Bulldog Inaccuracy

[becmatty]

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%
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

***Hall, Hill and Stack are the only players at 60% or over.

[Curly5]

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]

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

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

[Mantis]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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.

[Doc26]

No stats listed there on our newest forward sensation Mr Lake. Not sure about his approach of creating a wide arc as part of his run up. He does tend to have an arc to his run up but appears to radically increase it when going forward.

[bornadog]

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.

He is not a good strong kicker of the ball.

[boydogs]

No stats listed there on our newest forward sensation Mr Lake. Not sure about his approach of creating a wide arc as part of his run up. He does tend to have an arc to his run up but appears to radically increase it when going forward.

Lake must be in the group between 50-60% not listed in the OP. I wonder if the arc is because of his hip issues, and is more exaggerated when shooting for goal as he tries to generate more distance and height on the kick to clear the man on the mark, or even perhaps trying to kick around them

I heard he was nearly a late withdrawal against WCE with a hip problem, so he is not over his hip trouble unfortunately

[soupman]

No stats listed there on our newest forward sensation Mr Lake. Not sure about his approach of creating a wide arc as part of his run up. He does tend to have an arc to his run up but appears to radically increase it when going forward.


Griffen has a very similiar style, his set shots always end in this stupid looking arc. However, sometimes unconventional methods work, just look at Josh Kennedy, who has taken Scott Welsh's run up to the next level.

[becmatty]

Lake is 58.33%. He is the fourth most accurate and one of only six players over 50% ratio, with fifth being Gia (53.8%) and Minno (53.3%)...

[Ghost Dog]

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.

Griffen. What goal sense. A real warrior for us and I will never regret getting him over Buddy Franklin. Despite some incredible freaky stuff from Buddy ( like against Essendon ) just look at him when he tries to take a set shot!.

Gillbee is a real worry. Doesn't he have his own kicking school?

[Mantis]

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.

Most of Grant's shots at goal move from left to right (fade).

[LostDoggy]

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.

Yes, it seems to me that those set plays when Lindsay runs past a player lining up for goal from about 50 mts, and takes the shot himself are just not working like last year. I almost have it in my head when I see the handball happening, "well, mark this down for a goal", and have mostly this year ended up quite disappointed. His kicking just seems a bit "off" for some reason. I also agree that inaccuracy will cost us games, which in turn may cost us a shot at the flag. There are a few old sayings that I recall my Dad using....."bad kicking is bad football" which I think probably still rings true to this day!

[becmatty]

Yes, it seems to me that those set plays when Lindsay runs past a player lining up for goal from about 50 mts, and takes the shot himself are just not working like last year. I almost have it in my head when I see the handball happening, "well, mark this down for a goal", and have mostly this year ended up quite disappointed. His kicking just seems a bit "off" for some reason. I also agree that inaccuracy will cost us games, which in turn may cost us a shot at the flag. There are a few old sayings that I recall my Dad using....."bad kicking is bad football" which I think probably still rings true to this day!

Superb kickers like Gilbee don't become inaccurate overnight. It is more than likely that Gilb will be back around the 65% accuracy ratio (where he belongs) by season's end. If he is to achieve that, he will have to nail a high proportion of shots in the second half of the season.

I am backing him to do so.

[bornadog]

Superb kickers like Gilbee don't become inaccurate overnight. It is more than likely that Gilb will be back around the 65% accuracy ratio (where he belongs) by season's end. If he is to achieve that, he will have to nail a high proportion of shots in the second half of the season.

I am backing him to do so.

I agree, he is too good to continue missing so many shots.

[Mofra]

Lake is 58.33%. He is the fourth most accurate and one of only six players over 50% ratio, with fifth being Gia (53.8%) and Minno (53.3%)...
That's a decent drop, he was 80% last year. Perhaps playing a little further away from goal due to Barry's presence?

[LostDoggy]

Superb kickers like Gilbee don't become inaccurate overnight. It is more than likely that Gilb will be back around the 65% accuracy ratio (where he belongs) by season's end. If he is to achieve that, he will have to nail a high proportion of shots in the second half of the season.

I am backing him to do so.

That would make me (and us all I would think) a very happy camper!!!!

[becmatty]

Considering the vast majority of our forward line has been more inaccurate than AFL averages and certainly by their own lofty standards, suggests an improved, higher scoring second half to the season.

I would love Johnno, Aker, Higgins, Gia and Hahn to get their radars in tune...

[Ghost Dog]

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%
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

***Hall, Hill and Stack are the only players at 60% or over.

Where were these stats from?

[craigsahibee]

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!

Ozza, very good observation. Luke Darcy used to have the same fast spinning motion in his ball trajectory. Luke was not a long kick either, but was reliable in front of goals. Surely we have some physicists amongst the ranks who can tell us why an oval shaped ball will travel further if it has less rotations in it's flight path!!

[Mofra]

Ozza, very good observation. Luke Darcy used to have the same fast spinning motion in his ball trajectory. Luke was not a long kick either, but was reliable in front of goals. Surely we have some physicists amongst the ranks who can tell us why an oval shaped ball will travel further if it has less rotations in it's flight path!!
Don't need to be a physicist - the lower on the ball you kick it, the more force is being used to spin the ball on its axis and the less being used to force it forward, as the centre of gravity should be in the centre of the ball.

[becmatty]

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.

Care to retract that phrase?

Nailing some very gettable shots again has cost us the four points. In such a close competition, a sprayed goal will enevitably be the difference between top four and 'irrelevant other'.

We need to make the most of opportunities infront of goal, such as Grant's set shot miss in the third quarter, Griff's set shot (where his approach was not straight at the target, but an arc to the right resulting in a sling kick), Hall in the 1st quarter within range and he tugged it on the full, Gia in the first quarter who hit the post after a similar approach to Griff.

If we had kicked one of those, the result was likely to be in our favour. Dammit.

[Ghost Dog]

There are a few old sayings that I recall my Dad using....."bad kicking is bad football" which I think probably still rings true to this day!

Take this quote and print it on two gigantic banners with 20 ft type.
Make the players run through them. Once at the start of the game and another at half time.