It's the kickers, not the ticker
Jake Niall | April 30, 2009
Once, the player whom supporters singled out for abuse was the spineless "jib" or "squib". The Jib would not put his body on the line. He ducked his head, played on the fringes of the pack and would finish the game with a clean pair of Jonco shorts.
Today, the player whom fans cannot abide is the turnover merchant. Nearly every team has one and, in a cruel irony, the player who can't kick is often one of his team's most courageous, coachable and selfless players.
Richmond's Jake King is a case in point. He extracts all that he can from his slight frame. He is tough, willing to chase and has the team-first attitude that coaches cannot resist. Collingwood's Alan Toovey is another toiler willing to fall on the grenade.
But King and Toovey are less than reliable by foot and so, for all their admirable qualities, they are pilloried by fans, who don't see close-up what the coach sees. They see only the ball ending up in the hands of the opposition.The poor kicker is more detrimental to his team's cause than ever, despite the decline in the ratio of kicks to handballs. As an assistant coach explained, a botched handball can be retrieved — there is still a good chance of applying a tackle, or winning the ball back. But give the ball back by foot, and you're stuffed.
After his Tigers were clinically picked apart by a more skilful Bulldogs outfit in round three, Terry Wallace spoke of his selection conundrum. After a limp effort in round one, Wallace had placed a premium on commitment, only to find that the likes of King gave the ball back.It is difficult for people at all levels of the game, from highly informed coaches to the irrational fan, to come to terms with an empirical truth about present-day AFL football — that the ability to use the ball and make the right decisions outweighs all other factors, including a player's willingness to risk head and shin. What coaches demand of all players these days is that they apply defensive pressure and don't flinch in a contest "when it's their turn".
Hawthorn has not only recognised this empirical truth, it has made kicking efficiency paramount in its recruiting. In days of yore, clubs would err on the side of toughness when it came to making up the numbers on the list; while a kid couldn't play much, at least if he ran straight, you'd get a decent contest.
The Hawks discarded courage-and-contest first and replaced it with kicking first when it came to late draft selections. Brent Guerra, Clinton Young and Stewart Dew certainly aren't jibs, but Hawthorn didn't pick them for their hardness or ball-winning abilities. They are all excellent left-foot kicks.
Decrying a lack of courage or character is the natural emotive response to any defeat. But it is often wrong. The game is called football.
http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/rfnews/the-essential-skill/2009/04/29/1240982277580.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
