Why Lloyd’s just wild about HarryHarry Armstrong has the most important attribute of all for a key forward – he’s a deadeye kick for goal.
That, however, wasn’t always the case for Armstrong.
AFL goalkicking great Matthew Lloyd, who coached Armstrong at Haileybury College, revealed how the talented teenager turned around his fortunes in front of goal.
“I felt he had a high ball drop, and his run-up was a bit too long,” Lloyd told AFL.com.au.
“We just streamlined his run into goal. He had a bit of an arc as well, so we just straightened him up and got his momentum coming through the ball. He worked hard on lowering his ball drop from hand to foot, just to limit the errors.
“To his credit, we’ve had chats, and I did a lot with him as a Year 10. But he has gone away and done that much work on it himself. Pre-training and post-training, he's as good as what I've seen of someone taking it upon themselves to work hard at it.
“He's gone from being a five out of 10, to a seven or an eight out of 10. It's a huge jump. His accuracy has gone from 50 per cent to 75 per cent. That’s what I've seen from the change in him.”
Lloyd pinpointed another valuable quality that Armstrong possesses in his football armoury.
“I believe that he has the ability to be what I call a tenpin bowler. He takes down everyone with him and flies for his marks,” Lloyd said.
“He takes marks that no one else will take, from what I've seen. He'll lead and re-lead, then when he's ready to launch he'll either get it, because he's got a metre on his opponent because of the work he's done off the ball, or he'll just drive his knees through and bring everyone down with him for the crumbers.”
Lloyd also identified a further key Armstrong trait – he thrives in big-occasion matches.
Armstrong kicked five goals (from five shots) in Vic Metro’s thrilling win against Vic Country in the under-18 national championships decider, and four goals for Sandringham Dragons in their Coates Talent League grand final victory over the Greater Western Victoria Rebels.
“It’s what he's given Haileybury for three years,” Lloyd said.
"I was ecstatic for him that he was able to do it on the biggest stage of all for a junior footballer. To stand up against the best opposition, that’s where you want to show and prove yourself.
“I was just really pleased that he could be the best forward on the ground and in the best couple of players on the ground . . .
“We've seen him do it since he was 15 when he first joined us. But obviously he's developed a lot in that time.
“A confident Harry Armstrong is a tough, tough proposition for the opposition to handle.”
https://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/1700058/why-lloyds-just-wild-about-harry
