Analysis Kickouts: How Do We Fix Them?

[Rory Walkerfield]

Our kickouts have been impotent all year. Whilst we occasionally get a coast to coast goal which is great, it feels like we turn our kickouts over more than any other top 8 team.

What are we doing wrong:
- we seem to have the closest player kickout: I reckon most of our backs / mids have probable taken a kickout this year. Other teams have two or three dedicated kick in players. Smith and Atkins the obvious choices for us
- playing on from the kickout: we do this less than any other side IMO. Those extra three or four metres can make all the difference in kicking to a pack and kicking to a one on one contest
- spotting up 15 to 20 metre targets: we seem incapable of this also

It means we invariably are kicking to a pack just outside the 50, and given McGovern is the only guy in the side capable of taking a pack mark, we lose out more often than not.

 

[spexau]

I was lamenting this last night. We always seem to kick to a contest and were outnumbered at that contest at the ground and cough up another f50 entry. However a couple times we used short kicks to get through and ended up with a f50 of our own. We shouldn't be kicking to a contest though as we don't have that consistent contested mark.

 

[GreyCrow]

The one thing you cant be is consistent so no one trick pony plans. No designated kickers who do one thing and another that does something else. Then again I think our kick down the line hope Jacobs marks it is also a one trick pony.

I would like Smith to be the designated kicker as he has many strings. Long roost , short kick and can also run off the line ie play on and roost it.

 

[Rory Walkerfield]

The one thing you cant be is consistent so no one trick pony plans. No designated kickers who do one thing and another that does something else. Then again I think our kick down the line hope Jacobs marks it is also a one trick pony.

I would like Smith to be the designated kicker as he has many strings. Long roost , short kick and can also run off the line ie play on and roost it.

Yep, that's why I'm thinking Smith and Atkins - whichever is closer at the time - unless there's an immediate kick in chance then whoever is there go bang.

Smith and Atkins have variety and creativity, our other guys (Brown, Cheney, Talia) just bomb away.

 

[Scorpus]

There was one time last night where we decided to kick to Jacobs in a three-on-one. Horrible decision making.

I think we put too many players on the same side of the ground during kickouts. We should spread out our players more, and attempt to create more isolated or free options. At the very least we should do this more often to create unpredictability

 

[Deaneus!]

Fix them? I think we should go long and to the right.

No to Atkins taking kick-outs - accuracy is great but doesn't have the leg for real distance

Would be happy for Smith, Brown to share it around. Smith especially.

 

[whitey_1975]

Been a massive issue for 2 years. We seem absolutely bereft of ideas from kickouts. 80%+ goes to the right side at 55-60m out.
Forking pisses me off majorly. Surely we can form some plays for kickouts. It is one of the indictments on our coaches that we havent had any plans for kick outs in 2 years. Elite standards is cheap talk. This is amatuer hour personified.

 

[Bovo]

When we had our "slingshot" working earlier in the year it was because we had quick ball movement from the kick ins. In my mind it is no coincidence that we are failing to get the ball out when we wait too long to kick it out. We allow the opposition to set up their zone so we are forced to kick it to a contest. Sydney are the contested kings they will kill us if we keep doing this. I don't mean we have to be quick every time....but gee...we have been very slow the last few games!!

 

[19thcrow]

Our accuracy in front of goal is a bigger issue. We miss some real easy shots on a regular basis. Still we manage to be the highest scoring team which is good.

 

[StonesThrow]

Long to the contest is almost a guaranteed failure for some reason. Struggle to win the aerial contest or the ground ball. When we tried to find targets last night, it was much more effective. Need good ball users to take the more riskier options.

 

[WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot]

We are terrible at kick ins. I'd love to know where we sit in terms of transitioning from a kick in to a score. I'd have thought we'd be in the bottom half dozen in the league.

We seem to have 2 options. Kick short to the pocket or kick long to the 50m on the boundary line. Both are generally ineffective, with a stoppage about the best we can normally manage.

 

[subaru]

At the SCG this week, let Tex do the kick ins as a set shot for goal !

 

[Footypie32]

Are we really worse than other teams? I know it seems like we are, but are there any stats to back this up? I also think we don't want Smith doing the kick ins because we want him further up the ground for the next kick.

 

[Freewayflyer]

It feels like our kick outs seem to end up in opposition shots on goal a lot. If we are going to bomb down the line (which we always do) we have to get some numbers front and centre and the targets (Jenkins. Sauce etc.) have to at least get the thing to ground level. At least 2 of Crouch, Crouch, Lyons, Thompson must always be front and centre. Heck, tell Charles to get there, he is dynamite in the contested stuff when he gets involved.

We seem to have a bad combination of targets who struggle overhead and then no one getting around the fall.

I also wish we used Tex and Sloane down the guts as targets more often, especially when the bomb down the line is repeatedly failing. And another option I wish we used more was Smith being the target on a 20M or so uncontested kicking in then him kicking long down the line. If we can create it/the opposition lets us have it we will have 20 or 30M better field position.

That's my couch coaching anyway.

 

[Damp Squarie]

We need to mix it up that's for sure; and not be predictable.
We need to bypass their talls by using a mid distance kick to two crows in-line not one.

 

[BRL121]

Been a massive issue for 2 years. We seem absolutely bereft of ideas from kickouts. 80%+ goes to the right side at 55-60m out.
Forking pisses me off majorly. Surely we can form some plays for kickouts. It is one of the indictments on our coaches that we havent had any plans for kick outs in 2 years. Elite standards is cheap talk. This is amatuer hour personified.

The problem is when we vary it by going to a short target: the oppo read the blatant obviousness and intercept, resulting in a goal. Until we have players who can, not only spot up the short target, but also map where the opponents are, long to a contest is far preferable. Also, long down the centre might look good, but it's amazing how often the oppo get it and return it with interest.

 

[whitey_1975]

The problem is when we vary it by going to a short target: the oppo read the blatant obviousness and intercept, resulting in a goal. Until we have players who can, not only spot up the short target, but also map where the opponents are, long to a contest is far preferable. Also, long down the centre might look good, but it's amazing how often the oppo get it and return it with interest.

I reckon they are returning it with interest already. Certainly don't want a long bomb down the centre because that opens up both sides of the forward half. A lot of times I see us ignore a great option immediately from the kick in that is risky but ignored. We take that option on a bit more like the Hawks Geelong GWS(this year)and Sydney, our kick ins improve straight away. Now isn't the time to start trying this heading into finals, unless it is something we practice it.

 

[1970crow]

Breaking even outside the opposition 50 isn't a bad result as long as it's the last resort rather than waiting to get our numbers there. I'd be very interested to see stats showing how often we get the ball past the centre line (2-3 possessions) without a contest having occurred compared to the rest of the comp. Gut feel is we would be in the lower half, but results could be surprising.

 

[billy fragos]

Smith, Henderson and Seedsman are the only players I explicitly trust taking kick ins, two of those are in the sanfl. Brown, Lever Mackay, Atkins can be serviceable for a kick down the 50m line while those 4, Hartigan, Talia and Cheney can hit a target from a quick restart but not under pressure.

 

[SloaneysDanger]

What happened to having a designated kicker? Is that gone now or are we the only club not to have one? Smith is clearly the best kick in our backline, so why he doesn't take them every time he's on the field I don't understand. No one else in our defence should be taking kick-ins. Brown has had some shocking turnovers out of defence lately and our KPD's shouldn't be taking them anyway.

 

[billy fragos]

What happened to having a designated kicker? Is that gone now or are we the only club not to have one? Smith is clearly the best kick in our backline, so why he doesn't take them every time he's on the field I don't understand. No one else in our defence should be taking kick-ins. Brown has had some shocking turnovers out of defence lately and our KPD's shouldn't be taking them anyway.

Smith played a lot of midfield time last night and was devastating so he obviously can't get to every kick in. Also our gameplan is based off of quick ball movement, it would be silly to let one player waste time jogging down to defence when we could launch a counter attack.

 

[SloaneysDanger]

Smith played a lot of midfield time last night and was devastating so he obviously can't get to every kick in. Also our gameplan is based off of quick ball movement, it would be silly to let one player waste time jogging down to defence when we could launch a counter attack.

I guess so, but we never seem to have loose players who can receive it from kick-ins. Unless they're 15-20 metres away it's always kicked to a contest. Smith can kick it 60-70 from kick-ins, unlike any of our other defenders, but I see your point.

 

[MRB37]

I dunno, we've been doing the same sort of kick outs for 4+ years now, that'd probably indicate they don't think it's an issue.

 

[1970crow]

What happened to having a designated kicker? Is that gone now or are we the only club not to have one? Smith is clearly the best kick in our backline, so why he doesn't take them every time he's on the field I don't understand. No one else in our defence should be taking kick-ins. Brown has had some shocking turnovers out of defence lately and our KPD's shouldn't be taking them anyway.

What makes you think every other club has one? It's ok if it's a set shot because the kicker can work to the spot. But scoring shots in free play would mean not playing on quickly and our designated kicker just going long and boundary like Jaensch used to do. But having one is counterproductive to fast exit from the back half.

 

[DD#23]

I'm not too bothered with the idea of kicking long to a contest in theory, the major problem is we don't have any reliable contested marks.

Gov and Sloane are good, but not in a ten man pack on the wing. As nice as Jacobs hands are he's not going to win out more than 50% of the time against every other ruck in the league (and against others do far far worse) and neither Tex nor Jenkins can pull it off either.

so for us, it's a shit strategy. May as well setup early to repel the repeat entry, we're a lot better at transitioning in open play anyway...