SECRETS FROM THE GREATS

Today’s footballers are generally bigger, Collingwood goal machine Gordon stronger, faster and better skilled than Coventry, Hawthorn genius , their predecessors, but a frequent lament Essendon spearhead , is that the professional era has not North superstar , produced better accuracy in front of goal. ’s dual-premiership hero Darren Indeed, set-shot goalkicking is the key Jarman, Geelong and Greater Western skill that has not improved since the game freak Steve Johnson and Hawk has gone full-time. marksman . To shed light on this most perplexing Amid the wealth of wisdom, what and frustrating issue, we have compiled emerges is that set-shot goalkicking the thoughts of those who nailed big bags is as much a mental science as a physical on the big stage. one and that while different methods Among them are some legendary suit different players, there are still sharpshooters, including the AFL/VFL’s some critical common themes. greatest goalkicker , BEN COLLINS & ASHLEY BROWNE ● AFL RECORD CRACKING THE GOALKICKING CODE

and in my last six or seven steps, of trying to kick the ball out of my I’d focus on my ball-drop, keeping hand,” he said. AFL AVERAGE ACCURACY 2013-16 my head down over the ball, “I felt that if I dropped the ball (from) too high, the ball had time running straight, kicking straight 15 and following through. to do anything before your foot “There weren’t many things that came through.” 30 could go wrong; and if I missed, The official Legend was amazed 40 % it usually wasn’t by much.” and frustrated that goalkicking % 99 % Lloyd remains bemused that hadn’t improved in the full-time age. 50 62 56 “most AFL players still don’t have “(It) should be relatively simple, % % % 48 % % a routine”, making it impossible especially set shots because you 86 92 84 46 for them to “coach themselves”. take your time and go through 37% % He says the improved accuracy the process … % % 37 of veterans and “You can get too much information 67 % 68 in recent years with it, too. You’ve got to keep it simple. 76 “When I look at the blokes these % provides hope for youngsters such 28 % % % as Melbourne’s and days, they seem very mechanical 53 % 53 25 particularly Bomber , and very robotic. They’ve got too 60 % % whom Lloyd worked with last year. much going through their minds ... 36 % 38 Lloyd rates Hawks pair Jack (when) the only thing they should be 36 Gunston and Cyril among concentrating on is kicking the ball.” the most bankable converters. PLAYER ACCURACY BY ZONE ACCURACY 2013-16 HUDSON’S HAWK-EYE DISTANCE (M) ACUTE LEFT ANGLE LEFT INFRONT ACUTE RIGHT ANGLE RIGHT A GOAL? LOCKETT IN awthorn legend Peter 100% (11/11) ony Lockett is the greatest Hudson was once told: 0-15 (Coll) goalkicker in League history “When you kick (for goal), (NM) with 1360 and, of those to you look like a dog trying to 100% (12/12) 100% (16/16) H 100% (6/6) 100% (9/9) 100% (7/7) make love to a cricket ball!” (GWS) Jeremy Cameron have at least 300 to their 15-30 (WCE) Josh Kennedy (WCE) (Adel) T The crude analogy was a nod (Rich) (GWS) name, he is also the most accurate, to Hudson’s hunched approach, with a strike rate of 69.74 per cent. 100% (5/5) 100% (12/12) 100% (8/8) 100% (12/12) 100% (5/5) In a rare interview last year with which enabled him to guide the ball 30-40 (Rich) Josh Kennedy (WCE) (Haw) (PA) (Haw) Melbourne radio station 3AW, the carefully on to his right boot. 100% (5/5) 83% (5/6) Hudson – who boasts the League’s 100% (6/6) 92% (11/12) 100% (5/5) St Kilda and Sydney man mountain Tom Bellchambers Jamie Elliott (Coll) 40-50 (Haw) (Coll) (Melb) surprised by revealing he never greatest goal average (5.64) – (Ess) Lance Franklin (Haw/Syd) followed a set procedure. favoured the unconventional flat He’d always check with the punt, but followed some basic 60% (3/5) 80% (4/5) 73% (8/11) (WB), goalkicking principles, which he 67% (6/9) 67% (4/6) umpire where the mark was before Shane Kersten (Geel) Lance Franklin 50+ Jack Gunston (Haw) Taylor Walker (Adel) he walked in, focusing on the goal gleaned from , his (Haw) (Haw/Syd) (Carl/Geel) umpire because “he stands in the one-time captain-coach at (Frem) Tasmanian club New Norfolk. middle of the goals no matter where ● Stats compiled by Champion Data since 2013. Minimum five shots. Some sections are incomplete due to lack of applicable data. you position yourself”. At 20, the brilliant full-forward with Tony Lockett and it was a stark A NATURAL: Despite Lockett insisted “the two most had easily been the leading the “vice”, watch it on to his boot and 2016 GOALKICKERS ACCURACY (MIN 20 GOALS) DEADLY DON contrast because he was so far over finishing his career with goalkicker at the 1966 national finish with a straight follow-through. the most goals in history important things” were the ball atthew Lloyd became the ball. So I tried to bridge the gap. carnival in , but was “I never tried to kick the ball SEASON SEASON SEASON and the highest conversion drop and making proper contact PLAYER CLUB MATCHES GOALS BEHINDS ACCURACY renowned for his effective “Training at Windy Hill, where it rate, Tony Lockett revealed with the foot. “They were the things disappointed with his return too hard,” Hudson said. “It’s about set-shot technique, but the was often windy, I’d toss the grass in he did not have a set I was conscious of, almost to the stage of 20.20 in four games. technique and timing.” Alex Fasolo Coll 10 22 5 81% M 926-goal Essendon great the air and that became part of it. goalkicking routine. One training night, Leo took In the 1973 book How To Play admits it was several seasons before “I got immediate results and when Hudson aside for some goalkicking Football Australian Style, Hudson Haw 12 26 7 79% he even started working on a routine. I missed one, I knew why, whereas tutelage that formed his lifelong also emphasised: “The only practice “In my first four years at Essendon, previously I didn’t. I went from a 50 AFL GOALKICKING ACCURACY OVER TIME theories on the art of the . I do not recommend is repeated Jack Darling WCE 13 29 8 78% I did something different every time per cent strike rate to 70 per cent.” kicking for goal if you find your 60% “The first and most important step Rich 13 23 7 77% – it was hurting my team and my Of those to have kicked at least is to switch your mind on to the job,” kicking standard, especially own career by missing too many big 750 goals, Lloyd’s conversion rate accuracy, has slipped. Instead, do 50% Hudson told Ben Collins for the 2006 Jeremy Cameron GWS 10 28 9 76% shots,” Lloyd told the AFL Record. of 68.59 per cent is second only to book The Champions: Conversations a few kicks … and correct the fault. “I copped a spray from (assistant Lockett (69.74). with Great Players & Coaches of It is not much use perfecting a fault.” Geel 14 24 8 75% coach) , who said, ‘You’ll A key factor was Lloyd’s 40% Australian Football. Jack Watts Melb 13 24 8 75% cost us a big game one day if you slow-down tactics, which in 2006 45% 50% 53% 53% “I’d stand at the end of my run-up don’t get your kicking right.’ resulted in the introduction of 30% and roll up on to my toes a couple of THE $MONEY SHOT Tom Lynch GCS 13 42 14 75% “I spent the whole off-season ‘The Lloyd Rule’, which imposed 47% 52% 52% times. That simple movement put my f you had to choose someone to working with another assistant a 30-second limit on set shots. have a shot at goal for your life, Adel 13 38 14 73% 20% mind into gear. coach, David Wheadon, and a “I took as long as I needed to lower “(Then I) put the ball in the vice,” you couldn’t do much better than Haw 14 25 10 71% sports psychologist on a routine my heart-rate and remove some lactic – or in other words, he kept it as still Wayne Carey or . 10% I that worked for me. acid and fatigue, so I strategically as possible. For both champions, who were Nick Riewoldt StK 12 21 9 70% “I dropped the ball from too high tucked in my jumper, pulled up my The Hawk genius then followed regarded as ice men after nailing and I stabbed at it and I might have socks, threw the grass,” he said. 0% the “straight-line” method – he’d run some memorable clutch goals in Mark LeCras WCE 13 23 10 70% had an arc at times, too, so Dave “In my first five or six steps, I’d 1956 1966 1976 1986 1996 2006 2016 straight towards a stationary target finals, it was as much about mindset used a split-screen to compare me focus on something behind the goals, behind the goals, drop the ball from as it was about process. Josh Kennedy WCE 13 46 21 69%

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pre-game I make sure that DEAD-EYE I have at least two to three shots from a 45-degree angle HAWK on both sides of the goals. I also practise from directly Hawthorn star Jack Gunston in front,” he said. keeps his routine – and If it is extremely windy, preparation – simple. Gunston thinks through any adjustments to his routine. ˜˜For Hawthorn sharpshooter “I don’t change my routine Jack Gunston, his deadly except that when having my goalkicking accuracy starts in shot I want to keep the ball the solitude of the windswept lower in the air so the wind has where it is just less effect on the ball,” he said. him and a bag of balls. “A good way of being able In a recent edition of the to do this is by guiding the ball AFL Record 4Kids, Gunston that little bit closer to my boot explained the preparation and so the wind doesn’t affect my methods that have helped ball drop.” him become one of best kicks After 117 games and NERVES OF STEEL: for goal in the AFL, with an 253 goals, Gunston has Darren Jarman’s clutch accuracy of around 70 per cent. his set-shot routine pretty goalkicking helped “Throughout the week much down pat. the Crows to their we have two dedicated first two flags. “Once I take the mark, goalkicking sessions where we I make sure with the umpire will roughly have between 30 where the opponent will be Former North Melbourne skipper The Champions. “If my routine failed, and 40 shots on goal,” he said. standing, he said. Carey craved the big moment and I’d look for the reason why it failed.” “On top of this, I like to try and “I take five steps back from would visualise himself doing great A case in point was the dramatic last get in another 10 to 20 shots the man on the mark and mark things before the ball arrived. quarter of the 1997 preliminary final on goal either during or after the ground with my boot. I “There might only be a few points against the Bulldogs at the MCG. a regular training session.” then take another 12 steps in it, but (some players) don’t want With the Crows 17 points down, Video analysis of his back from the mark on the the responsibility of trying to win Jarman took a screamer but tried to set-shot kicking is also part of ground which takes me to the the game for their side,” Carey said guide home a 40m shot in the typically his weekly regimen. top of my run up.” in Ben Collins’ The Champions. swirling breeze and missed. On match-days, his first From there, his routine calls “I wanted that responsibility … He was filthy on himself for not task is to gauge the wind for him to spin the ball up, I wanted to have the ball in my kicking through the ball and vowed conditions. “Throughout the swing it once in line with the hands. Everyone has nerves and he would do just that if he got another goals and then start his run-up. feels pressure – it’s just a matter of chance. He did, with two minutes left “I roughly take four of five controlling the nerves. and the Crows trailing by three points. steps in and then jog another “The best way to do that is if “I put everything else out of my mind; three or four and ensure I kick your technique, routine, preparation didn’t even think about the result of the through the football,” he said. and training is up to the right kick and whether we’d win or lose the Gunston also has a standard and you stick to it and chance to play in our first Grand Final. routine for side-on become so familiar with it that it’s I only thought: ‘Kick through it.’ snapshots. “I will almost second nature. More often “I couldn’t have put less go roughly seven to than not, you’ll do the job at the pressure on myself. I ran eight steps off the crunch time.” straight, I kicked straight man on the mark. I turn Jarman’s crunch-time composure through it and the ball my body so I am facing the famously helped Adelaide to its first went straight.” middle of the ground with my two flags in 1997-98. The next week, Jarman left shoulder directly in line When he left Hawthorn and produced another nerveless with the goals.” returned to his native Adelaide at performance and was a He said the key was how he the end of 1995, the silky-skilled premiership hero. uses his hands. The ball hold is midfielder/forward changed his always horizontal, so his right set-shot routine – where previously GORDON’S hand is placed underneath the he walked in and hooked them if right side of the ball and his he didn’t make perfect contact, he GOAL-DEN RULE left hand is placed on top of started slowly jogging in because ollingwood the left side of the ball. he felt more balanced and it gave boasted the “I take two steps inside the him more momentum. greatest field of play with my right foot Jarman developed such faith in spearhead first and once I let go of the ball, his technique that he didn’t worry C succession plan of all time – Dick Lee, I want my boot to connect in about the result. followed by and the area of the ball where my “I always felt that if I followed . Superstars all. right hand was placed,” he said. my routine correctly and missed, Coventry – the official Legend ASHLEY BROWNE I could accept that,” Jarman said in who held the League goals record

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(1299) from 1930-99 – credited post-high. One night Todd mustered drop-punt,” Johnson told Dan Eddy Lee for developing his effective the courage to ask Naylor why he in a new edition of Champions. set-shot method. didn’t practise from further out. “By standing side-on to the goals, “To Lee, I owe much for any Naylor’s reply, featured in The you are already in a great position success I gained as a sharpshooter,” Champions, was: “If I get my timing and you don’t need to run around on Coventry told The Sporting Globe and rhythm from this distance, the angle like you would if you were in 1938. when I’m forced out to 60 yards … to kick a drop-punt. “When I joined Collingwood, (54.6m), I’ll be able to kick that “You are still able to take a I swerved as I moved forward to kick. distance easily.” couple of steps before you kick, You could not depend on my direction. Todd later preached “timing but you will have better balance “When the coach (‘Jock’ McHale) and rhythm” as a coach. than if you changed the angle on one day told the forwards to have 10 your approach.” minutes at kicking for goal, Lee took me aside and asked me if I would like THE STEVIE J SNAP 2016 GOALKICKING ACCURACY BY MAJOR VENUES to improve my accuracy. ‘Sure,’ I said, s 1986 Coleman medallist SEASON SEASON SEASON and puffed up with pride. Brian Taylor observed last STADIUM MATCHES GOALS BEHINDS ACC. “Dick wanted to know what week, the only aspect of Gabba 7 213 168 56% direction I was aiming at. I told him A set-shot goalkicking that that I wanted my kicks to go through has improved in recent times is via Spotless Stadium 5 143 121 54% the centre of the goalposts. ‘Right!’ the deliberate snap invented by said he. ‘Then face up to the goal.’ Steve Johnson. Etihad Stadium 29 757 622 55% “He showed me the correct way Players are increasingly employing to hold a ball, and that did away the ‘Stevie J snap’, in which the Simonds Stadium 4 115 95 55% with my swerve. kicker stands side-on to the goal MCG 29 740 630 54% “It was Lee who told me to give before opening up the angle and one look at the goal and then screwing the ball across their body. Metricon Stadium 6 161 141 53% concentrate all my attention on the Of course, it has become more ball. I never forgot that golden rule.” effective this season because of the 13 352 336 51% increase in the protected area around Domain Stadium 13 332 318 51% the mark from five to 10m. ROYCE’S REMEDY Johnson started practising the SCG 6 134 142 49% icking into the man on set-shot snap as a boy and gradually the mark is one of footy’s introduced it at Geelong. cardinal sins, but Richmond’s “I always thought that it was silly, 2016 TEAM BY TEAM MOST ACCURATE PLAYER K had a fail-safe if you knew that you were going to (MIN 10 GOALS) preventative measure. snap the ball around your body … to SEASON SEASON SEASON The great centre half-forward stand as if you were going to kick a CLUB PLAYER MATCHES GOALS BEHINDS ACC. was one of the few players of his era (1967-77) to measure his run-up Adel Josh Jenkins 13 38 14 73% and perhaps the only one to do it Bris Josh Walker 10 12 7 63% from a predetermined kicking spot rather than from the mark. Carl 10 7 3 70% “You have no control over where the mark is placed because the Coll Alex Fasolo 10 22 5 81% umpire sets that (but) the thing you do have control over is the spot Ess Mitch Brown 13 16 12 57% you kick the ball from,” Hart said in Frem 12 14 5 74% The Champions. “You should go straight to that spot Geel Steven Motlop 14 24 8 75% and mark your run-up from there. That takes the man on the mark GCS Jack Martin 12 12 3 80% out of the equation.” GWS Jeremy Cameron 10 28 9 76% NAYLOR NAILS’ EM Haw Cyril Rioli 12 26 7 79% ong before he Melb Jack Watts 13 24 8 75% became a NM Drew Petrie 14 19 6 76% champion L player and PA 13 12 4 75% coach in the WAFL, a young John Todd watched Rich Sam Lloyd 13 23 7 77% South Fremantle goal machine Bernie Naylor amass incredible StK 13 11 2 85% hauls of 23.2 and 19.1. Syd 12 15 5 75% Todd also hung around at training as Naylor had umpteen shots at WCE Jack Darling 13 29 8 78% goal from 35 to 40m out, noting that each kick would sail through WB 13 11 2 85%

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