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“After that it broke down a couple of things technique-wise. A lot of it was really good, just one or two little things that had been ingrained for years and years that was going to be important to try and undo.
“I’ve got a little step just before I kick, which I’d always known I had, and I really hated watching myself kick because I knew I had a little step.
“With the data, you could see your momentum would build up, and then I’d take a little step and all your momentum would drop, and you’d try and chase it again.
“I’ve been doing that since I was basically a kid. Over the summer, I’ve been trying to undo that because it was killing my momentum.
“The consistency of your kick would be up and down depending on that step.”
The fault in his action was evident against Melbourne when he almost missed his boot with his ball drop and sprayed his shot out on the full from about 40 metres out directly in front.
Harry McKay has worked on the flaw in his goalkicking technique.Credit: Fox Footy
“You try and get all that momentum you lost in the last step, your body twists, your leg comes across and you do all these things in order to get the momentum back you just lost,” McKay said.
McKay has also flushed several shots in the practice games, a sign the training he has put in over summer to eliminate the short step is working.
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But he warned it would take time to drop a habit he has had since childhood. He will not turn into former sharpshooter Matthew Lloyd overnight, but he and the Blues forwards coach Ash Hansen are confident the changes he has made will hold him in good stead for the rest of his career.
“Talking with Ash, he always says there’ll be some teething issues with it but you’re always going to be better tomorrow than today because you’re undoing and laying down new patterns in the way you kick,” McKay said.
“It’s been really exciting to go after something technically. This will help for the next 10 years. There will be some transfer straight away, which has been great even at training, but knowing this will be really good for the longer term.”
McKay has also mapped out areas of the ground where he should use his preferred snapshot for goal, having previously been criticised for using that type of kick despite being too far out.
“Another big element of it was being really clear what spots you’re doing what kick from,” McKay said. “Last year, probably the last few years to a degree, [I’ve been] playing a bit more on instincts and emotion on if I want to snap the ball from there as opposed to being methodical with that decision.
“I’ve literally got a map. We worked really close with that knowing exactly where your spots are so it takes out any emotion, any fatigue, you just know where you’re kicking from. That takes out the stress and emotion from that decision because you already know.”
Swans sweat on Taylor Adams’ fitness after defeat
Sydney recruit Taylor Adams will be racing the clock to be match-fit for an opening-round debut after sustaining a knee injury during the Swans’ 25-point pre-season loss to Brisbane.
Adams impressed in his first hit-out in the red and white on Thursday, before a tackle from Brisbane’s Cam Rayner sent him to ground in the third quarter at Blacktown International Sportspark.
The former Collingwood player immediately grabbed his left knee and was ruled out of the rest of the AFL community series match with a mild medial ligament strain.
The Swans suffered an 8.8 (56) to 12.9 (81) loss to the Lions in their final dress rehearsal before the season opener.
Already pushed back due to sweltering weather conditions, the match was delayed another 30 minutes after the western Sydney venue, perhaps taking a leaf out of the Gabba’s book, was plunged into darkness by a power outage.
The Lions showed no signs of a hangover from last year’s grand final loss to Collingwood.
With the Lions near full strength, it was Brisbane’s usual stars – Dayne Zorko (two goals, 20 disposals), Lachie Neale (22 disposals, eight clearances), Keidean Coleman (19 disposals) and Hugh McCluggage (31) –who fired the visitors to dominance.
A scare was sent through the Lions camp when Neale, in his first hit-out after off-season groin surgery, appeared in pain after young Swan Angus Sheldrick blew into the Brownlow medallist’s shoulder in the second term.
Neale nursed the injury and was able to play the rest of the game.
Zorko stole the show early. The veteran midfielder, entering his 13th season still chasing an elusive premiership, flashed the same grit as his 23-year-old debutant self with a classy goal in the opening 30 seconds.
Brisbane had no shortage of firepower with eight different goalkickers, with Lincoln McCarthy kicking three goals and Eric Hipwood two.
Though all eyes were on Adams in his unofficial Swans debut, it was former Demon James Jordon who played the best out of the new recruits.
The 22-year-old had 31 disposals and four clearances, numbers rivalling those of powerhouse midfielder Errol Gulden (24 disposals, two clearances, one goal).
Earlier, Adams showed his class and racked up 15 touches and seven clearances before he was injured.
Adams’ former Collingwood teammate Brodie Grundy (27 hitouts) again starred in the ruck.
John Longmire’s men were without star midfielder Luke Parker after the former skipper broke his arm during the last quarter of their practice match against GWS.
The snake seen on the field in Blacktown.Credit: Getty Images
The 2016 All-Australian joins captain Callum Mills on the sidelines for the opening-round clash with Melbourne at the SCG on March 7 and will meet specialists again on Friday to determine a return-to-play timeline.
Tom Papley and Chad Warner (rested) were also on the sidelines with defender Jake Lloyd (hip soreness).
Lions young gun Devon Robertson could make a return when Brisbane host Carlton on March 8 after overcoming a wrist injury, while Tom Doedee remains out of action with an ACL injury.
SYDNEY SWANS
2.2 4.6 6.7 8.8 (56)
BRISBANE LIONS
2.3 6.5 11.8 12.9 (81)
GOALS – Sydney Swans: Gulden, Fox, McDonald, Wicks, Amartey, Heeney, McInerney, Warner
Brisbane Lions: McCarthy 3, Hipwood 2, Zorko 2, Coleman, Wilmot, McCluggage, Rayner, Ah Chee
BEST – Sydney Swans: Gulden, Jordon, Ladhams, Rowbottom
Brisbane Lions: McCluggage, Zorko, Lohmann, Neale
UMPIRES – O’Gorman, Nicholls, Broadbent, Rodger
VENUE Blacktown International Sportspark
AAP
McRae’s moment of truth on the path to Pies’ premiership
AAP
A moment of clarity the morning after a humbling prime-time defeat was the “defining moment” of Collingwood’s charge to the 2023 premiership.
Less than 12 hours after being thumped by the Western Bulldogs, Magpies coach Craig McRae was struggling to get out of bed.
After a promising start to the 2022 season, Collingwood suddenly found themselves sitting 11th on the ladder with a 4-5 record.
There were extenuating circumstances – illness had swept through the group, superstar veteran Scott Pendlebury was a late withdrawal, and they were coming off a third straight six-day break. But in his post-match press conference, McRae called the performance “poor” and failed to use any excuses.
“I want to be better than that,” McRae said after losing to the Bulldogs.
Almost two years on from that defeat, the reigning premiership coach reflected on the Magpies’ rise.
“This is a defining moment for this group,” McRae told The Howie Games podcast on LiSTNR.
The 2022 loss to the Bulldogs was a defining moment for Craig McRae’s Magpies.Credit: AFL Photos
“Saturday morning I couldn’t get out of bed. I was tossing and turning over what to do. My wife comes and gets me, might be around lunchtime and said, ‘You’ve got to get out of bed’ … and I said, ‘I can’t’ … and she said, ‘You’ve got the solutions, Craig, you know what to do’.
“‘Just be you … be positive, Craig, it’s the only way through’.”
After the pep talk from wife Gabrielle, McRae had a “moment of clarity” and declared: “This is who we’re going to be”.
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“I rang all the assistant coaches and said, ‘Don’t come in on Monday and tell me what we’re not doing,” he said. “Go and find the evidence of the things that we’re going to be’.
“I walked in on the Monday with a complete and utter positivity that the group weren’t ready for. It was the complete opposite of what they were expecting. The positivity was something that made the playing group go, ‘Oh, OK’.
“It really drove us to letting things go a bit, and it was probably the start of it [an 11-match winning streak].”
After finishing 17th in 2021, Collingwood lost the 2022 preliminary final by a point in McRae’s first season at the helm. The Magpies continued their rise last year, culminating in defeating the Brisbane Lions by four points in one of the best grand finals in VFL/AFL history.
Collingwood start 2024 as premiership favourites as they strive to win back-to-back flags for the first time since 1936.
Rapt Roos extend young gun Sheezel’s contract until 2030
AAP
North Melbourne have locked away prized asset Harry Sheezel until the end of 2030 after the young gun signed a contract extension that takes him through to free agency.
Sheezel signed a two-year extension after his outstanding debut in round one last season and has now added another four years to the deal.
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The 19-year-old’s commitment to the Kangaroos’ rebuild under Alastair Clarkson comes after he won the club’s best-and-fairest award in his first year.
He also earned the league’s Rising Star honour and has been added to North Melbourne’s leadership group this season.
“I am very excited and very grateful as well for the club for giving me the opportunity to sign on for that long,” Sheezel said. “I love the club and wouldn’t want to go anywhere else.
“Ever since I walked in the door, I’ve just loved the place – the players, the coaching staff and just the whole environment at the club. They’ve made me and my family feel so welcome.”
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Sheezel joins co-captain Jy Simpkin and key forward Nick Larkey (both 2029) in committing to North Melbourne long-term.
“We’re absolutely rapt to have a player and person of Harry’s calibre sign on until at least the end of 2030,” Kangaroos head of football talent Brady Rawlings said.
“We’ve loved what we’ve seen from him so far, and at 19 he’s only scratched the surface of what he’s capable of.
“His decision to join the likes of Jy Simpkin and Nick Larkey in committing to the club long-term is a great show of confidence in the future of the club, and we can’t wait to see what the next seven years hold with him here.”
North Melbourne take on St Kilda at RSEA Park on Sunday in their final pre-season hit-out before opening their new campaign away to Greater Western Sydney in round one.
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