Aussie Player Exodus

[Wilson]

I'm genuinely amazed at how many of our 12s, 14s and 15s don't kick goals, at least to a decent level. Such a differentiator.

There must be a reason they aren't doing it?

It seems to have changed recently, where a lot more of them used to. Even the guys that have been good at it (Isaac Henry was an excellent place kicker a few years back) seem to have stopped doing it, though they could be off the back of a bad run of lower limb injuries.

Possibly it's a training time/load thing in general - if the kicker is almost always going to be the 10 then there isn't much pay off in other positions spending time on it if they're never going to be filling in for the 10. The one exception here is maybe long range specialists, which we do still see a bit more of from other positions, though that seems to be declining too.

 

[Strewthcobber]

It seems to have changed recently, where a lot more of them used to. Even the guys that have been good at it (Isaac Henry was an excellent place kicker a few years back) seem to have stopped doing it, though they could be off the back of a bad run of lower limb injuries.

Possibly it's a training time/load thing in general - if the kicker is almost always going to be the 10 then there isn't much pay off in other positions spending time on it if they're never going to be filling in for the 10. The one exception here is maybe long range specialists, which we do still see a bit more of from other positions, though that seems to be declining too.

Yeah - my guess is the work required to get from average to international class (say from 50% to 75%) is significant, and the coaches would rather all these other players spend their time on other skills etc

 

[Rebel man]

Sua'ali'i use to goal kick for the Roosters

 

[Tex]

Jeez, Carter Gordon and Marky Mark (Nawaqanitawase). Amazing what a healthy balance sheet does for administrator confidence.

 

[Tex]

Jeez, Carter Gordon and Marky Mark (Nawaqanitawase). Amazing what a healthy balance sheet does for administrator confidence.

 

[Major Tom]

Carter to the reds would be unreal if we could find the funds. He gives coverage at 10 and 15 and inside centre. It would require Lynagh and HMP being ok with it, which I’m not sure they would be.
Aus rugby wise it makes more sense at the Tahs tbh. Creighton is serviceable but never gonna get to the next level and Bowen is still too young and Fowler even younger.
Gordon’s kicking (particularly goal kicking) is his one work on. And of all the skills a flyhalf needs that is probably the easiest to refine.

 

[Major Tom]

Carter to the reds would be unreal if we could find the funds. He gives coverage at 10 and 15 and inside centre. It would require Lynagh and HMP being ok with it, which I’m not sure they would be.
Aus rugby wise it makes more sense at the Tahs tbh. Creighton is serviceable but never gonna get to the next level and Bowen is still too young and Fowler even younger.
Gordon’s kicking (particularly goal kicking) is his one work on. And of all the skills a flyhalf needs that is probably the easiest to refine.

 

[Sword of Justice]

Honestly MT I don’t think Lynagh and HMP are nearly established enough to dictate that. We need a third 10 option at the Reds anyway. With the injury/concussion history of Lynagh, Henry and increasingly Paisami and Daugunu there will be opportunities in 10/12/15.

 

[Major Tom]

Honestly MT I don’t think Lynagh and HMP are nearly established enough to dictate that. We need a third 10 option at the Reds anyway. With the injury/concussion history of Lynagh, Henry and increasingly Paisami and Daugunu there will be opportunities in 10/12/15.

Hmm I'd say Lynagh is.
Don't get me wrong I'd love to see Carter there. But I just can't see him duking it out with the other 2. It would likely see HMP leave and he could be the best of the lot! The head injuries do concern me but from a list perspective I just can't see us bringing in another playmaker when I think someone like Henry could get the job done, similar to Creighton at the tahs. Thinking about it more I'd rather him got to the Tahs for the Wallabies sake and would prefer the Reds spent money on a backup lock.

 

[Rob42]

Initial reports saying he is looking at O/S contracts, not playing locally. The withdrawal of the Giteau law maybe swayed him, so he can be on big money.

Feels to me like this could be an important milestone if he does make the Wallabies for the WC - obviously talented, but he might be the first non-current Wallaby to make the squad from overseas.

 

[KOB1987]

I'm genuinely amazed at how many of our 12s, 14s and 15s don't kick goals, at least to a decent level. Such a differentiator.

There must be a reason they aren't doing it?

It's because the most talented back gets put at fly half in the under 10s and it becomes a case of 'throw it to Johnny', he gets taught how to score tries, not kick goals. Goal kicking is usually a self taught skill. It's a big reason Beale was such a poor defender, his junior coaches never bothered spending time on his defense, his role was to run around blokes and score tries.

 

[Sword of Justice]

Our academies don’t seem well developed enough in that regard. Compared to AFL/League/Soccer where the kids basically treat it as a job we still allow players through with big deficiencies in skills.

 

[Hogie]

Lonergan should take over goal-kicking duties for the Brumbies next season with a view on the Wallabies requirements.
If Gordon returns, he should be free to focus on what he does best—organising play in attack and making his presence felt in defence—without the added pressure of goal-kicking.
Lonergan has always looked like a dependable option with the boot, even before Lolesio rightly earned the tee.

 

[Upthemaroon!]

Our academies don’t seem well developed enough in that regard. Compared to AFL/League/Soccer where the kids basically treat it as a job we still allow players through with big deficiencies in skills.

But in saying that, all those codes have a lot more overlapping skills necessity per player position role. Rugby is in that regard pretty unique.

 

[Rebel man]

Our academies don’t seem well developed enough in that regard. Compared to AFL/League/Soccer where the kids basically treat it as a job we still allow players through with big deficiencies in skills.

lol an accepted accuracy rate from an AFL forward having set shots is a lot lower than a rugby player

 

[Sword of Justice]

lol an accepted accuracy rate from an AFL forward having set shots is a lot lower than a rugby player

Accuracy does seem pretty shit in the AFL these days but they do contend with more variables. The ball drop is the biggest factor which Rugby players don’t need to worry about.

 

[Rebel man]

Accuracy does seem pretty shit in the AFL these days but they do contend with more variables. The ball drop is the biggest factor which Rugby players don’t need to worry about.

Biggest thing is they aren’t allowed to practice anymore due to sports science. I spoke with one of the greatest goal kickers of all time in the VFL/AFL and said back in his day he would take on close to 1000 shots a week

 

[LeCheese]

Biggest thing is they aren’t allowed to practice anymore due to sports science. I spoke with one of the greatest goal kickers of all time in the VFL/AFL and said back in his day he would take on close to 1000 shots a week

The ABC actually did a great, evidence-based write up on this recently. Aside from a comment from Paul Roos, is there evidence to suggest a lack of time spent trainingis to blame? Not really.

This year total scoring shot accuracy is sitting at 52.7 per cent. That's the lowest since 2021, but on par with the average of the last 20 years.

The historic high came in 2000, when Essendon took the league by storm. An amazing 55 per cent of all scoring shots ended in goals in that season.

...

Some current players such as Nick Larkey spend significant amounts of time before games working on their shot individually. Others do it as part of a team based approach. Props like man-on-the-mark dummies sometimes feature prominently.

Some clubs collect data on both game and training shots, with coaches providing feedback on a player's kicking. Having the right mindset matters as well, with several stars mentioning mentality as critical.

It's quality — rather than quantity — that seems to play the most important role in turning misses into makes.

So if modern players are training as much or more than ever before, then why isn't kicking for goal even better?

Kicking has been in the gun — but are shots on goal any worse than they've ever been?

Goalkicking accuracy is a talking point that consistently gets raised in the AFL — but how does 2025 compare to the years that have come before?

www.abc.net.au

 

[Dctarget]

Rumours from a well informed Bordeaux insider that Swinton is not seeking a renewal with Bordeaux and is looking to return to Aus as early as June. Apparently in discussion with multiple Aus sides.

 

[Strewthcobber]

For rugby union specifically, with the massive decline in shots at penalty goal (ex-Argies!), the number of goal attemps per player and game is way down.

The 2011 razzle dazzle Reds had 112 shots at goal. The 2025 Reds had 67

As there are just fewer shots, I'm guessing coaches are relying on having fewer players at the standard required