Why do so many players get excluded by their shortcomings, rather than picked on their strengths?The Giants settled on 11 of their allotted 12 teens, and then passed on Talia, with recruiter Neville Stibbard not sold on his field kicking.
Ben Rutten, Darren Glass, Simon Prestigiacomo and Dale Morris couldn't kick 50 metres between them, but they are some of the best defenders of the last decade.
If you kicked five goals and Tom Boyd kicked five goals, Tom Boyd kicked more goals than you.
Formerly gogriff
The recommendation by Scott Wynd now coach at Assumption College having replaced the famous Ray Carroll was considered a key factor in Talia's recruitment. Michael is said to have a stronger physical approach to his game than older brother Daniel which should please coach McCartney who is demanding a far more ruthless approach to the Bulldogs attack on the ball in 2012. It is good to see some history being developed with Simon Garlick as CEO, Chris Grant, Director of Football, plus the recent recruitments of Liberatore, Wallis and now Harvey Steven's grandson in Talia. These are healthy signs going forward for the club.
Good to see we're bringing in Footballers and not athletes.
Clay Smith and Michael Tallia will work on their kicking, whereas bringing in a great athlete and teaching him the nuances is a totally different matter.
Do you think Cross is a "bad" kick though? I don't. He's not the best kick in terms of spotting people up, and they do sit in the air a bit, but he's generally pretty accurate.
The problem with Cross' kicking for mine is a twofold thing. It takes him forever to decide to kick, and by the time he does, the kick then can't afford to be a Daniel Cross floater.
I think Cross problem is mostly mental. I think he isn't that bad a kick when he actually decides to kick it but he avoids kicking it because it seems he doesn't rate himself as a kick. If Daniel could ever get over his mental demons on kicking he would improve dramatically. Hopefully Smith & Talia don't have the same mental hurdles to overcome.
Strange comment, Clay Smith is rated as an athlete from his beep test and Talia is athletic for a KPD. Not being able to kick well is a hallmark of athletes and not footballers.
It's his wind-up when going for distance. I actually think he needs to work on his acceleration rather than kicking, if he can get moving at speed quickly then his distance would improve and time taken would reduce.
We know he can run all day, but he needs to be able to keep up with the Leigh Brown's of the world in a sprint.
If you kicked five goals and Tom Boyd kicked five goals, Tom Boyd kicked more goals than you.
Formerly gogriff
You don't develop courage by being happy in your relationships every day. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity. ― Epicurus
If you kicked five goals and Tom Boyd kicked five goals, Tom Boyd kicked more goals than you.
Formerly gogriff