Latest Roos Comments

[NMWBloods]

Just on the kicking, one thing I've noticed of recent year is that more and more players drop the ball from both hands rather than guide the ball onto their foot with one hand. We were taught the latter way and most of the past footballers I can recall kicked this way. Now it seems that it is more prevalent to do the former. MOL is an example of this - he lets go of the ball with both hands at the same time. It means that at times the ball will not drop onto the foot in exactly the right spot. Not sure why this seems to be the case these days.

[liz]

Players with a strong technique are more likely to kick consistently but there are plenty with ordinary techniques who can still be effective. Cressa is one who never looked fluent and kicked his share of shockers but a surprisingly large proportion got the job done. Cressa's kicking effectiveness also improved markedly in the latter stages of his career - partly illustrated by him becoming a decent goal kicker from the midfield.

Kirk is another - not perfect but mostly good enough. And while he'll never kick a goal from 50m out, he's pretty accurate from inside 40m.

I think the key is a player understanding his limitations and playing within them. Kirk does it and, as I posted elsewhere earlier today, Spriggs doesn't.

Good vision can also help because if a player can spot an option reasonably quickly and deliver decisively, the recipient will often be able to make up for a less than perfect kick. Kirk's kick to Baz for one of his goals on Saturday is an example. Blight was going on about how it was a dreadful kick but Baz was always going to mark it because it made up in "smarts" for what it lacked in prettiness.

[Nico]

Originally posted by liz
Players with a strong technique are more likely to kick consistently but there are plenty with ordinary techniques who can still be effective. Cressa is one who never looked fluent and kicked his share of shockers but a surprisingly large proportion got the job done. Cressa's kicking effectiveness also improved markedly in the latter stages of his career - partly illustrated by him becoming a decent goal kicker from the midfield.

Kirk is another - not perfect but mostly good enough. And while he'll never kick a goal from 50m out, he's pretty accurate from inside 40m.

I think the key is a player understanding his limitations and playing within them. Kirk does it and, as I posted elsewhere earlier today, Spriggs doesn't.

Good vision can also help because if a player can spot an option reasonably quickly and deliver decisively, the recipient will often be able to make up for a less than perfect kick. Kirk's kick to Baz for one of his goals on Saturday is an example. Blight was going on about how it was a dreadful kick but Baz was always going to mark it because it made up in "smarts" for what it lacked in prettiness.

Sorry Liz I can't agree on 2 points you made.

Having coached kids from 6-10 on how to kick from the manual (correct method as told above by NMW) knowing limitations is a long way off the mark. When you are playing footy you are logically playing within your own limitations, you have known that since a very young age. It all happens naturally. If you don't have the required skills no matter how much adjustment you try to make (within your limitations) it won't make any better at delivering the footy.

A lot of it has to do with learned skills at a young age, body shape, running techniques, fine motor skills, sideways motion etc. etc.etc.

Good vision does not make you a better kick. Good vision plus superior delivery skills is what does the trick. We have a number of players who know where they want to kick it but have a habit of hitting an opponent on the chest 20 metres from the target.

We also have players who can kick but have no idea where to kick it (Leo).

[Nico]

Originally posted by NMWBloods
Just on the kicking, one thing I've noticed of recent year is that more and more players drop the ball from both hands rather than guide the ball onto their foot with one hand. We were taught the latter way and most of the past footballers I can recall kicked this way. Now it seems that it is more prevalent to do the former. MOL is an example of this - he lets go of the ball with both hands at the same time. It means that at times the ball will not drop onto the foot in exactly the right spot. Not sure why this seems to be the case these days.

As I said, poor technique. Compare him to O'Keefe and Lloyd. Both left footers and very clearly guide the ball with their left hand. Accurate too.

Barry Hall seems to wave the footy around a bit which appears to have a detrimental affect on his accuracy. Where is Plugger?

I went from coaching Auskick to Junior footy admin and you could see the difference in style and technique between the Auskick boys and those that went straight to Club footy. The Auskick boys always seemed to be cleaner with disposal, more poised and better skilled.

Talk to anyone involved at coaching at Level one AFL coaching and they will tell you that you must teach them the correct techniques very young. 6-8 years old and throw in the other facets such as positional play and where to run on the ground, "how" to get a kick" etc.etc

We had something like 40 different skills on our sheet that we taught them. Try how to mark, side stepping, bouncing the ball, running in groups, paddling the ball, blind turns, various handball types, running techniques, kicking to position, kicking out in front of a running player, picking up on the run one handed and two handed, wet weather footy, two on one tackling etc etc etc.
A no, no was kicking round corners. That came later as early on it developed bad backyard habits.

There is a lot to being an AFL footballer. It starts young.

[liz]

Originally posted by Nico
Sorry Liz I can't agree on 2 points you made.

I'm not sure that your comments counteract my observations. It's pretty obvious that we'd like all our footballers to have perfect technical skills AND good vision. And if they can also mark well, get the ball out from under packs, run like the wind, and tackle superbly you'll have the perfect footballer. He's probably called Chris Judd.

Sadly most footballers can't do everything.

My point was that with great vision and a true understanding of your limitations and how to counteract them, less than perfect football specimens - like Cressa and Kirk - can still become pretty fine footballers.

And while I said "sadly" above, I'm not sure I even really mean it. Sure, it would be great to have a Chris Judd playing for Sydney, but I probably get as much pleasure out of seeing guys like Kirk, Cressa, Luff, even PK become mightily effective footballers as watching the more naturally skilled players like Lockett.

[NMWBloods]

I'd prefer to watch someone execute the skills correctly every single day than mongrel it. Nothing against some of these players, such as Cressa and Kirk, who I think are great clubmen and very good footballers. However, from an aesthetic sense I would prefer watching a Judd or a Black rather than say a Kirk. Of course there are exceptions, but they tend to be the freakishly gifted, like a lot of aboriginals (such as the Krakouers) or someone like Ken Hunter.

[hardluck_harry]

Originally posted by Nico

Talk to anyone involved at coaching at Level one AFL coaching and they will tell you that you must teach them the correct techniques very young. 6-8 years old and throw in the other facets such as positional play and where to run on the ground, "how" to get a kick" etc.etc

We had something like 40 different skills on our sheet that we taught them. Try how to mark, side stepping, bouncing the ball, running in groups, paddling the ball, blind turns, various handball types, running techniques, kicking to position, kicking out in front of a running player, picking up on the run one handed and two handed, wet weather footy, two on one tackling etc etc etc.
A no, no was kicking round corners. That came later as early on it developed bad backyard habits.

There is a lot to being an AFL footballer. It starts young.

Gee, glad I'm not a kid now days seems like the AFL are sucking the fun out junior footy. What happened to kick to kick, circle work and british bulldog.

Hey but thirty years ago we could kick drop, torpedoe's and flat punts as well drop kicks and stab passes and bananas. LOL

[footyhead]

Originally posted by Newbie
I no longer read any of Roos cliches with any interest. Is there anyone not tired of them yet??? Those cliches give nothing at all. Perhaps, that is the way he wants them to be.

Yes but when his brand off footy gives nothing as well, it makes for a very very bored group of supporters!

[Go Swannies]

Originally posted by footyhead
Yes but when his brand off footy gives nothing as well, it makes for a very very bored group of supporters!

You didn't make it to the Bombers' game then? Few of us seemed bored towards the end of that game. Fiendishly clever of the Swans to use their pinpoint accuracy to kick all those posters to keep the game interesting right to the end.

[Nico]

Originally posted by hardluck_harry
Gee, glad I'm not a kid now days seems like the AFL are sucking the fun out junior footy. What happened to kick to kick, circle work and british bulldog.

Hey but thirty years ago we could kick drop, torpedoe's and flat punts as well drop kicks and stab passes and bananas. LOL

Harry, the kids absolutely love the variety. They love learning and trying to execute what they see their heroes doing.

They want more and more. Stick to the basic stuff and they soon get bored. Stretch them and see the rapid improvement.

One great one was when they got to say 8-9 year old level was running and bouncing and kicking to a moving target, and then mixing up the angles. That teaches them vision and pinpointing at a very young age.

[Rob-bloods]

Re: Re: Latest Roos Comments

Originally posted by Barry Schneider
If Goodes didn't cop a knee injury last year he would have played in the ruck every game and we wouldn"t have recruited Jolly.
Of course Roos knows ruck is his best position.He just didn't want to be responsible for ending Goodes career prematurely.
With our lack of rucks and changes to the centre bounce rules he took a calculated risk putting Goodes back in the ruck.
I can't see how you can call Roos an idiot because he was looking after the welfare of a player.

Goodes is not a full time ruckman, he simply cannot compete year in year out vs the giants like Cox, Brogan et al.

He should return to his roving commission and take the occasional ruck out wide to rest the big guys.

I think two weeks of rucking has got him involved more and more and he is benefitting from that.

He should never defend key forwards in the defensive 50, his attempts at spoiling are pretty atrocious....