It's become pretty clear now Russell has been nominated as the kick-taker in the backline, will he come into this role? Is he the best choice? Or would a ..say... Gibbs be better?

Curious as to people's opinions on this considering our previous troubles with Kick-In's..

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No, as he gives me a heart attack..

I say Yes, and then if he's has a few bad ones, switch to Gibbs in a game. He's been playing great.

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Our kick in strategy this year already seems to be more successful. Less of the "last resort kick it 20 metres to the pocket on the boundary and then get hemmed in and turn it over on the second kick". We seem to have more options including the occasional huddle, although most of the kick outs are still short.

However, and this is an important point, ALL OUR GAMES SO FAR HAVE BEEN ON BIG WIDE GROUNDS. Etihad is a different option altogether, with much less width to manoever and much easier zone defence for the opposition. We got killed on kick-outs there last year.

With JR's growing confidence he is at least taking riskier and varied options, and most of these are working. He's nowhere near the kick that Bryce Gibbs is, and he doesnt have his judgement or the ability to see the play ahead of time like Gibbs. Gibbs is not only a more reliable kick, but a much longer one. I think we need some long option set plays from the kick in's, and Gibbs is capable of delivering this. Just look at the extra options Essendon* has when Justin Fletcher kicks in. He is able to kick at times beyond the zone, and this is a huge advantage.

Only problem is we need Gibbs for the second kick and the third as well. And for the shot at goal.

Verdict, Russell and Gibbs to share the kick in's 30:70

Good post RickJ. Gibbs is obviously a better kick, but having him take kickouts means he is missing further down the chain. I think JR can take some though not all kickouts. What I love is the fact that JR has the confidence to do this. He would never have had it two years ago. Not only that, but when he does stuff one up, he has the confidence not to take the safe option long along the boundary for the next one.

I get very nervous when I see him about to kick in, same with Walker! But he's doing ok at the moment. Like someone said somewhere else, maybe we could develope say a Lucas for that role down the track. For now, stick with Russell me think.

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i'd like to see jamo given a chance as well.

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Last edited by true_blue3 on Mon Sep 26, 1981 5:07 pm; edited 92 times in total

Agree we don't want Gibbs so deep, and also maybe JR's run and pace means he can get the ball again after he kicks in back in, ie: when you take kick ins you aren't manned up so much, so once JR kicks in he can use his pace to run on and present as a option further down the chain

Look he still buggers it up every now and then but I think he is doing a decent job and it's helped develop his confidence and game

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Russell is doing a pretty damn good job taking the kick-ins at this point in time.

No point changing when it's not an issue.

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I'm a huge JR fan and I'm rapt at how he plays footy these days.

But I get nervous when he kicks out to be honest. Whilst they didn't result in turnovers, he still did grubber a few kick ins against Geelong, even short ones.

Will cost us goals at some point. Here's hoping he can rectify because the rest of his game at the moment is sensational

I agree that a mix of JR/Gibbs is the go.

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JRE = yes if he is going to bomb them outside 50 - he has a lovely long kick on him. Its when he chips them in short that doom threatens.

All teams seem to stuff up one a game. These days teams really press on them kickouts and its getting harder and harder. If a team can get a quick kickout then they are stoked. Much easier before zones are set.

I will stick with whoever the coach picks. I doubt he chooses a bloke just to piss us off. He would have done plenty of research and could probably give 20 reasons none of us have even thought of for Russell taking the kickouts.

I reckon Russells kicks go through the air quicker and his backing up of his kick ins in second to none. If he fluffs the kick its not always a disaster.

I am happy (and happier) with JR taking the kick-ins but I reckon with 30-40 more games under his belt that Lucas should become the primary kicker-innerer (sic) - he has great skills and JR could provide another option to take it further down the ground

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I love it when JR goes long and direct with his kicks. It's those little chips that concern me, especially given their place in our gameplan.

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Happy with JR doing this as well. Kudos to Ratts and comp for getting the kids confidence up and having him believe as well. Really enjoying his development.

Hmmm....
Well,after much considered thought,
I really think it would be best if whoever we go with, just walks up to their nominated 'kick to' guy, and hands them the ball.
Safe, easy...no embarassing muck ups.
Ever.

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I reckon he's variable kicking happens by trying to kick too hard. Generally they go too low, and reach the recipient on the half volley. Maybe the speed of the delivery has been the saviour to date?

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The problem is our kick out strategy full stop.

We are way to slow to go back get the ball and set up for a kick out after a behind and give the opposition way too much time to be able to zone up.

This in turn puts way too much pressure on the person taking the kickout - 9 times out of 10 this year its Russell (who is doing a surprisingly good job I believe-but does give me the jitters when he goes short to CHB to Scotland).


The reverse is true when we have kicked a behind - we are not setting up our zones quickly enough.

Not so against the Cats this week.

They're all getting a turn of late because our run has been less stagnant, and we've been forcing the opposition to drop/roll back. I suspect when we're needing a specialist we'll turn to one of Russell, Gibbs, Houlihan & Scotland, but it's all working out better than the last few years thanks to a little extra work by those presenting to the kicker.

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