i think there are some basic rules that need to be followed.

never kick short to the pocket, unless that is the only option. if the short option is taken you then need a quick switch to the other side of the ground to ruin the zone that has been set up around you.

always take the first option that presents, and never kick it so the player can mark flat footed. force the player to run onto it a little bit, it stops the spoil from behind.

likewise if your team mate is struggling for an option, run hard. it doesnt matter where you are running too (preferably space or towards the boundary) but if you run hard, the kick can be put in front of you. if you are standing flat footed the kicker has no choice where to kick it.

kick long and straight if we have the advantage of numbers, never if we are outnumbered. that means we need talls to mark and shorts to crumb, not 3 big talls to drop the mark.

if in doubt some one needs to come in and sheppard the man on the mark and the player needs to play on and kick long to the wing boundary line. if the players know that is where it is going they can run to position instead of trying to present short. kick it into space over heads and let the players run onto it, or kick it so it can be punched out.

dont kick to a contest inside the opposition 50.

sound fair?

Today against Sydney it was blatantly obvious that our kick-in strategy was ineffective. Even more obvious was that our defence of Sydney's kick-ins was non-existant.

In my opinion , it was clear today that the deficiency was not in the skills of the players involved, but in the tactics employed by the coaching staff. Our ineptitude in this basic, and highly important facet of play will hold us back however well we recruit, however hard we train, however hard we try.

We should watch what Sydney did today, and try hard to copy it.

Do other posters think I'm foolishly obsessed with this aspect of our game, or am I correct that something radical needs to be done?

Paul Wheatley is a shocker.

Yes he can kick it 70 meters, but he usually just bombs it long to nobody. On one occasion, had he looked to his left he would have seen Garland all on his own ready to take the ball and run. He didn't bother turning his head, instead kicking it to a contest which we of course lost. I was much happier when CJ took the kick-ins, and maybe it's time we gave Garland a chance to do that as well.

Wheatley is not effective in this task unless he can spot a man all on his own 70 meters away, and that will never happen when you're playing Sydney... or any good team for that matter.

The coaching instruction seems pretty simple to me... get the ball and move it as soon as humanly possible. Sometimes it works, most of the time it doesn't, and that's usually thanks to players not presenting or the kicker completely missing the target. Too often our defenders, instead of making themselves an option, are worried about leaving their man. Consequently, you'd get some half-arsed token effort from some midfielder who is slowly walking down to the defensive 50, by which time the opposition have zoned off and are ready to spoil our party. Even when we play a loose-man in defence, we can't seem to pick up a target. It really is sad.

we were definately better in this department today...

CJ looks good at taking the kick-ins... he makes good decisions, and doesn't hesitate... not afraid to play on to himself either...

Wheatley has been poor of late. He is good at pinpointing a pass over 55-60 metres, but is a little indecisive when taking the kick. Occasionally the long bomb to the middle works, but this is clearly not a solution.

Wheels had always been pretty solid kicking in from Full Back, would like to see him do it too whilst he's in the team.

I still think Wheatley should receive the first kick from, say, CJ, and then kick long over the top of the opposition's zone onto the wing.

I think in the 2nd Quarter a kick in was taken by wheatly went straight to a sydney player

Some good, some poor