RL magician? or just a smartarse?

[imported_Roopy4246]

Andrew Johns has been practicing using his banana kick to increase his chances of kicking goals from the sideline. He used this technique to kick the last goal in the Warriors game.
In practice this week he practiced by moving the ball closer to the goal line with each kick till he kicked a goal from 2 metres out from the goal line. His team mates started to take an interest and Johns moved back to the goal line and, after several attempts, kicked a goal from the goal line. Still not impressed. One of his team mates then declared it was physically impossible to do any better - so Johns proceeded to kick a goal from 1 metre behind the goal line.
Johns has been a goal kicker for several years but in the offseason the club invested in lessons for him from Daryl Halligan. His lifetime goal kicking percentage is 68% but he has improved that to 78% this year and 82% since returning from injury.
As with many other skills of the game, Johns is currently reinventing the art of goal kicking.

 

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[imported_Roopy4246]

That he did, but to be fair, it took him several attempts.

 

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[imported_Roopy4246]

The story is in this mornings Newcastle Herald.

 

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[imported_Roopy4246]

Warlock,
TV doesn't do justice to the kicking game of Andrew Johns.
The banana kick, where he kicks the ball from up to twenty metres out and makes it land in the ingoal and role along parrallel with the try line has to be seen live to really appreciate how hard it would be to do, even if he makes it look easy.
The way he can kick the ball from well inside his half and stop it in the ingoal is something that is often considered to be luck, but he does it whenever he wants to. Just ask Darren Albert, he sweats on those kicks and runs like hell for them because he knows the ball will be there if he is quick enough.

 

[Willow]

roopy:
Do you know which way the wind was blowing?

 

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[ozbash]

its more than possible, he can do it.it comes down to the spot he hits the ball on. soccer players do it all the time.
he showed us a glimpse of it in one of his kicks last weekend.
another was the kick he uses when running, he kicks it of the other side of his foot making the ball go the opposite direction he points it.
he,s a clever little bugger

 

[imported_Rasputin]

Actually its been done before, and in an international match to boot. In the 50's the french fullback Puig Aubert pulled out the corner post, plonked the ball down on the hole, turned his back and walked back, turned around and ran inand kicked the goal. Mind you that was all he could do as he refused to tackle anyone that broke through the french line ) It is written up in one of Alan Clarkson's old books.

 

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[ozbash]

well, much as i hate praising joey, i would say he is simply superb,
i think practise would make perfect the technique with a rugby ball.....

 

[Willow]

It's true, soccer players do it all the time. But what about the pointy ball?
Well it can be done. But like I said it depends on the conditions. If the wind is blowing towards the goal then you can kick agoal from the corner post. It might take all afternoon but I know this to be more than possible.

Having said that, it wouldn't surprise me if Johns did it with the wind in his face while being struck by lightning.

 

[imported_Roopy4246]

I read a small piece on the kick Johns took in the Warriors game. He took the kick after the siren and it was not going to effect the result. Johns said he was worried that taking the kick in the normal way would upset the Warriors fans because the game was already over, so he took the ball back ten metres instead of the normal 22 and had a quick go at the banana kickbetween the posts. The TV crew didn't pick up on what he was doing, so missed it, as did most of the crowd.
Referee Bill Harrigan said he saw Johns was up to something when he placed the ball on a tee on the ten metre line so he went down behind him to have a look.
The only thing picked up on the TV coverage wasBill Harrigan saying 'sensational' into his microphone when the ball took a right angle turn to gobetween the posts.

 

[pepe]

just to prove it's possible i will perform the kick when legends xiii take on the worl xiii next season,i just hope the old timers on our team give me theopportunity of a conversion, against the quicker younger team at worl i think the chances may be slim,we will have to rely experience,proffessional fouls and intelligence against the girds brigade.

so far in training i have'nt missed a kick,bring em on !!!!!

cheers pepe

 

[ozbash]

i heard bill say that roopy, and up till reading your post i wondered what the hell he was on about.

pepe, our kicker must be able to do the "S" kick. are you up to it ........