Right, Johnny. Spiral bomb. When do you use this?
It's now an attacking weapon hugely. Um, it helps when the 10's got a bit of time or the kicker's got a bit of time. So, when you're in the back field, a great way of launching, relaunching from receiving a kick.
Free kicks. You're starting to see a lot of 10 now just step forward and smash one of these because of how unpredictable it is for fullbacks. Uh, short of the 22.
If you land it just short of the 22, fullback can't mark it under the post and it starts bouncing. It could be a straightforward dive on the ball try. But it's it's all about now this uh if you like this ability to set something up which which creates massive chaos out of nothing.
Um and and it's becoming a big weapon because I think fullbacks and wingers and back three are getting very very good at catching these kicks to chase where you're looking to set it up for your team to catch but it also means it's more predictable and the back three are looking very good. So it's now becoming a really big opportunity. Yeah.
So it's very different to kick to chase. That's the point as well is hugely. Yeah.
because you're you're literally asking their fullback to put huge pressure on him and you're looking for that bouncing chaos ball to reather because it was hard enough for him to go and catch. What do you think it's like for your team running that way? So, you've got chaos, you've got a ball that's moving and you got an opposition sprinting.
Yeah. So, the difference between an end over end is an end over end you can kind of sense where it's going to drop like 10 meters or so, give or take um depending on wind conditions. With the spiral bomb, it moves at the very last second.
And so, what you can't do is get in the air. it just it negates that opportunity to get up and and try and take a clean catch where you know you can't be hit man and ball. So having to stay on the ground because the very last second you might need to chop your feet and move half a meter one side or the other.
You just do not know where it's going to drop with a really good one. And then what what often happens is it drops forward. So it has you stepping forward into the oncoming collision winners.
It's not [laughter] a nice place to be as a backer. Yeah. And and this is where you see those for when that happens.
It's almost like survival mechanism comes in and they just kind of go, "Oh, I'm not having that. " [laughter] And and then you get this ball bouncing and it and it could go anywhere. You can imagine it's a bit like I love drop goals because you can score out of nothing.
So can you score out of nothing with one of these? Absolutely. Johnny likes drop goals.
That's not breaking news. I still like them. I still like them after all these years.
You go. Right. Talk us talk us through the There's a lot of physics in here, Johnny.
There is. This is a lot of what I love spending my time looking at because a lot of it's just about efficiency of movement, energy, and and here if I'm about to left footed kick, you've got ball pointing to one on the clock face, me to 11, which creates this movement of the ball, which turns it to 12 and gives you that central point. But as with so many ball skills in so many sports, in fact, I think all it's actually about what happens beyond the ball that really makes the difference.
And when you can channel the full body weight, the leg, the foot, everything going way beyond the ball in that direction, you get this effortless power, which is a sweetness you can hear. The problem with the spiral bomb is you're already trying to hit highs. There's a capacity to lean back, plant your foot, and when you try too hard, you use up all that energy beforehand.
There's nothing left for afterwards, but also you work against your body. This idea of swing here actually breaks you into pieces, and you become ineffective. Hence the the the trying too hard idea and the less is more.
But but it's it's it's definitely a tough one um to manage especially as a kicker. You've got that defense coming at you which is why you'll see free kicks and back field when people have a bit more time. I mean that timing issue actually is is prevalent in all sports, isn't it?
It's of the effortlessness which makes the timing so sweet. And people call it timing, but it is time but it's alignment at the point of impact. And that's where I want to be really solid, really sure of where I'm going.
Okay, here we go then. You ready, Brian? Yeah.
I'm I'm I'm here for less is more, Johnny. So, not too high. Yeah.
Yeah. Okay. Yeah.
I'm trying not to fall over. That's why I'm definitely doing it. Less is more.
Okay. [laughter] Well done, mate. Well done.
Yeah, that I could tell that that was going to dip like maybe a couple of feet in front of me, but you could just sense with the rotation of it that I it was more controlled. There's been other nastier ones. Right.
Let's see what happened. So, I want I want to try and get that nose to tip over cuz you can read the tail, I think. But I'm still in a horrible position there.
I'm I'm crouched like that, waiting for the shot to come. I'm I'm enjoying it. I'm enjoying it.
Let's go again. Oh, close. Good pick up, mate.
So, this is the other thing about this kick which is really really good is that actually sometimes the less perfect ones are the best ones because even when I don't get this quite right, it's so ugly in the air that it's actually more difficult for you, especially if you have to sprint a bit. Still hard to read. Yeah, very hard.
Oh, here's the one. Oh, no. No, like that was [laughter] No, I I I know why it wasn't a full back.
That was horrible. But that had you going that way and then coming back. That That was the thing.
I couldn't gauge from, you know, 6 7 8 m away where it was going to go. That was more lateral, wasn't it? Rather than end so hard for you to pick up.
This is the thing. Once it once it's here, it'll follow its tail. Once it turns over, it'll follow its nose.
But it comes down fast. But when it hovers like this at the top like that a little bit, you're just it's honestly you you couldn't pay me to stand under one of those. But you can pay me to kick them.
I'm happy with [laughter] that. But but you can't in those position you can't even brace yourself by turning because the reaction is so late that you have to reach for it with your hands and that is a vulnerable position. And you are three quarter sprinting up there.
You're thinking we got we got bits and pieces here that we can pick up and maybe score. Oh, like that's the thing. You know, people should be staggered because a breaking ball can go anywhere.
So, someone beyond the ball if it's batted back and then a few people scattered and then then someone trying to earmark take take their not their head off but their [laughter] put their legs away from them. Give the impression you're going to take off. Definitely.
Brilliant.
