100,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿

Overnight NZ-wide delivery on in-stock orders 🚀

Bring Your A Game

The Encyclopaedia of Australian Sports Clichés
Brief Description
Australians love sport - and we love a sports cliché. No commentary is complete without a player under an 'injury cloud' or a coach with a 'selection headache'; every game has a 'ball magnet' player. Bring Your A Game is a celebration of Aussie sporting language:... Read More
Format: Hardback
$2999
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

Australians love sport - and we love a sports cliche. No commentary is complete without a player under an 'injury cloud' or a coach with a 'selection headache'; every game has a 'ball magnet' player. Bring Your A Game is a celebration of Aussie sporting language: a true ornament to the game that gives 110 per cent to sports fans.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Australians love sport - and we love a sports cliché. No commentary is complete without a player under an 'injury cloud' or a coach with a 'selection headache'; every game has a 'ball magnet' player. Bring Your A Game is a celebration of Aussie sporting language: a true ornament to the game that gives 110 per cent to sports fans.

So the ball's in your court, reader: are you ready to step up and play within yourself in order to appreciate the blend of youth and experience evident in this book by bestselling author and multi award-winning sports writer Anthony Sharwood, who has covered three Olympics, a Super Bowl, and written sport for newspapers, websites, magazines and television?

In Bring Your A Game, Sharwood takes a tilt at explaining the origins and usage of all the essential Australian sporting phrases - ably assisted by Louisa Maggio's hilarious illustrations of your favourite clichés. What does a premiership window look like, anyway? What is the true cost of an injury toll?

But this book is not just about the clichés. It is a long overdue tribute to the glory of Australian sporting lingo, a language within a language. Only an Australian cricket fan knows that if a bowler chucks pies, the cherry will end up in cow corner. Only an Aussie Rules footy fan understands that you can kick a bag but nothing's more exciting than a speccy.

Bring Your A Game is the glut of possession every sports lover needs. If you don't grab a copy for the sports tragic in your life, Christmas will be a dead rubber and you'll be living in a world of pain.

'An entertaining compendium for a country mad on sport and its language' THE AGE

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780733652592

Publisher: Hachette Australia

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 27 November 2024

Country: Australia

Imprint: Hachette Australia

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 20.0mm

Width: 134.0mm

Height: 202.0mm

Weight: 260g

Pages: 192

About the Author

Anthony Sharwood is a Walkley Award-winning journalist who has worked in TV, newspapers, magazines and online news sites. Formerly a sportswriter who covered several Olympic Games, he now specialises in the environment, climate and weather. In 2020 he released the acclaimed From Snow to Ash, a love letter to the Australian High Country written after walking the Australian Alps Walking Track and in 2021 he explored the passionate environmental and cultural battle over Australia's wild horses in The Brumby Wars. His books Kosciuszko and Bring Your A Game are both 2024 releases.

Also by Anthony Sharwood

View all
  • From Snow to Ash
    At the start of the hellish, fiery Australian summer of 2019/20, Walkley Award-winning journalist and suburban dad Anthony Sharwood set off on a journey. Abandoning his post on a busy news website to clear his mind, he solo-trekked the Australian Alps Walking Track, Australia's most gruelling and breathtakingly beautiful mainland hiking trail, which traverses the entirety of the legendary High...
    Paperback
    $3799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Kosciuszko
    Heroes are hard to come by - but there's one man whose legend has stood the test of two centuries, and whose name sits on Australia's highest peak. Tadeusz Kosciuszko: freedom fighter, friend of Thomas Jefferson and champion of liberty on two continents. Bestselling author Anthony Sharwood finds out why he's the hero the world needs right now. Kosciuszko -...
    Paperback
    $3999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Brumby Wars
    It's not just a war over horses. It's a battle for the soul of Australia. This is a book about the intense culture war raging around Australia's wild horses, known as brumbies. It pits a vision of the legendary Man from Snowy River and the iconic ANZAC Light Horse against the spectre of ecosystems destroyed by feral pests. The debate...
    Paperback
    $3999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Kosciuszko
    Longlisted for the 2025 Indie Book Award for Non-Fiction Kosciuszko is a name familiar to all Australians. But how many people know who our iconic highest peak is named after? Bestselling author Anthony Sharwood finds out why Tadeusz Kosciuszko is the hero the world needs right now. A military engineer, freedom fighter and champion of human rights, this extraordinary revolutionary...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks

More from Sports

View all
  • Formula One 2026
    The world's bestselling Grand Prix handbook is back for the new season. This is the definitive guide to Formula One 2026 — a complete examination of all the teams, drivers, and tracks featured in the packed Grand Prix calendar. Also including a full review of the 2025 season and a breakdown of the new rules and regulations for 2026, this...
    Paperback
    $3800
    Elsewhere:
    $4499
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Legends and Soles
    The brilliant autobiography from the ‘saviour of Nike’ If you’re a sneaker head, you know him as the saviour of Nike. If you’ve watched Air, you saw Matt Damon’s portrayal of the man who discovered Michael Jordan and how he revolutionised the payment structure of endorsements for athletes. Legends and Soles tells Sonny’s story – his blind-sided firing by Nike...
    Paperback
    $3200
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Surviving to Drive
    A hugely entertaining access-all-areas account of a year inside Formula 1, from Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner, star of Drive to Survive, one of the most successful Netflix series of all time. THE INSTANT NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'Gripping to read. Funny, real, exciting. It's a brilliant book.' - Chris Evans 'Fearless and candid... A gleeful guide to...
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $3000
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Good, the Bad & the Rugby – Unleashed
    The long-awaited book from rugby stars Alex Payne, James Haskell and Mike Tindall. Rugby megastars James Haskell, Mike Tindall, and Alex Payne get together to discuss the highs and lows of their podcast, friendship, and rugby. Among the key questions answered: What happened when Mike took their shambles of a podcast inside the walls of Windsor Castle to meet the...
    Hardback
    $5500
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Gloves Off
    The unflinching autobiography from the two-time world heavyweight champion and British People's Champion, Tyson Fury, now out in paperback, Gloves Off is an enthralling journey into the life of one of boxing's most charismatic and controversial figures. From his humble beginnings to his meteoric rise and dramatic falls, Fury’s story is a testament to the indomitable human spirit. In this...
    Paperback
    $2800
    Elsewhere:
    $3000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Salt Path
    The Salt Path is a deeply moving and profoundly inspiring true story that captures the essence of human resilience and the profound impact of nature on our well-being. This compelling narrative, a Sunday Times bestseller and shortlisted for the prestigious Wainwright Prize, recounts the life-changing journey of Raynor and Moth Winn—a couple who, facing monumental life challenges, find solace and...
    Paperback
    $2300
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Salt Path
    The bestselling true story of the couple who lost everything and embarked on a journey not of escape but salvation, soon to be a major motion picture starring Golden Globe winning Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs. Just days after Raynor learns that Moth, her husband of 32 years, is terminally ill, the couple lose their home and their livelihood. With...
    Paperback
    $2700
    Elsewhere:
    $3000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • States of Play
    The International Bestseller & Winner of the Football Book of the Year Award A Times Sports Book of the Year A Telegraph Book of the Year An Irish Times Book of the Year An Irish Independent Book of the Year 'Important, perfectly timed and hugely necessary.' The Guardian 'A monumental piece of investigative journalism.' Irish Times 'A must-read on how...
    Paperback
    $2999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Swimmer of Auschwitz
    Pre-order
    The Swimmer of Auschwitz
    'Propulsive... Readers will be hooked' - Publishers Weekly Based on the extraordinary true story of Alfred Nakache, subject of the Oscar-nominated short film Papillon. Alfred Nakache, a Jewish child from Constantine, never imagined that he would one day swim for France at the Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936, nor that he would achieve a world record, as he did...
    Paperback
    $2799
    Pre-order
    Out 11 Aug 2026
  • The Formula
    A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 'HANDS DOWN THE GREATEST BOOK EVER WRITTEN ABOUT F1.' - Sam Walker, author of The Captain Class 'MODERN F1 IS THE SPORTS STORY OF THIS ERA AND NO ONE COULD TELL IT BETTER' - Kevin Clark, ESPN 'THE FASTEST READ YOU WILL EVER PICK UP' - A.J. Baime, author of Go Like Hell F1 is...
    Paperback
    $2600
    Elsewhere:
    $2999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Breath
    Discover the transformative power of breathing in Breath by esteemed journalist James Nestor. This revolutionary book delves into the science and history of one of the most fundamental human activities - breathing. From the bustling streets of São Paulo to the serene temples of India, Nestor embarks on a global journey to uncover the secrets of ancient breathing techniques such...
    Paperback
    $2100
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Forever Forward
    With a foreword by McLaren CEO Zak Brown and written with inside access, this is the real-time, unfolding story of one of F1's greatest ever teams, as they rise back up from oblivion. Few names in motorsports carry the same authority as McLaren, and with their remarkable victory in the 2024 constructors championship, they are now returning to form in...
    Hardback
    $4000
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.