They can all kick. I think they need a mental coach. In the same way a golfer has a sports psych. There seems to be some collective anxiety running through the team. An inability to take the pressure as the individual when the moment comes. Such a focus on team this year which is great but it doesn’t feel like anyone has been comfortable over a set shot bearing the responsibility. 

12 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

The commentator today (Der-wayne I think) said it's the worst its been in 150 years so was clearly being sarcastic. I think it's the worst its been in 15-20 years though.

If I'd known it was him I wouldn't have bothered fact checking, they have an alternative history on his planet.

10 hours ago, Demon17 said:

Before the GWS game I sat near the fence watching the team do their usual pre-match warm up and goal kicking on the ground.

Interestingly from the boundary 50m out, Gus Brayshaw was intent in kicking torps for goal from that posiiton for amusement. He wasn't the only one. Over in the middle Choco was taking real-life drills with some players, gathering ground balls, kicking etc.

Very few practised kicking from 35-40 in front, assuming I guess that they can all do this and don't need to practice. Right?

Gus's display was unprofessional at least and laughable at worst given the situation he was practising would never arise in a game. Maybe its just to relive the pre-match nerves to have a laugh.

So maybe I take this pre-match stuff too seriously - some players sure don't.

I remember watching Sydney go through their pre-match warm up a few years ago.
Noticed the intensity and professionalism they did it with.
Had a look at our blokes who were casually trotting around having a few shots at goal.
When the the game started Sydney played liked they warmed up and smashed us from the bounce.

9 hours ago, Sydee said:

Not sure Melksham is that great on the set shot I’ve seen him stink it up big time 

On the run or snapping he seems to be pretty good but not the set shot 

Which is why he often takes the kicks from side on or looks to play on regardless of the distance or angle.
That tactic shows lack of confidence IMO.

10 hours ago, Fork 'em said:

I remember watching Sydney go through their pre-match warm up a few years ago.
Noticed the intensity and professionalism they did it with.
Had a look at our blokes who were casually trotting around having a few shots at goal.
When the the game started Sydney played liked they warmed up and smashed us from the bounce.

Insighful post Fork.

At the time the only intensity I saw was from Mark Williams putting his one or two players through their warm up skills paces in the middle.  Others seemed to be participating in something akin to schoolyard kick to kick.

 

sign him up 

Seriously now 

Question.  If the Dees had to take a shot from 40 metres out on a slight angle to win the game, who do we want to take the kick ??? 
 

Fritsch? Tom McDonald? Salem?  Couldn’t think of anyone else in our team v Hawks that I’d be optimistic about kicking the winning goal. 

1 hour ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Seriously now 

Question.  If the Dees had to take a shot from 40 metres out on a slight angle to win the game, who do we want to take the kick ??? 
 

Fritsch? Tom McDonald? Salem?  Couldn’t think of anyone else in our team v Hawks that I’d be optimistic about kicking the winning goal. 

Not Fritsch. He wouldn't even take the shot. Instead he would do the little dinky kick into the hot spot in front of the goals.

Why did he do this on Saturday night??? I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

1 hour ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Seriously now 

Question.  If the Dees had to take a shot from 40 metres out on a slight angle to win the game, who do we want to take the kick ??? 
 

Fritsch? Tom McDonald? Salem?  Couldn’t think of anyone else in our team v Hawks that I’d be optimistic about kicking the winning goal. 

McDonald has been hit and miss this year. I'd have Salem and that's about it.

I legit trust no one in our footy club. The more points then goals since Brisbane game speak for itself.

1 hour ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Seriously now 

Question.  If the Dees had to take a shot from 40 metres out on a slight angle to win the game, who do we want to take the kick ??? 
 

Fritsch? Tom McDonald? Salem?  Couldn’t think of anyone else in our team v Hawks that I’d be optimistic about kicking the winning goal. 

McDonald, Brown that's about it. Spargo if 35m and closer. I seriously think every other player is going to miss when they line up and am presently surprises when they kick a set shot

1 hour ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Seriously now 

Question.  If the Dees had to take a shot from 40 metres out on a slight angle to win the game, who do we want to take the kick ??? 
 

Fritsch? Tom McDonald? Salem?  Couldn’t think of anyone else in our team v Hawks that I’d be optimistic about kicking the winning goal. 

It is putrid when put this way.....40m is a pretty easy kick, they should be getting nailed 50/50 by any player on on the day.

It gets exponentially worse from around 50m....i would say only Petracca can actually cover the distance with any sort of reliability.

We need to learn to put teams away. The pressure on set shots with fatigue/pressure gets too much for us in final quarters.

I believe our team needs to be reminded that EVERY game is worth 4 points, regardless of their ladder position

2 hours ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Seriously now 

Question.  If the Dees had to take a shot from 40 metres out on a slight angle to win the game, who do we want to take the kick ??? 
 

Fritsch? Tom McDonald? Salem?  Couldn’t think of anyone else in our team v Hawks that I’d be optimistic about kicking the winning goal. 

I posted this in PF's other accuracy thread.  I'm not sure if this is all shots at goal or just set shots.  Probably all.  50/50 ends with Langdon.  Not really enough shots from Sparrow and def not enough from Mitch to really gauge how they fair at this stage....

MFC Goal Accuracy % Rankings - Season 2021 up to and including Round 18

Player	SG	GAC %	2021 Rank
B Fritsch	56	62.5	1
T Sparrow	7	57.1	2
L Jackson	16	56.3	3
T McDonald	51	54.9	4
M Brown	4	50.0	5
E Langdon	22	50.0	5
J Harmes	11	45.5	7
K Pickett	59	44.1	8
A Neil-Bullen	25	44.0	9
B Brown	14	42.9	10
J Jordan	15	40.0	11
J Hunt	5	40.0	11
C Petracca	49	38.8	13
J Melksham	13	38.5	14
C Spargo	28	35.7	15
T Rivers	3	33.3	16
M Gawn	24	33.3	16
J Viney	6	33.3	16
C Salem	6	33.3	16
S Weideman	10	30.0	20
N Jones	7	28.6	21
C Oliver	22	27.3	22
A Brayshaw	13	15.4	23

SG = Shots at Goal   GAC = Goal Accuracy %

28 minutes ago, Rusty Nails said:

I posted this in PF's other accuracy thread.  I'm not sure if this is all shots at goal or just set shots.  Probably all.  50/50 ends with Langdon.  Not really enough shots from Sparrow and def not enough from Mitch to really gauge how they fair at this stage....

MFC Goal Accuracy % Rankings - Season 2021 up to and including Round 18

Player	SG	GAC %	2021 Rank
B Fritsch	56	62.5	1
T Sparrow	7	57.1	2
L Jackson	16	56.3	3
T McDonald	51	54.9	4
M Brown	4	50.0	5
E Langdon	22	50.0	5
J Harmes	11	45.5	7
K Pickett	59	44.1	8
A Neil-Bullen	25	44.0	9
B Brown	14	42.9	10
J Jordan	15	40.0	11
J Hunt	5	40.0	11
C Petracca	49	38.8	13
J Melksham	13	38.5	14
C Spargo	28	35.7	15
T Rivers	3	33.3	16
M Gawn	24	33.3	16
J Viney	6	33.3	16
C Salem	6	33.3	16
S Weideman	10	30.0	20
N Jones	7	28.6	21
C Oliver	22	27.3	22
A Brayshaw	13	15.4	23

SG = Shots at Goal   GAC = Goal Accuracy %

I nominate this as the most depressing post of the year/month/week. Take your pick.

For professional footballers and 'stars' of the game kicking at between 15% to 38.8% (Oliver, Brayshaw, Petracca, Gawn) the team's engine room should be ashamed.  Costing us Top 4 this year. And May/Lever keeping us in the Eight luckily.

I forgive Spargo because he has a football IQ and is responsible for setting up numerous gettable chances.

Up to the individual to choose between listening to ANB mention the word ‘ lessons’ or view the background where Kozzie is working under Stafford’s tutelage for better goal kicking. Not a long clip but a bit of something nonetheless.

 

On 7/18/2021 at 8:14 AM, ucanchoose said:

Melksham  can, but for some reason is on the outer

Lack of defensive pressure pure and simple. 

On 7/18/2021 at 10:35 AM, BDA said:

I think we're still dealing with the legacy of recruiting contested beasts rather than footballers. Brayshaw, Viney and clayton (but he more than makes up for it around the ball) are dreadful kicks. Even Trac is a dodgy kick for goal. Spargs, salem and Melks (when in the team) are our only reliable kicks. 

We recruited Maric and Strauss as “elite kicks” but they rarely found the ball. 
Need footy ability first which should include ability to kick straight. 

On 7/18/2021 at 12:23 PM, No Plan B said:

Who would you actually have faith in to kick after the siren for a win ? I’m convinced we have nobody trustworthy. I used to have faith in Tmac, but he hasn’t flushed one in weeks now. Even BBB missed a soda yesterday! 
 

Maybe Tom Sparrow would give me confidence, but he can’t get a game. Fritsch is pretty solid under pressure these days but he still wouldn’t have me confident. 
 

It’s a big concern for mine because if we win a flag, we need to win at least 3 games and you can be sure at least one of them will go down to the wire. 

Salem

23 hours ago, Fork 'em said:

Which is why he often takes the kicks from side on or looks to play on regardless of the distance or angle.
That tactic shows lack of confidence IMO.

T McD’s round the body kick (and miss) v GW$ from maybe 40 nearly straight in front was symptomatic of our collective woes.  Cannot understand it. 

PS. It is a bizarre and seriously sad state of affairs when a team sitting top of the ladder* plays with zero confidence going forward, and with set shots inside 50

*all kudos for the defensive unit for getting / keeping us there. 

Edited July 19, 20213 yr by monoccular
PS

8 weeks in a row now that we've scored more points then goals.

The acid needs to seriously be put whoever is in charge of this. Williams? Stafford?

Appalling once again.

Nailed it Dazzle

We got away with it early in the season, it’s costing us crucial points now. Problem is it’s clearly a mentality thing because Brown has always been a dead eye and now he’s missing easy ones. I’m hoping him nailing those other two (the last one was tricky as well) will give him confidence. 

The tricky thing is if you highlight it too much that can play up the accuracy issues, get a psychologist or a hypnotist if you want but it needs to be addressed. We miss top 4 by one game then this will be one of the main reasons why.

You don't need a full time hire, just get someone like Lloyd in as a part-time consultant.

Stafford though I'm genuinely concerned about. That interview he did with the weird turns of phrase and extreme positivity about our forward line which has clearly been a weakness the last few years was troubling.

Many of the set shot experts will tell you that there are a number of parts to a goal kicking routine and if one of them is off the whole thing stuffs up.

BT noticed that Brown was moving tje ball around in his run up a lot more than he would normally. Hate the man as a commentator but as person of knowledge in this area he was right on the money. 

A good goal kicking coach will see this from Sat night and get right onto it, speaking with Ben a lot, going through the routine, ironing out these little creases. Not saying Stafford or whoever isn't but that is what I'd be expecting.

If I see that ball bobbling around again during the run up next week I'll know nothing has been done with regards to coaching.

We're suddenly in a dark spot, folks. The Tigers are in the toilet and the Cats are having their evil way with them with the result that we'll be third on the ladder tonight.

Given the 'Dogs' cruisy drawer, and the fact we go to Perth and Geelong, we are likely to remain third at best.

How different it would have been had Tex not kicked that last goal (or the dropping the ball free just before hand was paid to us), and if Breust had missed last week. We'd be a game and a half clear.

Or you might say how different etc...if we could kick straight.

Hunt was our best goal kicker per game last year off only a handful of games and he needs to stay down back.  If he was the best it doesn't say much for any program weve got.

On 7/17/2021 at 11:46 PM, Rusty Nails said:

The elephant in the room.

Worst thing is we've had 18 rounds to improve but haven't.  At the end of the day we keep coming back to the forward line being the main reason for most of our ills.

So one has to look at the players concerned as a whole.  Are they really interested in improving in this area and taking their game (and the team's) to the next level?  I'm sure some might be and might be putting in some extra work off the main training sessions.  But are they?  If not why not?  Especially those that have an awful record (ie; most of them).

Improve this aspect and we win another two games this year and would be well clear on top.  No chance of missing top two or four.

As much as i loathe the Cats I'll give them this.  They're mostly pretty accurate at their set shot kicking and it does get them out of plenty of trouble much of the time.  They seem to pride themselves on it and ice/win plenty of matches by being super accurate here with pretty decent kicking boots anywhere inside 50.

Is it partly to do with the method as GTB pointed out earlier.....

Go the Biff

Posted 4 minutes ago

Same bloke who's delivered our poxy F50 strategy - that being all the talls run to the one spot & we kick it on their heads

What a pox it was tonight!  Talk about amateur hour.  Both talls also playing from behind almost the entire evening.  

No doubt we are diabolical up forward in so many aspects.

Bad kicking is bad footy.  Both coming inside on the last kick (Spargo aside....and occasionally Melk when he's in and firing a little) and set shots at goal.

Has cost us at least two H&A matches so far (this one and GWS) and will also cost us in finals if not addressed in the next four rounds.

How much of our forward woes lie with Stafford?  Is he the weak link at the coaching level?  It's been a constant issue for far too long now.

An hour a day, that's more than enough to increase accuracy in kicking for goal from a variety of distances and angles.

• Hold the ball correctly.
• Keep the line of the ball constant - even in the drop.
• Have your kicking stance, leg and follow through closely observed and then adjust these for good, should the line be wrong.
• For all kicks except the torp, keep you nose almost over the ball with nil head movement (and no trunk movements).
• Minor adjustments are thus easy to make. These will usually be about the drop and its correct distance - same as the golf address but with a close-in moving ball - a big one, too.
• Observe and appreciate those factors that adjust the flight of the ball from absolutely still atmospheric conditions - and then take these into account in the kick. Regular practice will allow for windy, wet and distance parameters to adopt.
• Know you kicking distance/s  to the millimetre and do not attempt hero-style, post-high big bombs - sure to put your kick off line in most circumstances.
• Practise snaps, instep and outstep; maintain a preference for a straight line through the sticks by contact control with the foot and the leg action.
• Keep practising day after day for an hour.

Seeem- pill.

I thought Mark Wiliiams was the messiah around here for fixing kicking ;)

1 minute ago, Engorged Onion said:

I thought Mark Wiliiams was the messiah around here for fixing kicking ;)

He should be ...