White Winmar wrote:There doesn't seem to be the same emphasis on being "two-sided" these days. I think it stems from the modern game style. If in trouble these days, you just go onto your natural side and chip it back and across, something that was sacrilegious in the 80's and 90's. In those days it seemed everyone was at least adequate on the non-preferred side. Some, such as Leon Cameron were almost superior on the left. I remember, even in the ammos, we devoted a lot of time working on the non-preferred side. Rarely see players yes it these days.
I think the double sided thing has become overstated. If you are an average player with a one sided game you are going to struggle if you can play to a high standard on one side you can still be a superstar. It's one of those accepted pieces of knowledge that people believe with out looking at the actual evidence. There are some players who never used their non preferred foot and are considered legends. You obviously need to be able to dish off but not many need to kick 60 meters on their non preferred with accuracy.
The evidence people used for CJ and Gilbert being poor on their NPF was pretty scant. Clint was inconsistent on both feet and was usually because he was playing in tight often rushing disposal where Gilbert would often misfire after drawing a player out to him to buy time for the forwards to set up across half forward. Goddard was able to have a lot more time to pick out a kick because of his role as a quarter back type.