(Oldest Posts First)
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You will see lots of hurlers who can put the sliotar over the bar off their weaker side just as good as when on their favourable side, but Shane Walsh's display of kicking off both feet (he scored five frees from five attempts off his weaker foot) for Galway in Sunday's Connacht final has got me thinking about how rare it is to see genuine two footed players in gaelic football. PortInFaithful (Offaly) - Posts: 472 - 20/06/2018 14:19:06 2113359 Link 1 |
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Two completely different techniques. In hurling no matter what side you strike the ball on, your dominant side still plays a major role in the act. In football its either left or right so being as good on both feet is rare. realdub (Dublin) - Posts: 8584 - 20/06/2018 15:14:49 2113369 Link 1 |
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Shane doesn't have a weaker foot. He is just as happy kicking of his left as off his right. It makes him very difficult to handle when he's running at a defence as he can dummy on to either foot. Kilkenny and Brogan also very strong off both feet. tribesman125 (Galway) - Posts: 173 - 20/06/2018 15:15:33 2113370 Link 0 |
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I was left footed playing GAA but right footed playing soccer. Anyone have a similiar case? KY4SAM2015 (Kerry) - Posts: 898 - 20/06/2018 15:22:43 2113374 Link 0 |
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gaelicgab (USA) - Posts: 878 - 20/06/2018 15:30:31 2113377 Link 0 |
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You're just weird :D
realdub (Dublin) - Posts: 8584 - 20/06/2018 15:50:41 2113381 Link 1 |
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thats what i feared haha
KY4SAM2015 (Kerry) - Posts: 898 - 20/06/2018 15:55:30 2113385 Link 2 |
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Of course they're completely different and I don't mean to compare the two.
PortInFaithful (Offaly) - Posts: 472 - 20/06/2018 16:51:28 2113398 Link 0 |
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Ok, his left is his 'so called' weaker foot!
PortInFaithful (Offaly) - Posts: 472 - 20/06/2018 16:52:26 2113399 Link 0 |
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Andy Moran is a natural lefty but scores more off his right these days. Had to adapt to stay effective after his couple of horrible injuries a few years back. In some games he never seems to get a shot off from his left anymore since defenders still try to close that side down. A lot of players would have a reasonable weaker foot these days... not many PJs about, he didn't need two feet! And wasn't he one of 5 left-footed players in the Galway forward division which won Sam in '01? Pericles (Mayo) - Posts: 2521 - 20/06/2018 19:17:12 2113430 Link 0 |
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True two footed footballers are rare , the point being could you spot in a game which is the dominant foot , I've seen fellas score off their left but no way would I say they are two footed , the true test is a fella who solos scores equally off both Connolly is one of the best in most recent times Joyce McGuigan O Neill going back a bit off the top of my head Damothedub (Dublin) - Posts: 5193 - 20/06/2018 20:35:47 2113440 Link 1 |
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True two footed footballers are rare , the point being could you spot in a game which is the dominant foot , I've seen fellas score off their left but no way would I say they are two footed , the true test is a fella who solos scores equally off both Connolly is one of the best in most recent times Joyce McGuigan O Neill going back a bit off the top of my head Damothedub (Dublin) - Posts: 5193 - 20/06/2018 20:35:47 2113441 Link 1 |
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The best by far was Maurice fitzgerald rhudson (Galway) - Posts: 1478 - 20/06/2018 21:35:35 2113455 Link 5 |
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I know its going back a few years but Matty Forde once kicked 12 points in a championship match yelowbelly (Wexford) - Posts: 409 - 20/06/2018 21:54:11 2113457 Link 0 |
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https://www.facebook.com/mauricewalshphotography/videos/1675144645939793/ tiobraid (Tipperary) - Posts: 4119 - 23/06/2018 00:07:57 2113829 Link 0 |
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Monaghan Exile (Monaghan) - Posts: 442 - 23/06/2018 10:01:55 2113850 Link 0 |
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Francie Bellew could kick off either pair of legs:) Pericles (Mayo) - Posts: 2521 - 23/06/2018 10:52:15 2113860 Link 0 |
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You got to add Gooch to that list. Nice easy dummy on either foot and slate it over with the other. NarrowBack914 (USA) - Posts: 181 - 23/06/2018 12:25:41 2113868 Link 0 |
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All those mentioned are wonderful footballers, that is the only reason Gaelic football is worth watching. Sadly you are only talking about a handful of names over a number of decades. Go to any pitch now & watch & see how many drills are done practicing, picking, soloing, shooting OFF BOTH FEET or even mechanical movements off either side, very little or non existent. If you do coach these things you are told you are old fashioned & out of touch. Skill is still king in my eyes but sadly skillful players are now overlooked for the athletes & athleticism. Even the great Maurice Fitzgerald who made it look effortless would probably struggle to make some county squads now a days for not retreating back to corner back to mark space. I despair now when I hear the words process, transition, systems, Gaelic Football is fast dying a death, razmataz & hype & crazy formats such as Super 8's are the only thing keeping it in the headlines. Lads at adult club level have lost interest in it all. Uimhir.a.3. (Galway) - Posts: 409 - 23/06/2018 22:41:22 2114050 Link 0 |
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I agree that Maurice Fitz probably wouldn't make the Kerry team today, but even in his pomp he was never the first name on the team sheet either. His languid style didn't appeal to the selectors in a time when systems etc were not the thing they are today. Gaelic football is now just a slightly grotesque reflection of what it always has been: there are a small number of teams who have the players and put the work in, and so tend to be the ones contending. The only true difference now is that the Dubs, who have the players, are able to sustain a year round level of fitness that enables them to stand out. Other teams can only choose to try to match them for part of the year. Mayo can reach similar physical levels but only for a number of months. This young Kerry team might be able to do something more if the players are kept pretty local (which means jobs etc). This Dubs team still aren't as dominant as the Kerry team of the 70s and early 80s, when apart from Dublin early on and Offaly for a short period, no one could really touch them. And bringing it back to the topic at issue, I would say there are more two footed players in every team now than there would have been in any era prior to this, and certainly it's not so remarkable as it once was. The only skill which has suffered in the modern game is fielding and this is down to the fact that midfielders can't be static anymore, plus Stephen Cluxton needed to find a way to enable the Dubs to win possession when they didn't have a reliable fielder who could also run - ie. before Brian Fenton - but the tactic has stuck. In any previous era Mayo would probably be stuffed after losing both first choice midfielders, but the job description has changed in that department, so it's more of a challenge than a handicap. Is this killing the game? Maybe some fun has gone out of it, but the joy experienced by Leitrim yesterday in the face of adversity is still with us. The imbalances in Munster and Leinster are more of a concern, but Munster was rarely ever more than a two horse race and Cork will eventually recover. Leinster may be different for reasons that have very little to do with football... patterns of life have changed more in that province with the economic positioning of Dublin as a virtual city state. As bordering counties the traditional rivals have been particularly affected. The proposed national economic plan aims to bring lesser versions of this to the regions, which is likely to be good for your own county and bad for mine. Time will tell I suppose... as will money.
Pericles (Mayo) - Posts: 2521 - 24/06/2018 10:27:28 2114136 Link 0 |