Drop Kicks

[daisycutter 28,452]

john bonney was a lovely dropkick with either foot, which was very rare

the drop kick was certainly not for everyone and was a real skill

unfortunately too many players without the skill tried to impress with predictably embarrassing outcomes

[Wrecker45 3,378]

6 hours ago, kev martin said:

What myths and memories are made of.

I remember the longest goal I saw as a youngster, it was a drop kick from the wing, sailing high and going straight through the middle.

 1968, a Minyip (Wimmera district) player, all were in awe. 

It was the talk of the town that week.

Longer than Jayden Hunts?

[kev martin 8,817]

50 minutes ago, Wrecker45 said:

Longer than Jayden Hunts?

Further than a torpe. It was kicked from the middle area of the wing. 

70 meters, with a bit of exaggeration, as it was the bush league. I think he practiced by kicking hay bales around.

Edited December 30, 2020 by kev martin

[Dee Dee 1,040]

The drop kick to execute properly takes a fraction more time and players leave themselves open to being run down or to miss kicking!                                                                  It’s still used extensively in rugby union and on occasion in American football.                        And as far as I can remember, Billy Barrott playing for Richmond was probably the best.

[Deemania since 56 6,119]

17 hours ago, Demons3031 said:

With other clubs, I remember Billy Barrot for Richmond

As a young fella struck with the dreaded 'left foot' dominance, I was fortunate to have my Dad speak to one of his students - Bill Barrot - who turned up at our home on several occasions in the late afternoon to teach me how to drop kick in Central Park, Malvern. That drop kick technique was awesome. It evolved rather rapidly into a pleasing left foot stab pass that, over the succeeding few years, became a 40-50 metre bullet, so I had many opportunities to feed leading full forwards with a variety of teams in the 'local' leagues from then on. The rules were simple: keep your nose over the ball and follow through (1) with the thigh and (2) then with the straightening of the knee, foot rigidly plantar flexed. All I had to do then was to make the whole kick as smooth as possible. Tassy Johnson was the best exponent of the drop kick imaginable and as Demons3031 has iterated, his full back kick out at the 'G always made the centre circle zone or frequently, almost to the CHF zone. Hassa exploited this regularly, moving laterally and then doubling-back to a pre-determined target area. The drop punt, in my mind, ruined it all, including the torp, the place kick and the flick pass. Progress is sometimes a negative but there were compensations from the changes, no doubt. 

[Deemania since 56 6,119]

11 hours ago, nosoupforme said:

The best drop kicks consistently  was a centreman who played for Collingwood called Barry Price. He was  very accurate for passing the ball chest height especially to Peter McKenna.

True! The Price-McKenna combo was awesome, legendary, unstoppable and very rewarding.

[Cranky Franky 1,476]

2 hours ago, Deemania since 56 said:

As a young fella struck with the dreaded 'left foot' dominance, I was fortunate to have my Dad speak to one of his students - Bill Barrot - who turned up at our home on several occasions in the late afternoon to teach me how to drop kick in Central Park, Malvern. That drop kick technique was awesome. It evolved rather rapidly into a pleasing left foot stab pass that, over the succeeding few years, became a 40-50 metre bullet, so I had many opportunities to feed leading full forwards with a variety of teams in the 'local' leagues from then on. The rules were simple: keep your nose over the ball and follow through (1) with the thigh and (2) then with the straightening of the knee, foot rigidly plantar flexed. All I had to do then was to make the whole kick as smooth as possible. Tassy Johnson was the best exponent of the drop kick imaginable and as Demons3031 has iterated, his full back kick out at the 'G always made the centre circle zone or frequently, almost to the CHF zone. Hassa exploited this regularly, moving laterally and then doubling-back to a pre-determined target area. The drop punt, in my mind, ruined it all, including the torp, the place kick and the flick pass. Progress is sometimes a negative but there were compensations from the changes, no doubt. 

Mate I loved Tassie J too but suggesting he always made the centre circle - almost to the CHF zone is laying it on a bit thick I reckon.

Its 75m from the edge of the goal square to the centre of the MCG  & while I'm sure he rugularly kicked out 50 to 60 m I doubt he made the centre square very often unless he had a following wind.  

 

[Willmoy1947 3,760]

17 hours ago, Demons3031 said:

Didn't notice any Timothy but I haven't yet watched the whole quarter. I do remember Billy Goggin in an earlier final that year-several times taking taps from Polly Farmer on the runat full pace and executing superb stab kicks and hitting Doug Wade on the chest in front of goal.  He was brilliant.

As an an aside, I was talking with someone at Christmas about our old street in Ashburton where we would practice leading and stab kicks and take chest marks running full pelt toward our brick fence- fond memories of marking at the same time as throwing out the front foot to step onto the fence and over into Dad's garden!

Used to kick up on the cutting and if you missed you had to go get it yourself

[sue 8,409]

15 hours ago, nosoupforme said:

....

On the muddy grounds the drop kick was hard to manage as you would mostly end up with grubber kicks.

Which makes me wonder what fraction of drop kicks failed because the surface was poor.  Could the drop kick make a comeback on today's good surfaces?   Certainly was a thing of beauty, if not a joy forever.

[hemingway 7,583]

As mentioned there were some great exponents of the drop kick but much fewer with the stab. Very few players tried the stab pass. Billy Goggin was a great stab kick. 

There were a few great Demons who never drop kicked. Brian Roet, Brian Dixon, Geoff Tunbridge, Graeme Wise, Terry Gleeson and Bob Johnson to name a few 

 

[Ollie fan 2,113]

I love that grand final footage. I am definitely an old timer and while the skill in the modern game is fantastic, the haphazard kicking back then meant there was a real contest in each position between players, and that was a delight to watch. 
 

As for long goals, I can remember Bryan  Kenneally taking the ball from a centre bounce ruck contest at the G, running four or five steps and kicking a goal with a torpedo.

[Timothy Reddan-A'Blew 3,797]

For me, these rememberings highlight that possession-footy-past was about having the better person/people where the ball might end up, in contrast to possession-footy-present, which is having disposal rules and skills suited to keepings off. This included the forward line, where 'kicking to (unflooded!) space' was the operative phrase, with the forward/s moving to the space, able to compensate for inaccuracy in the kick (the exception, e.g. D3031's example, being the accurate (and rapid!) stab).

[Demons3031 361]

1 hour ago, Ollie fan said:

I love that grand final footage. I am definitely an old timer and while the skill in the modern game is fantastic, the haphazard kicking back then meant there was a real contest in each position between players, and that was a delight to watch. 
 

As for long goals, I can remember Bryan  Kenneally taking the ball from a centre bounce ruck contest at the G, running four or five steps and kicking a goal with a torpedo.

Great versatile player Bryan Kenneally. Number 22

[Demon_spurs 1,642]

Q. (And I don't know the answer), who was the last person to kick a drop kick in the AFL/VFL in a game? 

[Deemania since 56 6,119]

4 hours ago, Cranky Franky said:

Mate I loved Tassie J too but suggesting he always made the centre circle - almost to the CHF zone is laying it on a bit thick I reckon.

Its 75m from the edge of the goal square to the centre of the MCG  & while I'm sure he rugularly kicked out 50 to 60 m I doubt he made the centre square very often unless he had a following wind.  

 

You may surprised. What we saw is now concrete in the mind. Even Tilbrook was pushing the ball these distances from time to time in a much later era than Tassie Johnson. Due to the game style of the day, Tassie's kicks often hit the ground and bounce-rolled to a position left/right to the centre and beyond - it was a surprising distance, sure, but it was seen. The centreline often watched the ball sail overhead as they move into the zones of which you speak. As mentioned, Hassa's back-tracking across the centre was indicative of the effectiveness of the TJ kicking distances; the penetration was something to behold.

[Demons3031 361]

18 hours ago, nosoupforme said:

The best drop kicks consistently  was a centreman who played for Collingwood called Barry Price. He was  very accurate for passing the ball chest height especially to Peter McKenna.

 Bob Skilton  as was Max Papley  grandfather  of young Tom Papley were  great exponents  of the drop kick.  However Tassie Johnson was a terrific  long kick when kicking out.   The drop kick was rarely used in the early 70s it faded away.

 In the early 6o,s If you didn't have the Ron Barassi footy boots  it was hard on your big toe to drop kick a leather footy as a 10 year old.  Don't l know.

On the muddy grounds the drop kick was hard to manage as you would mostly end up with grubber kicks.

Great memories there Nosoupforme. Yes Barry Price, Skilts and Pax Papley-and in another post John Bonney was mentioned. WE were witness to a wonderful era. Yes the type of boot made a difference as did the condition of the ground. It those days it was often muddy!

[Demons3031 361]

3 hours ago, willmoy said:

Used to kick up on the cutting and if you missed you had to go get it yourself

Was that near the railway line near Alamein Willmoy?

[Bitter but optimistic 21,165]

3 hours ago, hemingway said:

As mentioned there were some great exponents of the drop kick but much fewer with the stab. Very few players tried the stab pass. Billy Goggin was a great stab kick. 

There were a few great Demons who never drop kicked. Brian Roet, Brian Dixon, Geoff Tunbridge, Graeme Wise, Terry Gleeson and Bob Johnson to name a few 

 

I remember Billy Goggin consistently kicking "stabs" through a target on World  of Sport. ( Probably mid sixties)

[Demons3031 361]

3 hours ago, hemingway said:

As mentioned there were some great exponents of the drop kick but much fewer with the stab. Very few players tried the stab pass. Billy Goggin was a great stab kick. 

There were a few great Demons who never drop kicked. Brian Roet, Brian Dixon, Geoff Tunbridge, Graeme Wise, Terry Gleeson and Bob Johnson to name a few 

 

You are right about those players Hemingway- but they seem to have been effective-even Brian Dixon's awkward kicks seemed to be well placed. Thinking back, if he hadn't done that mongrel punt in 1964 that was too high for Barassi to mark, the ball might never have spilled the way of Neil Crompton. :)  They were great days weren't that-Geoff Tunbridge-No 23-what a flanker...and Athol Webb at full forward  

We used to sit upstairs in Bay 13 with Dad. A guy with a hessian bag used to sell brown paper bags of peanuts-which people would shell and eat (and leave the mess). The boy yelling "Hot Dogs, Meat Pies" and another selling "Lollies and Potato chips". Dad used to park in Richmond off Punt Rd in one of the side streets-probabaly to save a bit of money. Men would buy or bring bottles of beer (in the days before cans) until Umpire Ron Brophy was hit in the back by a half empty bottle one day. At various grounds, men would bring wooden boxes/crates that used to hold soft drink and the like, to stand on in the outer-especially if you could only get Standing room tickets in the finals. Those were the days!  What was  your favourite spot to sit and watch  Hemingway?

[Demons3031 361]

2 minutes ago, Bitter but optimistic said:

I remember Billy Goggin consistently kicking "stabs" through a target on World  of Sport. ( Probably mid sixties)

Yes wasn't he great. Doug Wade must have thought all his birthdays had come at once playing in a side with Polly Farmer and Billy Goggin serving it up to him on  a plate-though he himself was very skilled.  You've reminded me Bitter about all the good competitions and  other segments they had on World of Sport. The Education side about how to kick and handball etc with icons such as Billy Goggin, RDB and Bob Skilton etc. The wood chop, the cycling with two opponents on stationary bikes cycling their hearts out with a big dial  with pointers recording who was in front.

[Tony Tea 2,784]

Lou Richards used to be able to do a precise drop kick with right foot from outside his left leg.

[doc roet 1,198]

Another Collingwood player,Colin Tully who sadly passed away in Sept of this year was also renowned as being the longest kick of his era.

In 1966 he kicked a drop kick from the centre of the MCG for a goal that was estimated to have travelled 78-86 metres,not yards, but metres.

[loges 6,002]

Barry Cable

[Go the Biff 3,124]

On 12/30/2020 at 7:24 PM, Meggs said:

Meggs loves to execute the drop kick and show his kids.   He recalls Paul Goss, Norm Goss’ brother, kicking a drop kick goal from a free or mark about 15m out from goal at the G.  It was really odd at the time as no one did drop kicks in 1976.  Paul only kicked 2 goals in 4 games for the Dees according to Wikipedia and I didn’t see the other goal.

I saw that. Last Demon drop kick I can recall seeing. Kicking to the city end on the outer side. Couldn't believe he kicked a set shot drop kick but it went as straight as an arrow. Reckon you might have robbed him of a few metres Meggs - I think he was a little further out

[Demons3031 361]

1 hour ago, loges said:

Barry Cable

He had great foot skills. Wonderful, player.