Convict Shirts — AFL Slang & Culture
AFL Club Nicknames: Where Every Name Came From
The Pies, The Dons, The Bloods, The Hawks — a complete guide to every AFL club nickname, its origin, and what it says about the club that carries it.
Every AFL club has a nickname. Most fans use the nickname more than the official name — nobody says Hawthorn Football Club when they mean the Hawks. The nicknames are the clubs. They carry history, identity, and in some cases, a story the official name has long since forgotten.
The Victorian Clubs
Collingwood
The Magpies / The Pies
Adopted the magpie in 1892, the year after the club’s formation. The black-and-white colours were already established, and the magpie — black and white, aggressive, territorial, deeply Australian — was the natural fit. The Pies is the diminutive form, used as freely as The Magpies.
Essendon
The Bombers / The Dons
The Bombers nickname comes from the club’s association with the Essendon Aerodrome — adopted in the 1930s to link with the modernity and power of aviation. The Dons is a contraction of Essendon, used interchangeably, particularly by older supporters.
Hawthorn
The Hawks
Adopted in 1942. The hawk was chosen for its speed, predatory instincts, and the brown-and-gold colour association. The nickname became definitively attached to the club’s dynasty periods — the 1960s–70s and the 2008–16 era cemented it as one of the most feared in the competition.
Carlton
The Blues
Direct and colour-based: Carlton have worn navy blue since their formation in 1864. One of the oldest clubs in the competition, Carlton’s blue is specific — navy, not sky blue — and the nickname follows the colours straightforwardly.
Richmond
The Tigers
Adopted in 1885. The yellow and black stripes suggested the tiger naturally. The Tigers gained cultural weight through the 1960s–70s under Tom Hafey and the 2017–20 dynasty under Damien Hardwick.
Geelong
The Cats
Adopted in the early 1920s. The older nickname The Pivotonians — after Pivot City, an early name for Geelong as the pivot point of Victorian trade routes — has been entirely replaced in contemporary use.
Melbourne
The Demons
One of the oldest clubs (founded 1858), Melbourne adopted The Demons as a play on the MFC monogram. The red-and-blue colours are straightforward. The nickname has been the club’s throughout its long history, including its challenging decades before the 2021 premiership.
St Kilda
The Saints
Named after the suburb of St Kilda, which is itself named after a ship — the Lady of St Kilda, which anchored in Port Phillip Bay in 1841. The Saints nickname follows the suburb name logically.
North Melbourne
The Kangaroos / The Roos
Adopted The Kangaroos as their official nickname in 1999. The change was controversial among members who preferred Shinboners — a historical nickname referencing the cheap cuts of meat the club’s working-class founding community could afford.
Western Bulldogs
The Bulldogs / The Doggies
The Footscray Football Club was renamed the Western Bulldogs in 1997. The Bulldogs nickname dates from 1936, when the club adopted the bulldog — stubborn, tenacious, working-class — as their emblem. The Doggies is the diminutive, used with particular affection.
The Non-Victorian Clubs
Adelaide
The Crows
Joined the AFL in 1991 as the first non-Victorian club. The crow was chosen as a distinctively South Australian bird. The red, blue and gold strip is specific to the club.
Port Adelaide
The Power
Joined the AFL in 1997. Port Adelaide’s original SANFL nickname was The Magpies — taken by Collingwood. The Power was adopted with the teal, black and silver colour scheme as a deliberate departure. Old-school Port supporters still refer to The Magpies in historical contexts.
Brisbane Lions
The Lions
Formed from the 1996 merger of the Brisbane Bears and Fitzroy Lions. The Lions name kept Fitzroy’s lion while the maroon, blue and gold colour scheme incorporated both clubs’ heritage. The Bears name was retired.
Sydney Swans
The Swans / The Bloods
South Melbourne moved to Sydney in 1982. The Swans replaced South Melbourne’s Bloods identity — though The Bloods has been deliberately revived as a connection to the club’s South Melbourne heritage and as a point of differentiation from the sanitised Sydney identity.
West Coast Eagles
The Eagles
Joined the AFL in 1987. The eagle was chosen for its power, vision and Western Australian associations — the wedge-tailed eagle is native to WA. The royal blue and gold colour scheme has remained constant since foundation.
Fremantle
The Dockers
Joined the AFL in 1995. The Dockers nickname references Fremantle’s identity as a working port city. The purple and white colour scheme was deliberately distinctive.
Gold Coast Suns
The Suns
Joined the AFL in 2011. The Suns nickname is straightforwardly geographical — the Gold Coast’s defining characteristic is its sunshine. The red, gold and blue colour scheme reflects this.
GWS Giants
The Giants / The GIANTS
Joined the AFL in 2012 as the Greater Western Sydney Giants. The Giants nickname is aspirational — a new club in a large, rugby-dominated market choosing a name that projects scale and ambition. The orange and charcoal colour scheme is unique in the competition.
Historical Nicknames Still in Use
Shinboners (North Melbourne) — A working-class historical nickname referencing cheap cuts of meat. Still used by old-school North supporters as a statement of historical identity over the officially adopted Kangaroos name.
The Bloods (Sydney Swans) — South Melbourne’s original identity, deliberately revived. Using The Bloods signals an understanding of the club’s history that The Swans does not.
The Pivotonians (Geelong) — Entirely historical, rarely used, but worth knowing if you encounter it in older football writing.
The Dons (Essendon) — Still in active contemporary use alongside The Bombers. Both are correct.
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