Goals from midfield

[NMWBloods]

Davis seems to be putting a bit too much air in some of his shjots at goal of late. One dropped short from just over 50m on Saturday that I think he would normally have kicked.

[dendol]

I sat behind the two back-to-back identical shots for goal (the first of which snuck throgh for a goal and the second which hit the post) and he really does get them extremely high. I thought it was just the way he normally kicked them.

[NMWBloods]

He normally does kick very high, but his last couple just seemed higher than normal and lost distance as a result.

[giant]

Originally posted by NMWBloods
Davis seems to be putting a bit too much air in some of his shjots at goal of late. One dropped short from just over 50m on Saturday that I think he would normally have kicked.

That was into a sizable breeze (which suggests maybe he should've kicked it lower) - but his goal-kicking on Saturday was just outstanding. The 3 goals (& the poster) from or outside 50 were simply brilliant - makes him a very valuable member of this team on the basis of that skill alone.

Really Bloods, you need to watch the ones that go thru as closely as the ones that miss....

[NMWBloods]

You need to take into account what else I say. Don't assume that every observation is a criticism. I'm one of Davis' biggest fans and I think his kicking is superb. I hadn't noticed any wind during the game and two of his kicks just seemed very high.

The other interesting thing about his kicking on Saturday was that on both occasions kicking to the other end from the right flank he aimed the kick very left - one time it snuck in and the other it his the post. I wonder the reason for this.

[giant]

There was a strongish breeze towards the Paddo end - with slight right to left (died down a bit in the second half). From those shots you're referring to on the LHF he should have aimed right not left - still I assume he does enough goal kicking practice at the SCG to know how to factor in the stands etc a lot better than we do. They were both superb shots at goal, the connection as sweet as any you'd see from a set shot.

[Go Swannies]

The wind last Saturday night was strange. There was none in the stands (Brewongle, at least) but the flags suggested at least 10 knots across the top of the stands. The wind did drop a bit and it also shifted through about 100 degrees when the southerly arrived.

Something that hasn't been pointed out was that it was drizzling for the later part of the game so the ball would have been wet and slippery - and the ground. It didn't seem to affect the performance of either team at all!

I have long worried about how the Sydney drought would impact on our wet weather game. It seemed not to. Do they water the SCG or turn the hoses on for practice sessions?

[giant]

Originally posted by Go Swannies
I have long worried about how the Sydney drought would impact on our wet weather game. It seemed not to. Do they water the SCG or turn the hoses on for practice sessions?

Only if Geelong has asked for it.

[Piobaireachd]

Originally posted by NMWBloods
Davis seems to be putting a bit too much air in some of his shjots at goal of late. One dropped short from just over 50m on Saturday that I think he would normally have kicked.

Possibly a legacy of his hammy. When he gets it stretched back to normal his distance should return.

[dendol]

Originally posted by NMWBloods
The other interesting thing about his kicking on Saturday was that on both occasions kicking to the other end from the right flank he aimed the kick very left - one time it snuck in and the other it his the post. I wonder the reason for this.

Yes he aimed both at the same spot because the wind seemed to be blowing quite strongly to the right - the flags above the members' were flapping around that way.

I wonder if his kicks naturally go straight or have a slight "banana" swing. That is, left to right.

[NMWBloods]

Originally posted by Piobaireachd
Possibly a legacy of his hammy. When he gets it stretched back to normal his distance should return.

Oh yes, that's a good point. He was playing so well I forgot he was only recently back from his hammy strain.