COLLINGWOOD is hoping to turn a big weakness into a match-winning strength under the tutelage of professional kicking coach Nathan Chapman.
The Magpies have hired Chapman - who played 76 AFL games in Brisbane and at Hawthorn before signing with NFL team the Green Bay Packers - as a specialist kicking and goalkicking coach.
Collingwood had the AFL's fourth-lowest goalkicking accuracy percentage (48 per cent) last season– only Melbourne, Gold Coast and St Kilda were worse. The League average was 49.7 per cent.
The club's trouble in front of goal last year was personified by star forward Travis Cloke. While he finished second in the Coleman Medal race with 68 goals, Cloke was the only player in the top 20 goalkickers to convert below 50 per cent (48.6 per cent).
Enter Chapman.
The former Bear, Lion and Hawk – who established the Prokick program in 2006 to help Australian hopefuls break into the tough NFL system – worked with the Pies briefly last season, which led to a more formal role this pre-season.
Chapman said he taught the entire playing list about kicking accuracy, power and efficiency, with the forwards gaining extra focus in the art of kicking for goal.
He said even a small amount of improvement across the board could make a dramatic difference.
"I work with the full [playing] group looking at power and efficiency of kicking around the ground. Then with the forwards we look at accuracy - if they kick an extra one or two goals per game [instead of behinds] it makes a huge difference and obviously builds confidence," he told AFL.com.au.
"It's a case of [clubs] looking where they can get a leg-up – a small rise in accuracy makes a world of difference."
Chapman's role came about through his friendship with Collingwood's head of development Craig McRae.
"I was talking with Craig McRae, who I used to play with up in Brisbane, and he looked into it more and saw that what I do [with NFL punting] can translate into AFL," he said.
"I came down late last season and we decided to make it more formal for this season.
"I watch millions of kicks – if I can help young amateur guys boost their power and skills, I'm really excited about what I can do with professional athletes who have far greater physical and mental capacities.
"I train blokes (in American football) who kick the ball 70m-plus off two steps and we're confident those elements are transferrable to AFL. You do have to be powerful to make it as a punter, but … it's also about body position, efficiency, good impact – that's all the elements of a set shot."
Chapman will juggle the new role with his existing Prokick commitments and he expects to the results to be immediately obvious.
"I look at each player individually – left and right-footers, [those with] fast or slow run-ups, (players with) big arcs or none at all … I try to work out what's best for them," he said.
"There won't be massive changes, I'm just looking for subtle improvements.
"I've been really pleased with the process so far, and the way the players have been so open-minded with my ideas. They've picked most things up really quickly and I've already seen some great results even from the brief times I've spent with them.
"With a full pre-season I'd really expect to see some excellent results."
