Do we have to just have 1 kicker?

slippers · 15th July 2007, 18:24

McAlister is an A+ kicker, Evans is an A+ kicked, Piri Weepu is an A+ kicker........
Plus the incumbant - Carter.

Surely you'd think that leading up to a test match all 4 could be practising their kicking and whoever was in the best touch immediately before a match gets the honours? Out of the 4 I'm sure theyd be able to work out amoungst themselves who the most consistant kicker for that week was going to be.

I don't see why Dan Carter HAS to kick every single penalty or conversion. He is a very good kicker, but he is no Grant Fox.

I don't see kicking as being like the rest of the game where you get better and learn from your mistakes etc.

I see kicking more like golf, where your timing is either in or out. You know how to do it, it just a matter of getting your rhythm. Also like golf, sometimes you have an off day and nothing can be done to really fix it.
And certainly, I think that if the kicker misses his first kick or if he misses more than 1 kick that he should instantly be replaced by the next best kicker.
The chances are that out of the 4, one of them will be owning it for that particular week.

Carter is good from distance, Weepu seems to be good from distance and at width and McAlister its good from anywhere when hes on song as is Nick Evans.

Rotation policy for kickers? yes or no?

blynk · 15th July 2007, 19:29

I think Carter is a suburb kicker, but like the rest of his game, its just below his usual standard at the moment.

I was not old enough to really know how good fox was, but I think that when Carter is at his best, he would be just as good if not better.

MaZeR · 15th July 2007, 21:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by blynk

I was not old enough to really know how good fox was, but I think that when Carter is at his best, he would be just as good if not better.

Carter has great natural talent. Fox made kicking a science.

JERI · 15th July 2007, 21:04

I think Carter has got the successful kicking rate to make any coach happy. Won't switching just complicated things needlessly?

slippers · 16th July 2007, 00:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by JERI

I think Carter has got the successful kicking rate to make any coach happy. Won't switching just complicated things needlessly?

I don't think so no.

A kick is done in the players own time. A kick is a kick, how complicated can it be. You are either on song that day or you are not.

Changing kickers wont effect the gameplan.

I suppose it will help Carter kick goals under pressure if he gets all the kicking....

Ab · 16th July 2007, 03:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by blynk

I was not old enough to really know how good fox was, but I think that when Carter is at his best, he would be just as good if not better.

Fox was more of a general than Carter has shown himself to be. Fox knew where everyone on the field was at any given time, without needing to look. You should read what Graham Henry had to say about Fox in his autobiography (written while Henry was in Wales). Fox sounds like a frickin' mutant. It sounds like he virtually memorised the life stories of every opposition player in order to work out what they'd do in the game. How often they passed, how often they ran, how often they kicked, how often they went to ground, whether they naturally tended to run left, right, or straight...

He couldn't run with ball in hand or tackle like Carter does though.

blynk · 16th July 2007, 10:30

Yeah, I was more referring to the kicking side of things.

However, it would be interesting to analyse some of Foxs games. There would be some big differences between how teams & players play now and how they played then.
I guess that will always be the case of comparing players of different generations. It would be near impossible to choose who was "the best".

15th July 2007, 18:24	#1
slippers	Do we have to just have 1 kicker? McAlister is an A+ kicker, Evans is an A+ kicked, Piri Weepu is an A+ kicker........ Plus the incumbant - Carter. Surely you'd think that leading up to a test match all 4 could be practising their kicking and whoever was in the best touch immediately before a match gets the honours? Out of the 4 I'm sure theyd be able to work out amoungst themselves who the most consistant kicker for that week was going to be. I don't see why Dan Carter HAS to kick every single penalty or conversion. He is a very good kicker, but he is no Grant Fox. I don't see kicking as being like the rest of the game where you get better and learn from your mistakes etc. I see kicking more like golf, where your timing is either in or out. You know how to do it, it just a matter of getting your rhythm. Also like golf, sometimes you have an off day and nothing can be done to really fix it. And certainly, I think that if the kicker misses his first kick or if he misses more than 1 kick that he should instantly be replaced by the next best kicker. The chances are that out of the 4, one of them will be owning it for that particular week. Carter is good from distance, Weepu seems to be good from distance and at width and McAlister its good from anywhere when hes on song as is Nick Evans. Rotation policy for kickers? yes or no?

15th July 2007, 19:29	#2
blynk	I think Carter is a suburb kicker, but like the rest of his game, its just below his usual standard at the moment. I was not old enough to really know how good fox was, but I think that when Carter is at his best, he would be just as good if not better.

15th July 2007, 21:04	#4
JERI	I think Carter has got the successful kicking rate to make any coach happy. Won't switching just complicated things needlessly? __________________ your intelligence has been insulted.

16th July 2007, 10:30	#7
blynk	Yeah, I was more referring to the kicking side of things. However, it would be interesting to analyse some of Foxs games. There would be some big differences between how teams & players play now and how they played then. I guess that will always be the case of comparing players of different generations. It would be near impossible to choose who was "the best".