed off. Although Carey went on to umpire just 8 more senior
matches.
3. Mcnarmara going
the wrong way
This is a classic funny moment that can happen in just about
every ball sport. We’ve seen it in basketball, soccer and many times in AFL.
Jamie McNamara’s time came in 2009. Against the Cats, the West Coast youngster
broke through getting a clearance out of a throw in on the wing, before taking
off at lightning speed towards the Geelong goal. He even managed to get a kick
away before pulling it (obviously realising what he’d done). This resulted in
the kick more or less directly going to an opponent in the forward line and
resulted in a goal for them. No doubt McNamara got a spray from his coach.
4. Cale Morton
picking a fight
There’s plenty of players in the AFL that you might not
describe as big and burly, you’ve got to admire a player that can stand his
ground and defend his teammates regardless of his size. Melbourne’s Cale Morton
however, may have got a bit ahead of himself when he picked a fight with Port
Adelaide big man Brendan Lade. Lade tackled Morton as he got a handball off and
gave him a shove for good measure, so Morton pushed him right back. Lade then
gave chase and Morton was off the races – really it looked like a scene from a
school playground more than an AFL football match, but we can’t say we haven’t
thoroughly enjoyed it!
There are many other funny moments that have happened on
field. Any you can think of?
