Watching Richmond’s Jack Riewoldt attempt to pass the ball while well within goal-kicking range last weekend made me wonder what exactly our high-profile forwards are paid to do.
Surely their primary role within the team is to kick goals?
It is all well and good to be the team player, the unselfish glamour boy trying to bring teammates into the game, but trying to thread a pass through a crowded forward zone when you are already within the 50 metre arc yourself is surely a recipe for an ugly, moan-inducing turnover.
Yet it happens time and again. I don’t get it.
Surely, if a key forward marks within 50 metres of goal, the percentage play is to have a shot. After all, it is what they are paid to do. It is why they were named up forward in the first place. Yet they continue to shirk their responsibility.
Is it because they have been turned into robots? Are they so ingrained with team rules that they are afraid to take the initiative and actually stamp their authority on the game?
Or has this new era sapped them of their confidence? Are they confused about the role they have to play in these days of sharing the ball around? After all, we all know how coaches like to prattle on about the ‘spread’ of goal kickers they have every time they register a pleasing win.
Has this emphasis on having an even spread scared some players into thinking it is wrong, even against team rules, if they start scoring too many goals?
Maybe a little.
I’m not talking about blazing away from the boundary line when you have two unmarked team mates twiddling their thumbs at the top of the square. That truly is selfish play and unless you are Stevie Johnson, you probably won’t (and shouldn’t) get away with it.
I’m talking about players with goal kicking ability unwilling to take relatively easy shots when well within range.
It is frustrating, especially when the inevitable happens and the ball is sent flying back over their heads as the opposition launch a counter attack.
Midfielders streaming down the ground are no better. These talented players, many with foot skills better than Bobby Skilton, are also falling into the trap of trying to pass off when all their momentum and forward movement should instead be pumped into sending the ball goalwards.
If a player has broken through the lines and is running into the forward fifty area, what is the point of trying to spear a low percentage pass to a teammate struggling to find space?
It works sometimes, but when it doesn’t the results are demoralising. Heads can drop pretty quickly, especially if it has taken a lot of work to get the ball forward in the first place.
The modern player must back himself once more. It is time for the big forwards to stand up and say, “Don’t worry boys, I’ve got this.” It is time for that million dollar midfielder to burst through the centre, lift his eyes and see that the best option is to kick over the congestion, not into it in the vague hope that someone in your colours may get on the end of it.
Put simply, if goals are there to be kicked, kick them instead of farming the pressure and responsibility out to someone else.
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