The amusing question is asking: who would you trust in the AFL to kick for your most precious commodity? AFL fans argue with their mates over who is the best kicker in the modern game. Who do you choose? What aspect of the game and which skills do you use to select your representative?
Even the experts are divided. The exercise physiologists and fitness trainers point to the fittest athletes as the ones to take the kick. So do you pick a super fit athlete like Alan Didak from Collingwood? They argue that their higher level of fitness allows athletes, like Didak, to recover from the high speed of the modern game and kick with the skill and technique needed. Or is it a matter of pure power and strength? The Lions have one of the best long-range kicks in left-foot missile launcher Josh Drummond. Is this the profile you want to kick for your life?
The sport psychologists say it is the athlete with the greatest mental toughness you should pick. The one who can focus on the task at hand rather than being distracted by the outcome or the pressure of the kick. A big game performer like Blues skipper Chris Judd is the one they might put forward. Judd may not have the perfect technique but he wouldn't crumble under pressure.
The biomechanists say it is all about the technically correct action of the athlete. The limb length and angles of the leg as it connects with the ball, they say, makes the difference in the kick. The best one, technically speaking, who could kick for your life may be Paul Chapman. So do you choose him?
The physiotherapists take this one step further and say you should look for the athlete with the supple muscles ready for the physical effort of a big kick at the end of four quarters of AFL football. The tendons and muscles of the best prepared athlete are the ones you trust the most. While the absence of Nick Riewoldt due to injury proves their point, others like Brendon Goddard show great athleticism and skill.
The past players often lament the fast physical game of today over the more skilled aspects of yesteryear. The most skilled and experienced players are the ones, they say, you should trust. Athletes like Daniel Bradshaw with many games under his belt (226 games) could take the kick.
It is a fascinating hypothetical question. So how about you? Who would you trust to kick at goal to save your life?
In the end, the experts and AFL fans will never agree. But the debate highlights the different aspects of the modern game. It is a fun discussion on the current crop of players and the skills they have been blessed with.
AFL is a great game. A game of passion and skill. However, it is a game. The Bible raises a similar and more serious question: who do you trust to get you into heaven? Do you rely on your own skills? On how good you have been or could be with the right resources? Rely on your moral upbringing? On how much you give to charity? Or do you simply trust in Jesus?
The Bible explains that Jesus was without sin. He had the perfect kicking record. When we pick Him to be our representative then His perfect record is credited to us. What a goal!
