As the great man Jack Gibson said many moons ago, you only need to kick it as far as you can chase. This, along with his general kicking philosophies still ring true today. The big differnece from when Jack was coaching is that the good kickers now have greater height (hang time) and greater control than the superstars of the 70s an 80s.
Jock, and AD for that matter, would be wise to go back to improve their games. If I recall correctly it was Peter Sterling that was going through a slump in his kicking game when Gibson cryptically told him to "kick it to the seagulls." then walked away leaving Sterling to figure out the lesson: at the SCG seagulls only congregated on empty spaces of the field.
If you look at the core logic of Gibson's kicking and chasing philosophy it was based on three main rules:
- The Chase Dictates The Distance: A long kick is completely useless if your defenders can't get downfield fast enough to pressure the catcher. You only kick the ball as far as your team's line can realistically sprint to pin the opposition down and this is where hang time (height) is more important than distance.
- Find the Open Space: Kicking directly to an opposing fullback or winger allows them to catch it cleanly and build up momentum for the kick return.
- Force Mistakes: Kicking into the "seagulls" where the bounce forces the opposition to turn around, run backward, and gather the ball under pressure from a well-timed defensive chase.
It is a simple game and if we stuck to a simple kicking philosophy we would do much better than trying belt the ball out of sight with no control or kick too long for the chase. Jock and Latu need to be one on one with a kicking coach that understand old Jack's philosophy. It is not until you understand the basics that the Cleary and Johns skills need to be practiced.
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