He had the natural talent to start with and the skills were built on top of that - I could take all the driving lessons in the world but I would never be able to drive an F1 car as good as Lewis Hamilton - his natural ability is what sets him apart from the other drivers.



Practise plas a big part but you have to have some propensity to the skill to start with.

I think Sinfield has reached optimum performance regarding kicking, no doubt his devilish attention to detail and dedication has resulted in a top class place kicker. I also think Matty Smith has reached his optimum performance level, and no matter how hard he practices he will never reached standards attained by Sinfield. If you seriously think Wigan are prepared to compromise their whole season by not having a goal kicker practising the required hours, you may also be serious about Peacock being a potentially world class goal kicker.

That's a bit of a different thing. Being an F1 driver is an entire sport not a single skill. That is much more complicated involving many different aspects and skills. But needless to say, his practice (and quality of practice) is the differentiating factor between Hamilton and his opponents. Now, I'll say it again, he may find that practice (eg karting when he was younger), over decades and currently, easier or more enjoyable etc than other people meaning he has an advantage. But that's all it is, an advantage. Not a defining factor that means he was born with this amazing skill that only people with that skill can match.



I'll ask the question again, what part of kicking a ball off a cone would stop Jamie Peacock becoming a top goal kicker?

I can kick a goal from touch line and I'm ridiculously unfit. So it's not the physical act as, despite his age and the battering he must've taken over the years I'm pretty sure Peacock is still in better condition than I am. It's the consistency of the act. Which comes from lots and lots of practice. Which requires concentration and immense dedication. And a lot of time.



That's why there aren't many like Sinfield. There aren't many people willing to put the time in to do it.

When I say time, I'm talking years. In the context of an RL player it isn't easy to put that kind of time in. There are other things that could be trained on or prioritised instead, injury can get in the way, position at the club etc.



If you're in charge of Wakefield for instance do you commit one of your players to a lot of additional training, that you're not sure when it'll pay off, when you're never sure of keeping a player beyond a couple of years? Or do you either give them the time off so they're a bit fresher for games or get them to train on something else? Maybe a part of their game that's weak?

Not to mention clubs have to work with the skills of the players as they receive them and goal kicking is a skill that isn't taught very well at amateur level. And the mental skills involved in goal kicking aren't taught/encouraged at all (in general) at amateur level.



I'm struggling to think of many clubs who've been in Leeds position whereby they've been 99% certain that a player like Sinfield will definitely be with them for a long time.

I think he could be even better. But that's unlikely given the context he's in.

I definitely think Matty Smith could be better. I think some time with a quality kicking coach like Alred would help. As would a lot of extra practice. But as I've said before it's not easy to undertake that extra practice.







What are the required hours? I have no idea how long Smith practices goal kicking. Do you?

I do know if he practiced a lot more he'd get better at goal kicking. I don't see that as an outrageous statement to make.

If extra practice doesn't make any difference why did Leeds undertake lots of skills training when Tony Smith came in? Or this pre-season? Leading to our improved passing and offloading this season.

In terms of Matty Smith, maybe Wigan have decided he's doing enough training on goal kicking as they have lots and lots of other things to train?



Modern team sports are effectively about the balance of training. Too much strength compared to speed? Too much speed compared to agility? Too much passing compared to tackling? Too much tackling compared to defensive positioning? Etc etc.



This balance, and the long time it takes, is why many players and clubs don't commit to lots of extra training.

There is a saying around the world, "Practice makes perfect". There is a reason that saying is used daily, and used in all occurances. Him is correct to a degree.



However, me personally, I think goal kicking is highly reliant on state of mind rather than just a skill set.

I agree. Though I'd say that that state of mind is actually a skill set that can be taught/learnt/coached.



I don't know, but I'm willing to bet, that when Sinfield received coaching on his kicking from Alred, most of it was about things other than the physical act of kicking the ball. Id bet most of it was about the mental side of goal kicking.

Its true that practice makes perfect, but you need to have a natural ability and co-ordination to start with. To suggest that someone without those could achieve an 80% accuracy rate is laughable

Why? Those things can be taught. It just requires more practice/coaching than someone who already has those abilities.

It's not laughable at all. Kicking a ball is as easy as riding a bike. What you then need to add is co-ordination and as I said above the right mind set. Therefore practice and have the right focus can considerably improve your kicking accuracy.



I will give you an example of mind set, and this happens with all kickers. My young one, who doesn't regularly kick and doesn't practice no where near enough, can go to the field and kick for goal. Sometimes he will bang the first 20 in on the trot from all over the pitch. Then as soon as he misses one, the next 10 you can bet he will miss. A kicker needs to have their eye in, and then keep their mind focussed, rather than letting a miss effect them.



Take darts as another example, are people seriously suggesting that you are born with a natural skill set for darts? no you get great by practice and focus. Goal kicking is not much different to darts in reality.

So, there's nothing to stop you banging over those touchline specials into your 60s providing you keep practicing?



A feat I'm massively impressed by whatever the age of the kicker, btw. Only ever took one place kick in my entire rugby life. In front of the sticks it was.



It never reached the try line

Absolutely right, if I kept practicing, there's nothing to stop me.



Now don't get me wrong, I'm not pretending I'm a good goal kicker, like you most of my attempts struggle to reach the try line! Just outlining that despite my appallingly bad physical condition, the physical act of kicking a goal can be done. So it's only consistency that is the issue.

Not only is Southstander full of people who believe they cn run the club better than Hetherington or coach the club better than McDermott it's bow full of people who think they can kick goals as accurately as one of the all time greats in the game.



Tremendous.