In marking contests, defenders need to punch & the ability for a forward to take a pack mark is a great skill

3 Defensive Skills

These skills are purely defensive skills.

Punching the Ball in Marking Contests

To be able to defend you need to be able to punch/ spoil a mark from your opponent. When a forward takes a big pack mark and kicks a goal, it can be moral sapping for the opposition but a big punch from a contest can be just as moral sapping for them.

Past Brisbane defenders in Justin Leppitsch and Mal Michael were famous for their big 20m odd spoils which also gets the ball out of the immediate area.

One Percenters

We at Kick2Kick have written two articles highlighting several one percenters already. We would recommend reading them (article one & article two).

St Kilda is one team this year that has one percenters built into their game plan and it brings pressure to their opposition and even when no St Kilda player is around, it brings persevered pressure.

Stand Goal Side of your Opponent

Great tip for any defender especially when guarding someone who is dangerous and or leads from the goal square/ inside 50m.

This means that if they want to lead into the corridor (straight in front of goals) they have to pass you which gives you 2-3 steps to catch up to their lead. Most forwards will end up leading towards the boundary line. This means that if they mark the ball, they have an angle to kick against and the chances of them missing the goal increases.

3 Attacking Skills

In today’s football most coaches put their most damaging players in the back line like Gilbee (Bulldogs), Goddard/ Gilbert/ Gram (St Kilda), Hurn (West Coast), Scarlett (Geelong), Broughton (Fremantle) etc. This enables the attack and run to start down back.

However in just focusing on skills and not positions, lets focus on the handball, kicking efficiency & the ability to take a contested mark.

Simon Black is a great modern day example of someone who uses the handball as an attacking weapon/ skill

The Handball

5-10 years ago, the disposal rate of a handball to kicks was 1 handball to 2 or 3 kicks. 20+ years ago, you only used a handball if you could not kick the ball.

However several clubs (West Coast, Adelaide & Geelong) started to use the handball as an attacking weapon rather than a pure defensive option. So much so that now the handball to kick ratio is 1-1 and sometimes some teams even handball more than kick.

When used right it can free up a player and is one way of breaking the various zones teams play.

The handball can also be used to great effect in a pack situation where the player grabs the ball and fires out a quick handball to a free player. Black from Brisbane and past players in Scott West (Bulldogs) & Greg Williams (Sydney, Geelong & Carlton) are great examples.

Kicking Efficiency

The number one skill is and will always be the kick and the ability to kick it efficiently to a team mate. An efficient kick has the ability to open up a game just as much as a forward who can kick straight at goals.

Ability to take a Contested Mark

In tight pressure packed games the ability for a player to take a contested mark down back or up forward can never be under estimated. It gives your team mates the confidence that they can just kick the ball long to a contest and the chances of a mark is high.

This is beneficial when the pressure is great on the ball carrier and he cannot pin point a pass. Wayne Carey (North & Adelaide) was one of the best ever and in today’s game Jonathon Brown (Brisbane) is the best.

I hope Vikki, this helps answer your question about 3 defensive and 3 attacking skills that can be used in todays AFL from under 10s to the elite AFL competition.

If you have any other attacking or defensive skills/ questions or comments, please include them along with any comments in the comment section below.

Lance Franklin often gets 'first bite' on the football.

By getting in front you give yourself every opportunity as most ineffective kicks fall short of their targets. Lance ‘ Buddy ‘ Franklin is one such player that always maximises his marking options by playing in front.

By being in front and being the attacking player you are more likely to receive a free kick if the contest is disputed.

‘Buddy’ Franklin uses his long reach to its full potential, and by extending his arms fully in a marking contest it gives him the best chance of reaching the ball at the earliest moment. Marking with bent arms can decrease your potential reach by up to 15cm.

The most important thing is to always keep your eyes on the ball all the way to the hands. ‘Buddy’ Franklin’s freak ability to take strong grabs is a result of his concentration of focusing on the football all the way as he completes a mark.

Players can often at the last minute lapse in concentration just as they are about to take the ball in the air and all their hard work of getting into position is undone.

Please use the written and video instructions to learn how to kick a Snap.

Steps to Kick a Snap

1. Hold the football horizontal in between your hands.
2. Guide the football down onto your foot with your hand.
3. Outside part of the football hits the tongue area of your boot.

Extra tips

• Depending on the angle you want the football to go, is the angle it hits your foot.
• Learn to kick Snaps of both feet.
• Learn to kick the ball using a Snap to go along the ground and reach a certain point.

This kick is usually kicked when kicking at goals on a tight angle on the wrong side. What this means is that if your a right footer and on the right (looking at the goals) and visa-versa for a left footer.

Steps to kick a banana/ check side kick

1. Place your guiding hand (hand that guides ball onto foot) near the top of football.
2. Other hand opposite side and near bottom of football.
3. Ball should be placed at a 45 degree angle.
4. Guiding hand guides ball to foot.
5. The half of the football nearest to you hits the foot.
6. Follow through with foot.

Extra tips

• Depending were the foot hits depends on the angle the ball projects in air.
• Count for the wind as it can take the ball from the correct angle (or it can help).
• Practice kicking the banana/ check side kick along the ground.

It is normally played by tall players (6.5 or taller) but the skills of tapping the ball is handy to learn by everyone as it allows you to knock/ tap the ball from a contest to the advantage of your team.

Steps on how to Ruck and tap the ball

1. Your aim is to reach the ball before your opposition ruck man.
2. When the umpire bounces/ throws the ball watch the ball
3. Jump to met the ball when it reaches its high point
4. Use your hands to reach and tap ball to your teams advantage

It helps to tap the ball directly to a team mate as it allows them more time to get away from a tackle from the opposition. The second video shows just how much more time is wasted trying to gather the ball.

Extra tips

• It does help to wear protective gear like thigh pads and ankle guards.
• Apart from tapping the ball you can also punch the ball which means it clears the area which is also advantages at times.
• Practice tapping/ punching the ball using both hands (see video one).

Steps to kick a Drop Kick

1. You hold the ball still and have your hands on either side of it.
2. Then guide the football down onto were your foot would connect with the ball with your hand.
3. Allow the ball to just hit the ground.
4. Boot connects with the ball as it bounces off the ground.
5. Follow through with your boot.

Extra tips

• This kick comes down to millimeters and requires consistent practice.

When the ground is wet and the ball will NOT bounce back at you, you are allowed to touch the ball down on the ground with it in your hands.

Steps on how to bounce the football

1. Hold the ball as you would kick a drop punt.
2. With your guiding (dominant) hand guide the ball to the ground.
3. The top bottom part of the ball should hit the ground.
4. The ball should be aimed in front of you so when you run, it will bounce back to you comfortably.

Extra tips:

• Like most skills, being able to bounce the ball using both hands is important.
• Depending on how fast you ran depends on how far you need to bounce the ball away from you.
• At the end of the day you want to reach a level were you can bounce the ball and catch it without looking at the ball.

Steps to Tackle side on

1. Ran at them and watch the hips.
2. Spread your arms and aim for the hips.
3. Try and grab both (or one) arm(s).
4. If possible, try and drop the person your tackling by rolling them and not getting into their back.

Extra tips

• When players try and dodge a tackle they will move the ball with their arms, do not follow the ball. Watch the hips, they are the middle of the body and move the least.
• If you tackle hard, they will remember and will think twice next time.

Steps to kick a Drop Punt

1. You hold the ball still and have your hands on either side of it.
2. Then guide the football down onto your foot with your hand.
3. The ball is dropped onto the ‘tongue’ area of your boot.
4. You follow through with your boot.

Extra tips

1. Walking as you kick brings momentum and makes the kick have more depth (go further).
2. Learn to kick using both feet.