Genre: Information/Explanation

In certain sports , such as football , field hockey , ice hockey , handball , rugby union , lacrosse and rugby league , winger is a position . It refers to positions on the extreme left and right sides of the pitch ( the " wings " ) . In American football and Canadian football , the analogous position is the wide receiver . Wingers often try to use pace to exploit extra space available on the flanks that can be made available by their team-mates dominating the centre ground . They must be wary however of not crossing the touchline and going out of play . In sports where the main method of scoring involves attacking a small goal ( by whatever name ) in the centre of the field , a common tactic is to cross the ball to a central team-mate . Contents In football , a winger is an attacking midfielder in a wide position . Wingers are usually players of great pace or dribbling ability so as to provide cut-backs or crosses from which strikers can score . Their main function is to support attack from the wings . Wingers do lots of high-speed running from defence to attack . In Australian rules football , the wingers or wingmen require considerable pace and stamina , as they run up and down the ground linking play between defence and attack and are normally highly skilled in kicking . " Winger " , in ice hockey , is a forward position of a player whose primary zone of play on the ice is along the outer playing area . They typically work by flanking the centre forward . Originally the name was given to forward players who went up and down the sides of the rink . Nowadays , there are different types of wing men in the game – out-and-out goal scorers , checkers who disrupt the opponents and forwards who work along the boards and in the corners . This position is typically just called " Wing " , often preceded by the side on which the player normally skates ( Left Wing or Right Wing ) . In Handball are two wing positions : left wing and right wing . In a typical team , these positions are occupied by fast and relatively small players . One of their main jobs in a game are fast attacks . Wingers or wings play on either the extreme left or the extreme right . They are usually the fastest players on the field and score the most tries . Wingers often fall back with the fullback to take kicks from the opposition .