Set Shots - how to improve them & who in AFL improved their technique?

[josie]

I was watching goal kicking technique by Redpath in VFL and TBoyd during replays and really noticed that both of them keep the ball quite still before kicking it. They also kick through the ball rather than stabbing at it.

Whereas Stringer (& possibly Dahl) jiggle it about from left to right quite a bit. Surely this ball movement is a problem? I recall reading somewhere the ball drop has a lot to do with success too.

Crameri can be a little unreliable at times, and Grant is just deplorable. Such a pity after all the hard work the team & they themselves have put in, to miss gimmie goals.

Hoping T Boyd and Redpath can help those with the yips (or one of the coaching staff such as Gia - who was a reasonably good set shot).

Welcome thoughts from those who have played the game. Also seems a lot of it is in the head? Cloke apparently seeking help from shrink.Good on him for leaving no stone unturned. Not sure if it helped on weekend as did not watch Pies game.

Struggling to recall players who improved their technique during their career.

[The bulldog tragician]

Stringer came to us as an extremely good set shot so I don't think his technique is inherently bad, it's just a concentration thing that is in danger of becoming entrenched.

Chris Grant was a sometimes unreliable shot who later developed a very set routine, counting the steps etc. Riewoldt (Nick) has done the same and improved a lot over time.

Agree that Tom Boyd is classically text book shot whose methodology should be shared.

[Nuggety Back Pocket]

I was watching goal kicking technique by Redpath in VFL and TBoyd during replays and really noticed that both of them keep the ball quite still before kicking it. They also kick through the ball rather than stabbing at it.

Whereas Stringer (& possibly Dahl) jiggle it about from left to right quite a bit. Surely this ball movement is a problem? I recall reading somewhere the ball drop has a lot to do with success too.

Crameri can be a little unreliable at times, and Grant is just deplorable. Such a pity after all the hard work the team & they themselves have put in, to miss gimmie goals.

Hoping T Boyd and Redpath can help those with the yips (or one of the coaching staff such as Gia - who was a reasonably good set shot).

Welcome thoughts from those who have played the game. Also seems a lot of it is in the head? Cloke apparently seeking help from shrink.Good on him for leaving no stone unturned. Not sure if it helped on weekend as did not watch Pies game.

Struggling to recall players who improved their technique during their career.

Thanks Josie for a good thread. Grant Stringer and Dahlhaus all have varying degrees of flaws in their kicking techniques. Goal kicking is an art when performed correctly. Some of our great forwards in the past Collins Beasley and Templeton all had fine kicking skills. Maybe the pace of today's football has restricted the time spent at training in particular to iron out any kicking flaws.
Grant has been in the system for 6 years now and still hasn't corrected his goalkicking. Matthew Lloyd has been brought in by Essendon to assist Daniher with his kicking style.
Maybe it is time for us to take a similar approach as it is such an important need.

[LostDoggy]

Set shots are a routine and too many players change their routine according to where they are kicking from , if the player keeps the routine simple with good momentum , a consistent ball drop and a full follow through, the results should be consistent as well , obviously from the boundary or the pocket would be different but the preparation should be the same . Paddy Ryder is a good example of a consistent routine and a player who has improved , Cloke on the other hand is an example of an inconsistent routine , his ball drop is all over the place like a mad womens milkshake and is a player who if anything has gone backwards . I seem to remember a VFL video showing ( I think ) young Melbourne players kicking tennis balls towards a hula hoop lying on the ground from 20m away , repeat the routine until you have a consistent strike in the hula hoop ( Right, Left or both ) and then switch to footballs kicking toward goal from 20m , then 30m etc

[GVGjr]

Crameri just about refuses to drop the ball correctly and was to kick those flashy goals. Even when he is running into the goal by himself he holds the ball on an angle. We have some work to do with a few of the boys.

[LostDoggy]

Dickson would be a good bloke to emulate as well as he's incredibly accurate.

It's one of those areas that they probably nail at training and in the warmup but come game time is a totally different beast. As others have said, much of the goal is kicked from above the neck.

[Maddog37]

Get on the phone to Lindsay Thomas......

[1eyedog]

I played almost all my footy at FF and my coaches - like most I assume - always said to kick the ball over the goal umpires head. As I got older I was told all sorts of things such as imagining a laser running between my boot and the goal umpire.

There's not a lot to it as far as I'm concerned. The walk / jog in comes down to individual preference not unlike a fast bowlers approach. There are many similarities with cricket in fact. You have your routine and number of steps you take. On the way in whether you look at where the ball is going to land or at the footy you keep your head as still and straight as possible. Make sure you're well balanced upon release and guide the ball onto your boot. Dermot Brereton is always banging on about this and he is dead right. It is the most single important and easy thing you can do when kicking for goal and it completely eliminates error from the ball drop. A nice big follow through with a straight boot the same time as your head comes up gives you every chance of kicking straight.

Regardless of routines (KT had a magnificent routine / action) you undoubtedly will get the yips and that just comes down to pressure and confidence.

Nick Riewoldt has done wonders at kicking for goal over the years, he was terrible 3-5 years ago, just terrible and he was trying so many different routines I think he just over thought it. Chris Grant improved his kicking for goal as well. He started well and then fell in a huge hole for a few years before simplifying his approach. Granty's problem was that he often stabbed at the ball rather than kick through it.

[LostDoggy]

Roo just shortened his run up and started treating the goals like a field kick and he improved out of sight. Stringer is nearly at the point where he would be better off playing on when he takes a grab or lining up to snap to like Stevie J.

[F'scary]

Dickson, Tom Boyd and Redpath should get an extra allowance to teach some of the others how to take a set shot.

[1eyedog]

Crameri just about refuses to drop the ball correctly and was to kick those flashy goals. Even when he is running into the goal by himself he holds the ball on an angle. We have some work to do with a few of the boys.

Didn't Macca bring a specialist someone in to address this? Was it Lloyd or someone else?

[F'scary]

Didn't Macca bring a specialist someone in to address this? Was it Lloyd or someone else?

Oh God NO! We don't want our guys tossing bits of grass in the air at Etihad with a super dopey look on their faces.

[Webby]

Just get Lin Jong to hand out lessons! He does not miss!

Seriously, that bloke COULD NOT KICK two years ago, but with practice, practice, practice and keeping it simple, he's now our most reliable set shot! 7 goals 1 behind career tally.

[1eyedog]

Just get Lin Jong to hand out lessons! He does not miss!

Seriously, that bloke COULD NOT KICK two years ago, but with practice, practice, practice and keeping it simple, he's now our most reliable set shot! 7 goals 1 behind career tally.

Agreed, probably the best example of how to improve your kicking full stop.

[Bulldog4life]

Just get Lin Jong to hand out lessons! He does not miss!

Seriously, that bloke COULD NOT KICK two years ago, but with practice, practice, practice and keeping it simple, he's now our most reliable set shot! 7 goals 1 behind career tally.

Yes. I always feel confident when Lin Jong lines up for goal.