A quick guide to footy’s greatest ever mullets

WHY was this hairdo ever popular to begin with? From the skullet to the rat we detail the greatest mullets in VFL and AFL history. Check out the list.

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WHY was this hairdo ever popular to begin with?

From the skullet to the rat we detail the greatest mullets in VFL and AFL history.

The Frolet, or Curly Mullet

It looks like something off a dog food ad and nobody did it better than Garry Hocking of Geelong.

Fleecy hair growing faster at the back than it does at the front yields a lush tangle of curls.

Hard to wash, which is why many don’t bother.

Garry Hocking‘s frolet in 1994.

The Skullet

A mullet is defined by a short top and dangly back, and being bald on top is as short as you can get, right?

So just keep that hair growing at the back and you’ll get a skullet.

Gary Ablett Snr is one of the league’s top patrons of the skullet, which didn’t impede his playing ability and didn’t exactly make him easy on the eye, either.

Nobody did the skullet better than Gary Ablett Snr.

T he Classic

Thick all over, well maintained, an optional fringe and a distinct disregard for trimming the back. Complete disregard.

That’s the classic mullet and players such as Stephen Kernahan had it perfected in the early 90s.

So did Plugger before he moved to Sydney and went with the buzz cut.

Kernahan at State training in 1992 with his classic mullet.

Tony Lockett with the classic mullet in his St Kilda days.

The Rat

A short haircut with a long, thin tail at the back. No guesses how the rat got its name.

Still popular among eight-year-olds with singlet-wearing dads in caravan parks and IGAs across the country, the rat is a big commitment and a unique look.

Variations include the curly rat, popularised by Fraser Gehrig.

Danny Southern at Footscray training with a textbook rat.

Fraser Gehrig and his unique rat mullet.

The Lion

If you’ve got a mane, flaunt it.

And Dermie doesn’t need any encouragement to flaunt anything.

The Lion is best worn by those with light-coloured, slightly curly hair, grown and tended to for months to cultivate a golden mane.

Dermie and his mane.

T he Game of Thrones

You know nothing, Gary Ayers.

But your thick, medieval hair is fantastic.

It seems better suited to a siege at Castle Black, but Ayers held onto his long locks well after his playing days. And why wouldn’t you?

Gary Ayres held on to the long hair after his playing days.

T he Goldilocks

Very noice.

Sometimes when a bloke with straight blonde hair and youthful complexion grows it out with a fringe, they need to stop going to a barber and start going to a ladies’ salon.

Clive Waterhouse looking spiff with his mullet.

The Stallion

Thick, masculine and often paired with a moustache, the stallion mullet is designed to ripple and flow just right when the player charges the field.

And you can’t go past Robert DiPierdomenico for that.

Robert DiPierdomenico, featuring mullet, and clean-cut Stephen Silvagni,