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AFL Grand Final Kicking Competition

Several football kicking competitions have been held in the past, featuring players competing for the honour of longest kick, and best accuracy and style. On the World of Sport TV show on channel 7 a kicking competition ran for 10 years from 1964. A kicking competition returned in 2002, with players competing in an accuracy competition on Grand Final day.

World of Sport's Champion Kick Competitions

A kicking competition was regularly held on the Channel 7's World of Sport program in the 1960s and 1970s. The Craven Filter champion kick of Australia was a kicking competition conducted from 1967 - 1971, though based on other results found there must have been competitions held in other years.

In the Champion Kick Competition, players were required to execute a range of kicks, and were assessed in terms of their accuracy, style and (with the exception of the stab pass) distance. Each competition consisted of stab passing about 25 metres at a roughly 6 foot round target similar to an Archery target; complete with bulls eye. Then there was goal kicking and distance kicks; using both drop kicks and punt kicks.

The Craven Filter champion kick of Australia was a kicking competition conducted on the World of Sport program from 1967 - 1971, designed to find the 'champion kick in Australian football'. The competition began with a series of qualifying heats in each of the four major football states (Vic, SA, WA, Tas), with a finals series in Melbourne featuring the four state champions.

Winners

The South Australian and Victorian representatives occupied the first two places in the Craven Filter champion kick of Australia competition every year. The winner received a $1,000 prize.

1967 Terry Phillips of Central Districts, SA.
1968 Robert (Bob) Shearman (Sturt)
1969 Doug Wade (Geelong)
1970 Colin Tully (Collingwood)
1971 Robert (Bob) Shearman (Sturt)

More Random Notes

An except from Ken Piesse's Football Legends of the Bush, states that Fitzroy's John Bahen won Channel 7’s Champion Kick on World of Sport in the mid-60s, and also that Bernie Quinlan "regularly won World of Sport's Champion Kick"
A story was relayed on a football forum about how Bob Skilton won the World of Sport Champion Kick Award one year while kicking with his right (non preferred) foot. In the final Skilton had an injury to his left leg, so he kicked with his right and still won easily.
record that was found was by Paul Vinar (Geelong VFL), kicking the football 84 yards during the HSV7 champion kick competition in 1965. He also has a record of a punt kick of 80 yards, 6in during the Craven Filter Champion Kick in 1968. Paul Vinar regularly featured in these kicking competitions, and won a couple WOS champion kick comps in the 1960's. He may also have had a world record for the longest drop kick recorded Guinness Book of Records.
One judge of the kicking competition was ex-collingwood player Bruce Andrew known for his harsh comments.

2002 Grand Final Kicking Competition

The 2002 TXU AFL Grand Final Sharpshooter kicking Competition was conducted at 12.25pm prior to the Grand Final match, after the sprint heats. The event was designed to determine who was the AFL's most accurate kick for goal under pressure and with time constraints. The event was conducted over two heats and a final. 4 current AFL players were invited by the AFL to compete on behalf of themselves and their club.

Event Description

There were 5 Kicking Stations on the Ground marked 1 through to 5, with 3 different point levels across the 5 Stations. The more difficult shots were awarded more points. Five points were awarded for shots taken 40 metres out on a 45-degree angle, 10 points for goals kicked from 25 metres on the boundary line, and 15 points for goals kicked from 50 metres out directly in front.
The 5 Kicking Stations were numbered from 1 to 5 and the players kicked from Station 1 to 5 in an anti clockwise direction from the City end of the MCG.
Each player had 25 seconds to kick 5 balls from each of 5 Stations, and 15 seconds to move from Station to Station.
Each player was notified by the on-ground staff every ten seconds during the kicking process, to ensure he paced himself correctly.
A whistle was blown to indicate the start and end of the 25 seconds time period at each station.
All balls had to pass through the goal line on the full to be recorded as a goal.
An official AFL umpire adjudicated from behind the goals.
The player with the most points in Heat 1 and Heat 2 moved into the Final.
If the scores were tied in either the Preliminary Final or the Final, it became a Sudden Death Shoot Out from Station 5 - with the first player to miss being eliminated.
If the two Heat winners were tied, a coin toss decided who kicks first in the Final.

Results

The competitors were: heat 1 - Fremantle's Trent Croad and Melbourne's David Neitz, Heat 2 - Carlton's Corey McKernan and Port Adelaide's Stuart Dew. Trent Croad was the winner, beating Neitz in the first round then Dew in the final. Croad knocked out Neitz in the first heat, scoring 105 points to the Melbourne skipper's 80, and followed up in the final with an even better 120 points against Dew, who could manage only 85 points. The winner collected three $5000 cheques - one for themselves, one for their club and one to be given to charity.