A spectacular mark (often called a specky, speckie or speccy for short, alternatively known as a screamer or a hanger) is a term for a type of mark in Australian rules football. The typical spectacular mark involves a player jumping up on the back of another player in order to take the mark, or catch.
The spectacular mark has become a much celebrated aspect of the sport. Many of the winners of the annual Mark of the Year competition could be considered 'speckies', and commentators will often call an individual specky "a contender" in reference to this competition and the mark's likeliness to win it. A notable example was Shaun Smith's 1995 spectacular leap and mark, officially named 'Mark of the Century' in which he virtually stood on the shoulders of his opponent.
The movement of other players beneath a marking can cause the flyer to lose balance in mid air and land or fall awkwardly, enhancing the spectacular nature of the mark. In the 1980s it became common for exponents of the spectacular mark to achieve extra elevation by levering or propping the hands or arms off the shoulders of opponents. According to the strict interpretation of the rules, this is in fact illegal interference. Sometimes umpires, however, may interpret in favour of spectacular play if the interference is minor and deemed to be part of the jumping action. The AFL Rules Committee in 2007 effectively disallowed this type of spectacular mark altogether with the advent of the controversial "hands on the back" rule.
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History
The first speckies in the game of Australian rules football began to appear in the 1880s, a time in which the popularity of the sport was heightened. Charlie Pearson was one of the first high flyers. Albert Thurgood was a later exponent at the turn of the century. Dick Lee pulled down consistent high marks in the early 1900s.
It wasn't until the 1897 with the push in the back rule that high flyers were protected from being pushed in mid air. This prevented potential serious injury. In 1904, "unintentional interference" paved the way for forwards to climb up opposition players backs to take spectacular marks.
Notable Exponents
Great players known for their ability to frequently take "speckies" include:
- Roy Cazaly
- Gary Ablett, Sr.
- Trevor Barker
- Alex Jesaulenko, who took the Mark of the Century for the Twentieth Century in the 1970 AFL Grand Final, to the oft-quoted commentary of "oh, Jesaulenko, you beauty!"
- Peter Knights
- John Coleman
- Simon Madden
- Paul van der Haar
- Tony Modra
- Warwick Capper
- Shaun Smith
- Winston Abraham
- Nicky Winmar
- Daryl White
Current players that regularly exhibit spectacular marking include Chris Tarrant, Jeff White, Russell Robertson, Aaron Edwards, Michael Newton, Brett Burton, Luke McPharlin, Leon Davis, Leo Barry, Matthew Richardson, Matthew Lloyd and Dale Thomas.
Specky in Popular Culture
The specky has been widely celebrated in popular Australian culture. The phrase "The Big Men Fly" to describe the game of Australian Rules is about the specky and has spawned a play. Alex Jesaulenko's specky spawned the catch phrase "Jesaulenko You Beauty!". Songs like "Up There Cazaly" also celebrate the popular spectator phenomenon.
There are also a series of football-related children's novels by ex-player Garry Lyon and children's author, Felice Arena named after their protagonist, "Specky Magee". This character is named after the slang term.
The Stepladder
In Australian slang, stepladder describes the player over which another player marks to take a specky. In the past, fullbacks have been renowned for regularly acting as stepladders.
The stepladders of famous marks are very rarely remembered or recorded in the history books. The only notable exception to this was Graeme "Jerker" Jenkins who was the stepladder for Alex Jesaulenko's mark — Melbourne band TISM even wrote the song "the Back upon Which Jezza Jumped" about him.
Strong fullbacks Gary Pert, Michael Martyn, Chris Langford and Matthew Scarlett have been stepladders for speckies on multiple occasions.
Warren Tredrea was the stepladder of a rare Grand Final spectacular mark taken by Paul Chapman in the 2007 AFL Grand Final.
External links
- AFL Mark of the Year Competition
- Video of Geelong's Brad Ottens taking a specky at YouTube (requires Adobe Flash)
- Video of Gary Ablett's hanger in the 1989 VFL Semi Final Geelong V Melbourne
- Video of Gary Ablett taking a specky over Gary Pert
- Video of a specky by SANFL player Tim Inkster
- Photo Gallery "The Big Men Fly" at Full Points Footy
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