Quote leeds owl="leeds owl"I don't think you can ever "create" a great goal kicker, a natural gift is what makes the great kickers stand out. It's a pointless excercise looking for any of the current lot to fill Sinny's boots, the natural ability is obviously not there, practice will improve any kicker but will only take them so far. Field kicking is totally different, awareness, decision making and other factors come into play, and in that respect, I think given time Sutty could be a lot better than Sinny, as shown by the kick of the season at Saints. None of the current lot will ever hold a candle to Sinny off the tee, Widdop would be the only decent replacement.'"
I'd disagree with that, I think goal kicking is something that, with enough practice, virtually anyone can do. It just takes a long time and a LOT of practice. I think it's mental skills that help more than anything, perseverance and discipline being 2 of them. Something Sinfield has in spades.
I'd like to see Sutcliffe starting lots of extra practice at goal kicking, as its really the only way to get better. There's no secret to it.
I'd also like to see both Sutcliffe and Hardaker practicing their out of hand kicking. Sutcliffe, for obvious reasons but Hardaker because in the next few seasons we'll be going from 3, at least decent, kickers in Sinfield, McGuire & Burrow (plus Webb in the past) down to just Sutcliffe plus whoever the other half will be. It's useful to have a "3rd kicker" in the squad and Hardaker will probably have to fill that gap. And at the moment his kicking is bloody awful.