Bulldog Inaccuracy

[Guest]

Inaccuracy in front of goal is a real problem for the Doggies. It was most noticable in our last two Preliminary Final losses, where we sprayed opportunities which may have otherwise resulted in a GF birth...

2010 has not seen any improvement in our kicking for goal. And I am worried that if it doesn't improve - fast - our premiership window opportunity may be lost.

Despite a 6.4 metre target, why is it that we have so many players struggling to convert?

Here are some of the main offenders (50% or worse) and their conversion rate for shots at goal this season:

Williams and Hargreave: 0% (two scoring shots each only)
Cross: 20%
Akermanis: 22.22%
Gilbee: 30.77%
Cooney: 33.33%
Harbrow: 33.33%
Boyd: 33.33%
Johnson: 33.33%
Murphy: 36.36%
Hahn: 38.71%
Everitt: 40%
Moles: 40%
Eagleton: 46.67%
Griffen: 47.3%
Higgins, Grant, Addison, Hudson, Picken and Roughead: all 50%
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***Hall, Hill and Stack are the only players at 60% or over.

[Curly5]

Re: Bulldog Inaccuracy

Worse this year (imo): Eagleton, Akermanis, Gilbee, Murphy, Hargrave, Cooney
Inaccuracy about the same as last year: Cross, Boyd, Hahn
Better than last year: Griffen

This is just a general impression so don't jump on me if the stats differ.
Where do Gia and Minson fit in? They seem to be reliable kicks for goal. And Baz of course.

[Greystache]

Re: Bulldog Inaccuracy

Williams and Hargreave: 0% (two scoring shots each only)

HARGRAVE... Seriously, how hard is it???

[Mantis]

Re: Bulldog Inaccuracy

Worse this year (imo): Eagleton, Akermanis, Gilbee, Murphy, Hargrave, Cooney
Inaccuracy about the same as last year: Cross, Boyd, Hahn
Better than last year: Griffen

This is just a general impression so don't jump on me if the stats differ.
Where do Gia and Minson fit in? They seem to be reliable kicks for goal. And Baz of course.

Hahn was extremely good last year, kicked something like 20.5 from set shots. His set shot goal kicking this year has been deplorable.

[Go_Dogs]

Re: Bulldog Inaccuracy

Hahn was extremely good last year, kicked something like 20.5 from set shots. His set shot goal kicking this year has been deplorable.

Agreed, has been woeful this year after being outstanding in the previous season.

Gilbee has also missed a lot of shots this year that would generally be considered 'gettable' by his standards.

[Mantis]

Re: Bulldog Inaccuracy

Agreed, has been woeful this year after being outstanding in the previous season.

Last year's excellent conversion rate was partially due to luck rather than skill. It's not like every 'helicopter' you kick is going to go straight and Mitch used up all his credits last year.

It amazes me that after being a professional footballer for just over 10 years Mitch still hasn't mastered the art of the drop punt.

[Go_Dogs]

Re: Bulldog Inaccuracy

Last year's excellent conversion rate was partially due to luck rather than skill. It's not like every 'helicopter' you kick is going to go straight and Mitch used up all his credits last year.

It amazes me that after being a professional footballer for just over 10 years Mitch still hasn't mastered the art of the drop punt.

No disagreement from me on either point.

At the same time though, he has kicked some nice drop punts (especially from 40+ metres) over the course of the journey. It just seems to take him too long to get his ball drop right, so he often kicks under pressure without dropping the ball correctly. It's the main reason why I don't want to see him in the backline.

[Bornadog]

Re: Bulldog Inaccuracy

Inaccuracy 2010 has not seen any improvement in our kicking for goal. And I am worried that if it doesn't improve - fast - our premiership window opportunity may be lost.

Can't agree a premiership window will be lost due to inaccuracy in front of goal. Premiership window will be lost if we don't win games.

[Mofra]

Re: Bulldog Inaccuracy

Grant not appearing on the stats is a misnomer - many of his goals come from pure pace, burning off the opposition and running into goal. His set shots are a worry - 1.2 on the weekend from memory.

Turtle fixed his kicking after having the yips and talked about kicking the ball like a field kick fixing most of his issues. Hopefully he has been chatting to the young kid whenever he ventures down to the kennel.

[Mofra]

Re: Bulldog Inaccuracy

Can't agree a premiership window will be lost due to inaccuracy in front of goal. Premiership window will be lost if we don't win games.

Inaccuracy will cause us to lose games though. One more shot taken accurately would have gotten us over the line against the Saints this year.
Collingwood have lost more than one game this season despite having more scoring shots. Pooor kicking is poor football.

[Mantis]

Re: Bulldog Inaccuracy

Grant not appearing on the stats is a misnomer - many of his goals come from pure pace, burning off the opposition and running into goal. His set shots are a worry - 1.2 on the weekend from memory.

In golfing terms his 3 set shots went this way:

Shot 1 - Fade - Aimed centre, ball moves from left to right and sneaks in right side.

Shot 2 - Draw - Aims left centre (allowing for first fade) and ball moves from right to left and hits post.

Shot 3 - Snap hook - The kid has no idea which way it's going to move. Aims left and hooks it badly.

Jarrad needs to work out quite quickly what is his natural 'ball flight' such that he can make allowances with his aim. Kicking it straight would be nice, but if he is going to kick it with either a 'draw' or a 'fade' it's ok as long as he can repeat the technique at all times, and especially under pressure. Not knowing which way the ball is going to move is a nightmare.

[Ozza]

Re: Bulldog Inaccuracy

Jarrad seems to really kick the ball from right down on the point of the ball. He's not backing himself to hit the nice fleshy part of the footy. You'll notice that the ball spins very very quickly after he kicks it and it probably hurts his distance - so on the shots from 40+ he is really kicking at the end of his range - so there is less room for error.

Thats my take on it anyway!

[Murphy'sLore]

Re: Bulldog Inaccuracy

Interesting that Hill and Stack are in the "accurate" group. Given that they tend to cop a bit of criticism from some quarters, it's good to see that there's at least one thing (the most important thing, one could argue!) they do get right.

[Mofra]

Re: Bulldog Inaccuracy

Jarrad needs to work out quite quickly what is his natural 'ball flight' such that he can make allowances with his aim. Kicking it straight would be nice, but if he is going to kick it with either a 'draw' or a 'fade' it's ok as long as he can repeat the technique at all times, and especially under pressure. Not knowing which way the ball is going to move is a nightmare.

Yep - Franklin & Sumich kick with a pronounced hook and make allowances for it so hopefully Grant can start judging the flight a little better and make allowances for it. Not knowing which way the ball is going to go after 3 years in a professional environment is not up to scratch, despite how impressed I have been with him this season.

[boydogs]

Re: Bulldog Inaccuracy

becmatty - thanks for the stats, where did you get these from? I would be interested to see the number of shots at goal taken each player, set shot/on the run breakdown and the conversion percentage for players in the 50-60% range

Yep - Franklin & Sumich kick with a pronounced hook and make allowances for it so hopefully Grant can start judging the flight a little better and make allowances for it. Not knowing which way the ball is going to go after 3 years in a professional environment is not up to scratch, despite how impressed I have been with him this season.

Has Grant kicked like that all year or just last week?
It was probably his first game in Subi, maybe the 'Fremantle Doctor' was hard to adjust to.