Kicking for goal.

[Dan26]

In a fairly bleak season, one of the strangely satisfying facets to our play has been kicking for goal. Normally, I tend to ignore goalkicking accuracy, because I tend to think it balances out for every team over a period of time.

But this year, we have consistently been able to thread the big sticks with continued accuracy, and if this is due to practice, then whoever is in charge of goalkicking should be congratulated. Six of the games at the top of the list have been VERY accurate, not just "a bit" accurate. It's very unusual to have a season where in 6 games ,the club scores at an accuracy of two-thirds or better.

The accuracy for each game, so far, has been (from best to worst):

R2 vs Carlton 17.4
R16 vs Collingwood 21.5
R13 vs St.Kilda 19.5
R7 vs Sydney 14.4
R21 vs Carlton 28.14
R20 vs Hawthorn 16.8
R10 vs Bulldogs 21.11
R19 vs Sydney 15.8
R14 vs Kangaroos 14.8
R18 vs Geelong 16.11
R4 vs Geelong 11.9
R12 vs West Coast 12.10
R8 vs Fremantle 17.15
R11 vs Adelaide 9.9
R1 vs Melbourne 8.9
R17 vs Brisbane 14.17
R6 vs Brisbane 12.16
R9 vs Port 9.12
R15 vs Richmond 9.12
R5 vs Collingwood 11.17
R3 vs Hawthorn 10.17

Total Accuracy 58%

Ironically, the two games at the bottom of the list were wins.

 

[pazza]

It has been great to see.

I wonder how much of that can be due to having a kicking skills coach like Matty Knights helping out at Bendigo etc....

 

[Stealth bomber]

Been great all year. Nothing is worse than losing a game by kicking yourself out of it.

The two games at the bottom were both wins....how about two of the top four being losses!

 

[Dan26]

And to illustrate the importance:

* We are 6-4 in our top 10 games for accuracy (two of the losses by a goal or less)

* We are 1-8 in games ranked 11 through to 19.

* And lastly and ironically 2-0 in games ranked 20 and 21 for accuracy (which were against 14th and 15th as the ladder stands now. Would have been lucky to have gotten away with that against better teams.)

 

[Longy413]

I reckon we have hit the post more times than any other team as well.

I also think inaccuracy cost us a win against Brisbane.

 

[teams]

Didn't Sydney kick unbelievably straight in 03 and then couldn't slot the easy ones in 04? Don't like those sort of portends.

 

[bOmBeR_BoY1]

Also pleasing to see in those statistics Dan26, our lowest score this year actually came in Round 1 with 8.9.57 with an absolutely depleted forward line (Aaron Henneman at full forward... please!) - which isn't too bad at all. And our highest score of the year coming last week at 28.14.182 was our highest score since our Qualifying Final rout of the Kangaroos back in 2000.

We won't impact the finals this year obviously, but I am much more certain about future success at the end of this season than I was 12 months ago. This was the year we needed.

 

[Dan26]

Well, we started off the season by kicking 17.6. Great kicking once again.

I wonder if it's something the club works on, (more than normal) or whether we just coincidentally happen to have some very good kicks respresenting the club at this point in time.

 

[dave_27]

Lloyd and Lucas.

 

[Dan26]

15.7.

Pretty good again.

Having said that, we now await the 12.20.92 to the Bulldogs 15.3.93, that will probably happen this week.

 

[X_box_X]

Gees, Dan, you do realise the Bulldogs have scored over 100 points in their last 10 games at the Telstra Dome, don't you?

Since round five last year, the Bulldogs scores at the Telstra Dome have been:

Rd 5, 2005: 140 (Adelaide)
Rd 8, 2005: 118 (Kangaroos)
Rd 10, 2005: 110 (Essendon)
Rd 11, 2005: 111 (Hawthorn)
Rd 17, 2005: 133 (Geelong)
Rd 18, 2005: 151 (Brisbane)
Rd 20, 2005: 119 (Richmond)
Rd 22, 2005: 141 (Collingwood)
Rd 1, 2006: 167 (Richmond)
Rd 2, 2006: 137 (Melbourne)

That's an average of more than 132 points in those ten games. Can you guys really break our streak?