What makes a good kicker?

[Twodogs]

Re: What makes a good kicker?

Yeah but how many guys with what many would consider poor techniques are really some of the better kicks going around? Obviously there are some non negotiables with your technique but so many guys with home spun techniques are just fantastic kicks. Look at Nathan Brown.

Agreed there are some awful kicks who get the job done and I wouldnt fix them if they aint broken. I was talking about blokes who just need to improve like Franklyn-that moronic way he takes set shots really annoys me for some reason.

[westdog54]

Re: What makes a good kicker?

I don't think the angled run-in is the solution...

Buddy Franklin uses it and he's one of the worst set shots in the leauge.

Buddy Franklin's entire technique is wrong. His run-in, the ball drop, the kicking action itself, can't blame the run in for his problems.

[LostDoggy]

Re: What makes a good kicker?

Buddy Franklin's entire technique is wrong. His run-in, the ball drop, the kicking action itself, can't blame the run in for his problems.

How many goals would he have kicked last year if he could kick straight? Frightening prospect. The quicker Tommy Gun gets to 50 games the better I say.

[westdog54]

Re: What makes a good kicker?

Agreed there are some awful kicks who get the job done and I wouldnt fix them if they aint broken. I was talking about blokes who just need to improve like Franklyn-that moronic way he takes set shots really annoys me for some reason.

If I were a Hawthorn supporter it would annoy me because I know how good he is, and how much better he could be. This kid has the best chance of breaking Hudson and Pratt's goalkicking record, a record many thought would never be broken, and he's blowing it because he's lazy with his set shots for goal.

[ledge]

Re: What makes a good kicker?

Wasnt there a player who was great on the run but couldnt hit the side of a barn door when having a set shot, so was told to run in from a long way so it was like he was on the run?

[soupman]

Re: What makes a good kicker?

Wasnt there a player who was great on the run but couldnt hit the side of a barn door when having a set shot, so was told to run in from a long way so it was like he was on the run?

That would be me.

[wimberga]

Re: What makes a good kicker?

Players like Fevola look to have really good technique when kicking from set shots. Fev doesnt always put it through the middle but if you watch the ball, it almost always sails of his boot and stays dead straight all the way, so missing the goals might be an alignment issue for him.

Compare this to someone like say, Griffen. Griff has a very sweeping motion with his foot and tends to have an odd ball drop that is not textbook. if you watch most of Griffens kicks, they are often curved balls that start out one side and bend in to where he is aiming. that said he is still quite penetrating and quite accurate with his kicking.

Both these methods can be effective, so its really how you use your kicks that counts the most

[hujsh]

Re: What makes a good kicker?

Pure talent is the main factor with guys like Gilbee. You cant get that good just through practice and technique.

Personally I have never been huge on technique with kicking. We are just about the only sport that involves kicking that discourages kicking around corners. Pretty much every other sport has the kicker using one leg for a base and swinging your whole body across to get power. In AFL as kids we are taught to run straight when we kick but I am not completely sure this is the way to go. Our goal kicking accuracy is horrendous as a code and a lot of experts are starting to think we might have it wrong. I know with my self its really more of a feel thing. I do find I kick with more accuracy if everything is running straight but whether thats because its how I have always practiced I am not sure. A lot of the best kicks in the game approach from an angle so maybe there is something there. Watch Brown, Gilbee, Johnstone (actually dont think he is a great kick) , Eagleton, Griffen etc they all run in an arc before they kick. Gerard Healy has made some good points about this in the past.

I have never put the arc thing into practice my self. I just try and keep everything straight with my head over the ball and then follow through when I kick. Seems to work but it certainly doesn't make for that penetrating bullet like kicking.

Most of the aboriginals are really good with deft kicking. They get very good weight on the ball and most of them kick with the toe pointed whereas as most people put the full foot through the ball

I learnt to kick it around the corner and my kicking is inconsistent at best so i would say straight is the way to go

[ledge]

Re: What makes a good kicker?

That would be me.

I cant recall, I am not suggesting it was a Bulldog player either, but I do remember it being suggested or reported in a paper somewhere in the 80s-90s.
Looking back over the years, there is probably a few players who might have been told that or could have used the advice.
Richard Osborne,Rocca, Franklin even Lindsay Gilbee I think would be a good idea.

[LostDoggy]

Re: What makes a good kicker?

Matthew Lloyd keeps it as straight as possible to keep it simple and has a great record (albeit a lot of shots probably from 30-40 directly in front). In anything KISS seems the best method, Keep It Simple Stupid, but at the same rate I agree if it ain't broke don't fix it.
As for the ARC method, I think you should only use it if you are genuinely struggling for distance as I believe the hooking motion in a game of footy allows for a greater error rate (How accurate was Billy in his day?).
When you consider rugby league/union they generally use the arc for set shots whereas football can sometimes lend to more goals being scored in play than by set shot.

Horses for courses.

[Bulldog Revolution]

Re: What makes a good kicker?

This is why I couldnt understand Jason Dunstall (A far better kick than I will ever be) saying midseason that nothing could be done about Buddy's kicking action until the preseason. From where I sat Buddy was doing nearly everything wrong in his action and could have been improved in one or two sessions.

Technique is crucial - It's all about repitition and muscle memory

My take on Dunstalls comments

I think they'd tinkered with Buddy at times and it made the situation worse, because then he was caught between the wrong way (which his muscles remembered) and the new improved way, which he had to think about.

So the last thing they wanted was him thinking in front of goals so they just wanted to do it naturally, so they reverted to the old and decided to tweak it in the off season where he could get sufficient repititions (10,000) to form new muscle memory.

[Twodogs]

Re: What makes a good kicker?

Compare this to someone like say, Griffen. Griff has a very sweeping motion with his foot and tends to have an odd ball drop that is not textbook. if you watch most of Griffens kicks, they are often curved balls that start out one side and bend in to where he is aiming. that said he is still quite penetrating and quite accurate with his kicking.

That's a classic left foot trait. I dont know why but left foot kicks always veer off to the left and then allign themselves to the target as they reach the end of it's path. It doesnt happen to right footers and I cant understand it.

[BornInDroopSt'54]

Re: What makes a good kicker?

Simon Beasley had one of the best conversion rates of the prolific goal kickers. He had a very deliberate technique, slow approach, bowed over the ball, head down at impact with a very straight follow through.

[Dry Rot]

Re: What makes a good kicker?

What about the yips?

Why does a reliable kicker just lose it, and why does this sometimes spread throughout the team?

[wimberga]

Re: What makes a good kicker?

When drafted Scott Clayton described him as the best kick in the world.

Who are you talking about there C, Griff or Fevola?