11 AFL footballers whose names you’re pronouncing wrong

IS IT Leigh Mon-tag-na or Mon-tan-ya? The Saint’s name even causes confusion at home. Lucky we’re here to help.

NAB Challenge Match Hawthorn v St Kilda Leigh Montagna leads the saints out onto the ground Picture:Wayne Ludbey

WHAT’S in a name? Would a player called by a different variation still poll a vote?

OK, so AFL commentary isn’t exactly poetry at times, but depending on which station you listen to or broadcast you watch, you might get up to three or four different varieties of a name each and every round.

And there are some continual victims. To clear things up, here are 11 names there’s a good chance you have been saying wrong their whole careers. Commentators feel free to bookmark this page.

Have we missed someone? Leave a comment below.

LEIGH MONTAGNA

The confusion: Mon-tag-na or Mon-tan-ya?

The veteran Saint has said the traditional Italian pronunciation is the latter, but he prefers the former.

The verdict: Mon-tag-na

NICK RIEWOLDT

The confusion: Ree-wolt or Ree-volt?

Saints skipper Nick says Riewoldt with a very soft ‘V’, so that’s good enough for us.

The verdict: Ree-volt. Same goes for Jack, too. Obviously.

NICK VLASTUIN

The confusion: Vlass-too-in or Floss-tone?

Nick’s father Chris was born in Dutch New Guinea and his grandparents are from Holland. The Dutch surname is pronounced with an “F” sound. But if in doubt, go with “Tigger”, his nickname since he was a kid.

The verdict: Floss-tone. As in dental.

SAM COLQUHOUN

The confusion: Col-co-houn or Col-hoon or Co-hoon?

Commentators have taken plenty of stabs at how to say the young Port Adelaide midfielder’s surname but we can confirm it’s option B. And if you’re not sure how to pronounce teammate Alipate Carlile’s first name, just go with his nickname Bobby.

The verdict: Col-hoon

Ivan Maric has caused pronunciation headaches with his first and last names.

IVAN MARIC (I)

The confusion: Eye-van or Ee-varn?

When the Tigers announced the signing of the former Crows ruckman — who was born in Melbourne to Croatian parents — back in October 2011, they made a point of highlighting just how to say the big man’s first name.

The verdict: Ee-varn

IVAN MARIC (II)

The confusion: Ma-rich or Ma-rick?

The traditional pronunciation of the Croatian name is the former, with a roll of the R to boot.

The verdict: Ma-rich

NAT FYFE

The confusion: Nat or Nate?

Some Melbourne commentators like to use the American abbreviation of Nathan, but the Dockers say his name rhymes with “cat”. While we’re at Fremantle, Michael Apeness pronounces his name “Appness” and commentators seem to have their head around Tendai Mzungu despite some hilariously bad attempts early in his career — listen to Graham ‘Smokey’ Dawson mangle his name below.

The verdict: Nat

CHRIS MASTEN

The confusion: Mass-ten or Marst-en?

Last, past, cast, mast. Right? Right. The Eagle finally settled things in 2013, but his nickname muddies the waters. “Everyone thought it was Mass-ten so started calling me Masto, but it’s actually Marst-en,” he told Nova.

The verdict: Marst-en

MICHAEL RISCHITELLI

The confusion: Rish-itelli or Risk-itelli?

The Suns veteran has an Italian background and while both variations above are common, he prefers the hard “k”.

The verdict: Risk-itelli

How do you say Jay’s surname? I know nothing!

JAY SCHULZ

The confusion: Shoolz or Schooltz?

We’ve been hearing “Shoolz” on TV a bit lately but Hogan’s Heroes had it right, with the traditional German or Polish pronunciation the latter.

The verdict: Schooltz. Like the sergeant.

JORDAN DE GOEY

The confusion: De Go-ey or De Goo-ey?

Get used to hearing the name of Collingwood’s top draft pick last year a lot more. The correct way to say it is with a sharp ‘o’, as in “Go you good thing”.

The verdict: De Go-ey