Editing Drop kick (section)

== Australian rules football ==
Once the preferred method of conveying the ball over long distances, the drop kick has been superseded by the [[Punt (Australian football)#Drop punt|drop punt]] as a more accurate means of delivering the ball to a fellow player.<ref>{{cite news|title=Future direction of an evolving art form|first=Andrew|last=Faulkner|newspaper=[[The Australian]]|date=11 June 2011|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/opinion/future-direction-of-an-evolving-art-form/story-e6frg7t6-1226073279442}}</ref> Drop kicks were last regularly used in the 1970s, and by that time mostly for [[kick-in|kicking in after a behind]] and very rarely in general play.<ref name="dropkick">{{cite news|newspaper=[[The Age]]|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|title=The kick that got the boot|date=20 July 2003|access-date=4 October 2020|url=https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/the-kick-that-got-the-boot-20030720-gdw2rc.html}}</ref> AFL historian and statistician [[Col Hutchinson|Col Hutchison]] believes that [[Sam Newman]] was the last player to kick a [[Set shot|set-shot]] goal with a drop kick, in [[1980 VFL season|1980]], although goals in general play from a drop kick do occur on rare occasions, including subsequent goals by players such as [[Alastair Lynch]] and [[Darren Bewick]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=What happened to the drop kick? |url=https://www.afl.com.au/video/32505/myth-breakers-what-happened-to-the-drop-kick |access-date=2022-08-21 |website=afl.com.au |language=en}}</ref>

Hutchison says drop kicks were phased out of the game by [[Norm Smith]] in defence due to their risky nature; [[Ron Barassi]], a player Smith coached, took this onboard for his own coaching career, banning it for all but [[Barry Cable]], who, according to Hutchison, was a "magnificent disposer of the ball". Similarly, in 1971, under [[Port Adelaide Football Club|Port Adelaide]] coach [[Fos Williams]], Williams had a rule that nobody playing in his side could do a drop kick. However, according to teammate [[Brian Cunningham (footballer)|Brian Cunningham]], after [[Russell Ebert]] kicked a couple of goals in a game with a drop kick, Williams acknowledged Ebert's skill and made a special dispensation for him—and him alone.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-06-14 |title=SA football icon Russell Ebert now a Hall of Fame Legend |url=https://www.afl.com.au/news/776056/sa-football-icon-russell-ebert-now-a-hall-of-fame-legend |access-date=2024-09-20 |website=afl.com.au |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.facebook.com/7NEWSAdelaide/videos/869578387049803/ |title=Remembering Russell, a 7NEWS special: Celebrating football legend Russell Ebert's life {{!}} Remembering Russell: 7NEWS Adelaide pays tribute to one of South Australian sport's greatest names and a man who, off the field, inspired us to help... {{!}} By 7NEWS Adelaide {{!}} Facebook |language=en |access-date=2024-09-20 |via=www.facebook.com}}</ref>