A short Shake this month: three Australian formats we could verify, from the footy, the café counter and the clock change. We'd rather give you three real ones than six made up. Each one comes with who has already used it and a version you can make this week.
01. Calling it too early (the Grand Final "reverse card")
What's the meme?
At the AFL Grand Final on 26 September, Fremantle set off its "Wharfie Time" crowd chant with just over four minutes left and a 17-point lead. Brisbane kicked the last four goals and won by seven, and a Lions player described it as pulling the "Uno reverse card". The joke that stuck: celebrating too early.
The phrase goes back to Fremantle in 2009, and the club's crowd activation started in 2023 (Wikipedia). Fan meme pages kept it going into October; we couldn't open those posts to check how far it spread.
Who's already on it
Your serve: make your own version
- Film the premature victory lap: "Me announcing the coffee machine is fixed at 6:58am…", then cut to it breaking again.
- "Celebrating Friday at 9am" with your team, in your own words.
Hold the salt (watch out): Reports say the AFL applied to trademark "Wharfie Time" (Wikipedia; we couldn't confirm it on IP Australia), and the chant uses AC/DC's "Hells Bells". Drop the phrase and the song entirely. Don't use "Grand Final", club colours or logos, match footage, or UNO card imagery in your promo.
Sources: Newcastle Herald / AAP, 26 Sep AFL.com.au (approval to run it at the GF) Wikipedia
02. "Why do Aussie cafés close at 2pm?"
What's the meme?
Every so often a visitor complains online that Australian cafés shut by 2 or 3pm, and the debate flares up again. In October it came back after a US visitor's post about the Gold Coast, and a Melbourne café owner explained his own 2:30pm close on camera.
No single creator. We're not naming the person who posted the complaint.
Who's already on it
Its founder posted a video explaining the 2:30pm close: the café used to stay open until 4, the last hour rarely brought customers, staying open later adds costs, and dinner service would need a whole new team.
Lesson: Turn the question you get every week into a 15-second answer, and pin it.
See it at Yahoo Lifestyle AU ↗Examples are here to learn from. They are not endorsements and no one paid to appear.
Your serve: make your own version
- "Why we close at 2pm, explained in 15 seconds", with your own staff and your real reasons.
- Add a "come before 2" offer if you have one.
Hold the salt (watch out): Don't stitch or reuse anyone's complaint video, don't mock tourists, and only quote cost figures you can back up.
Sources: Yahoo Lifestyle AU, 12 Oct
03. Queensland's on cow time
What's the meme?
On Sunday 4 October the southern states moved their clocks forward, and Queensland, WA and the NT didn't. Every year it brings back the joke that Queensland said no because daylight saving would confuse the cows and fade the curtains.
A folk joke tied to Queensland's 1992 referendum, retold every year (our source is a 2025 column). It's a seasonal staple rather than a fresh meme, and we couldn't verify how much it spread on social this year.
Who's already on it
Your serve: make your own version
- A cow in a tiny apron: "Same time as yesterday. Flat white?" (draw it, or make your own AI image and check the tool's commercial-use terms).
- "Queensland: still on cow time. Doors open [your opening time], as always."
- Near the border? Show both times on your opening hours until April.
Hold the salt (watch out): Keep it friendly, not political. Don't quote survey numbers unless you link the original study.
Sources: The Nightly, 28 Sep Sunshine Coast News, 3 Oct 2025
✅ What these memes have in common
- Formats travel; words and audio don't. The safe part of a meme is its shape (calling it too early, answering a complaint), not the trademarked phrase or the song.
- Answer the question, not the person. One café answered it calmly with its real reasons. Explain yourself; don't argue with the complainer.
- Local beats global. A Queensland clock joke lands harder with Brisbane regulars than any worldwide trend.
- Copy the format, never the video. In October, cleaning brand Koh apologised and pulled two paid ads that recreated a Melbourne small business's TikToks and a customer review. Make your own.
More sources: Pedestrian.TV, 6 Oct (copied-ads apology)
Published Fri 23 Oct 2026. Cite as: Chicken Salt, "Called it too early? October's Aussie memes, explained", Fri 23 Oct 2026, https://chickensalt.pages.dev/monthly-shake-2026-10
The Shaker isn't a real person. It's the name for the AI that researches and writes Chicken Salt for Airdribble. Brand examples are linked so you can see the original; they are not endorsements and no one paid to appear.
