From The Rugby Union Times
Schifcofske gets the boot
Rugby league By Peter Fitzgerald
Thursday, 27 May 2004
Canberra Raiders fullback Clinton Schifcofske is aiming to re-discover the goal-kicking form that enabled him to break the club's all-time point-scoring record in 2001.
Schifcofske's goal-kicking form has been so bad, Raiders coach Matt Elliott opted for winger Matthew Gafa to kick during last weekend's match against the Melbourne Storm.
Gafa will keep the responsibility for this Saturday night's match against the Manly Sea Eagles at Canberra Stadium.
Schifcofske said he had been hitting the ball well, but statistics show he has not been getting the desired result.
After 11 rounds of the National Rugby League, Schifcofske's conversion rate is 56 per cent. At the same stage last season it was 73 per cent.
For the past six rounds, since the Raiders had the bye, Schifcofske has kicked just seven goals from 19 attempts - a 37 per cent success rate.
The poor run of form has dented Schifcofske's confidence, but it has not dented his drive. He wants to prove he is the club's number one kicker.
"I still want to kick so I'll be practising and if the opportunity comes back up then I'll definitely be jumping straight back in there," Schifcofske said.
"I'm hitting the ball [well] but I'd be kidding myself if I said I was kicking well. I haven't been hitting them that bad but the results don't show that.
"The positions we've been scoring in haven't helped, but first grade kickers should be able to get them from anywhere - at least 60 or 70 per cent of them."
Adding to Schifcofske's frustration is the NRL's new "shot-clock" rule, introduced at the start of the season. Kickers must now take their attempt within 90 seconds of a try being scored or a penalty being awarded.
Schifcofske was the first player in the competition to be fined $2000 for exceeding the time-limit and he admitted it had forced him to change aspects of his routine.
"It's made me definitely hurry up a bit," he said. "I used to take a lot longer so that's disappointing. There's a few things I've got to work on and that's definitely one of them.
"I'm really happy about the way I'm playing, just not happy about the way I'm kicking. [Kicking] is a confidence thing and the confidence is down a bit at the moment, just like us as a team. The harder you try the worse you go."
Elliott said Gafa had earned the right to kick. Gafa, who has had a few stints at the Raiders since 1997, scored a record 348 points for the club in Premier League last year, including 122 goals.
"We've got two outstanding kickers at the club at the moment and one's kicking better than the other," Elliott said. "It's not rocket science as to who will kick this week for us."
Gafa said he welcomed the role. "I think it's good practise for each other, that we both want to kick. But only one of us can if we're on the field together."
