Poor kicking for goal...

[liz]

I've always admired his ability to get the most out of himself, but yesterday he just grated on me for some reason.

I haven't seen the replay yet, but were his 2 frees resulting in goals against Mattner both there?? First one he seemed to just feel a hand around his chest very early in the contest and just threw his arms out and backed into Mattner staging for a free. The second one, Mattner seemed to get a bit of ball and barely obstructed Johnson at all, but Johnson gets the free and goals.

What was the feeling on TV??

Having posted elsewhere that I thought the umpies were good, your post has reminded me of one decision that sent my blood pressure racing. Was the second free you are referring to for arm chopping? There was one where our defender (could have been Mattner, can't quite remember) seemed to get a clear punch on the ball and tangled arms with the forward after he made contact with the ball. And got penalised.

[NMWBloods]

What annoys me most is that we were beaten by a team that I honestly don't think is as good as us. 18.4 or whatever the hell it was was flukey. Unheard of. Seemed like evertime they had a set shot they goaled.

It was great kicking - they hardly even looked like missing. That's great football. Not that common, but not unheard of. In the past few years we've kicked 18.4 and 19.5.

[top40]

What annoys me most is that we were beaten by a team that I honestly don't think is as good as us. 18.4 or whatever the hell it was was flukey. Unheard of. Seemed like evertime they had a set shot they goaled. Those two spawney goals from the left pocket were right out of their arses. And is it just me or does Brad Johnston have one of the most punchable heads in footy? (right behind Milne and Roughead)

Once again we've snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. We should never have lost to that rabble called St. Kilda or drawn with North. Too little too late again! Thank God we're not playing this weekend. I can have a stress-free couple of days.

Kicking goals is part of winning. (And I think it might be a pretty important part!) It's a bit like losing a soccer game 3-nil, and complaining that the other side were 'lucky' to get the ball into the net three times. Sorry to say it, but the Bulldogs thoroughly deserved the four points.

[waterfowl]

Obviously this kicking for goal is a huge problem. Does anyone know what they do at training - a few kicks to finish off? It's a skill that can be improved - with difficult music performers keep practicing after they can already play a piece well - for when the nerves kick. Maybe they should practice from 60 or 70m out (and blindfolded ) Maybe its a good job for Bazza while he is recovering to hold masterclasses in straight kicking...

[shaun..]

Not sure if you're referring to Mick's first shot or Macca's 3rd - being lazy and not going back and reading through the thread. But the trajectory was almost identical. And then the Dogs had a shot in that exact same spot early in the 2nd quarter, aimed much closer to the left hand post and it sailed through the middle.

I don't whether it was more frustrating yesterday watch the Swans miss gettable shots, or watch the Dogs line up knowing with certainty that it was going to be on target.

I think McVeigh's was more frustrating especially since he kicked a goal earlier in about the same spot. There was an obvious drift from left to right. And Micky must've known after watching McVeigh's attempts. It's like they don't know where to aim when kicking for goal (and they don't seem to help or notify one another) compared to their Dogs counterparts who kicked truly in similar positions.

[bodgie]

Why does MO'L (your stand in ff) lead to the pockets so consistently? I assume the centre corridor is chockers?

He bagged three on the weekend, but you need a couple of others doing the same to put some scoreboard pressure on the opposition. Delivery into your fwd line was abysmal against the dogs.....

M'O is the one forward who hasn't lost basic confidence. He is the long term forward who has learnt that his spot is deep in the pocket - keep out of Halls way. O'Keefe and Davis have been lost along the way. In an era when players are supposed to be multi-skilled and when our forward line was supposed to be our stand out strength we have lost our way. Surely the coaches must take responsibility. It was kinda telling to see a forward line of Playfair, Moore and M'O

[Kanga]

M'O is the one forward who hasn't lost basic confidence. He is the long term forward who has learnt that his spot is deep in the pocket - keep out of Halls way. O'Keefe and Davis have been lost along the way. In an era when players are supposed to be multi-skilled and when our forward line was supposed to be our stand out strength we have lost our way. Surely the coaches must take responsibility. It was kinda telling to see a forward line of Playfair, Moore and M'O

In Hall's absence then the rest of them are not standing up and getting a bag of marks/goals. Interesting as when your midfield runs with the ball they look very impressive, but their finishing lets them down. Too often it is a kick down the line or on the flank rather than into the corridor.

[liz]

I was just searching for something completely unrelated and stumbled across this from last year. Might provide some amusement (and a reminder that the current woes are nothing new).

The Sydney Morning Herald Blogs: Sport

[RogueSwan]

It makes me angry.
How many years ago was it that we were routinely being praised for accuracy? Probably 2003-04 era. As a team we were well up over 60%! Hall, Davis and co. could shoot a dick off a bee at 50m.
Or is that just me wearing the "blood-coloured' glasses again?

[liz]

It makes me angry.
How many years ago was it that we were routinely being praised for accuracy? Probably 2003-04 era. As a team we were well up over 60%! Hall, Davis and co. could shoot a dick off a bee at 50m.
Or is that just me wearing the "blood-coloured' glasses again?

It was pretty much just 2003. I think that year Matthews dismissed us as a threat, suggesting the only reason we were so high up on the ladder was due to a freakishly high accuracy rate and that this couldn't be sustained.

It all returned to "normal' in 2004 and has been going down the gurgler ever since.

[NMWBloods]

Yes, as Liz says it was 2003 and Matthews did say that (and I recall a number of people here said that he was wrong and an idiot, and my agreement with him was equally stupid).

One thing different about 2003 is that we played a lot more in the corridor rather than down the boundary line.