I put it to you, that the reasons for the poor goal kicking ability of seemingly most players these days, is actually quite simple...
1) Firstly, they're tired. I'd dare say that even the great Tony Lockett might have shanked a few if he ever left the F50 - let alone had just sprinted the length of the ground four times in a row.
2) The positions on the ground that players get their shots from, are very different to the past. The 'hot spot' is no longer a hot spot. It's easily 'defendable' and as a result many shots at goal are from sharper angles than in the past.
3) The player taking shots these days, are not specialist goal kickers. More on-ballers get shots at goal than ever before. The forwards used to take almost all the shots at goal (or at least a very large % of them). It's spread around more, and quite simply the dudes taking shots at goal just aren't good at it. Many aren't even that good at hitting targets around the ground, so why are we shocked when they can't kick goals?
4) You used to 'born a forward'. It was pretty common for dudes to play as a forward as a kid, get noticed as a forward as a kid, get drafted as a forward as a kid and then play as a forward. These days, aren't pretty much all junior footballers on-ballers?
When you grow up as a forward, when you play kick to kick, you always are the one having the shots whilst the defenders kick it back out. It's just the way it used to be! You're always the one having shots when you muck around in the park with your mates or your Dad. A 'born forward' spent most of their life having shots at goal! It makes sense that they're good at it.
These days most guys are recruited as on-ballers, and are transformed into forwards. And as a result, they simply haven't perfected the craft of goal kicking.
Discuss...
1) Firstly, they're tired. I'd dare say that even the great Tony Lockett might have shanked a few if he ever left the F50 - let alone had just sprinted the length of the ground four times in a row.
2) The positions on the ground that players get their shots from, are very different to the past. The 'hot spot' is no longer a hot spot. It's easily 'defendable' and as a result many shots at goal are from sharper angles than in the past.
3) The player taking shots these days, are not specialist goal kickers. More on-ballers get shots at goal than ever before. The forwards used to take almost all the shots at goal (or at least a very large % of them). It's spread around more, and quite simply the dudes taking shots at goal just aren't good at it. Many aren't even that good at hitting targets around the ground, so why are we shocked when they can't kick goals?
4) You used to 'born a forward'. It was pretty common for dudes to play as a forward as a kid, get noticed as a forward as a kid, get drafted as a forward as a kid and then play as a forward. These days, aren't pretty much all junior footballers on-ballers?
When you grow up as a forward, when you play kick to kick, you always are the one having the shots whilst the defenders kick it back out. It's just the way it used to be! You're always the one having shots when you muck around in the park with your mates or your Dad. A 'born forward' spent most of their life having shots at goal! It makes sense that they're good at it.
These days most guys are recruited as on-ballers, and are transformed into forwards. And as a result, they simply haven't perfected the craft of goal kicking.
Discuss...