Buddy’s darts pierce Dunstall’s heart
GOALKICKING legend Jason Dunstall once tried — albeit unsuccessfully — to straighten out Lance Franklin’s run-up when kicking for goal.
The Hawthorn great now describes Franklin’s reworked goalkicking style as a thing of beauty and the reason behind his deadly accuracy.
For most of his career, Buddy’s hook style run-up and kick has kept him about the 50 per cent conversion rate.
Then something happened in the approach to Round 21 last year — Franklin’s run-up now has no curve and the flight of the ball doesndoesn’tt either. The Swans superstar, pictured left, has since booteded 38 goals 16 from nine games at an accuracy of 62 per cent. Dunstall is certain the penny has finally dropped for Franklin, which is why he’s reaping the benefits with career-best accuracy.
“He’s definitely running a hell of a lot straighter,” Dunstall said. “The first thing that does is keep him aligned to the target, but what we are also seeing is a much straighter ball flight from him.
“He used to kick from the flank and he would kick across the ball and make it go right to left. Now they are like darts, they’re beautiful. “His kicks now have a perfectly true trajectory. “I’m not saying every single kick but almost all of them have a very straight run-up and he’s kicking through the target. He’s done a lot of work on it and it’s showing.”