Kangaroo Lindsay Thomas has been on fire this year. Source: Herald Sun
HE has gone from being the goalsneak who struggled to hit the side of a barn to the sharpshooter leading the Coleman Medal.
And North Melbourne small forward Lindsay Thomas says the reason is nothing to do with different set-shot routines or overhauled kicking techniques.
It is all about what goes on between the ears.
"It's hard to believe, but I didn't change anything, really,'' Thomas said.
THOMAS WEATHERS BUMP STORM
"The funny thing is I don't think I changed any part of my routine ... it was just about finding that inner belief.
"The first thing I had to do was actually acknowledge that I needed to do something about my kicking for goal. So I spoke to Tara (Kavanagh), who's the club psychologist and went through the challenges that I was facing.
"The way I saw it was that my football couldn't get any lower than it was, so the only way forward was to progress upwards."
That nadir came midway through 2011 when Thomas "got to the point where you didn't want the footy in your hands''.
He had kicked 17.29, 7.15 of them from set shots, and had lost confidence to such an extent that he was missing shots from the top of the goalsquare.
"It was pretty mentally draining,'' he said.
North Melbourne small forward Lindsay Thomas, the AFL's leading goal-scorer, has kicked 172 six-pointers in 115 games Picture: George Salpigtidis Source: Herald Sun
His coach Brad Scott said at the time: "We're well aware it's a (mental issue). He's a very good kick - very good kicks don't miss (shots like) that.''
Privately Scott approached Thomas and began the process of rebuilding a scarred psyche.
"I'm a confidence player,'' Thomas said, "and all that Brad said was, `Look, go back to the VFL and try to find that enjoyment in your footy'.
"So I went back for, I think, three weeks and kicked a few goals and then came back for the last three games of the year, and the turnaround started there.
"It had to. I just felt that I was letting my teammates down.''
With the help of Kavanagh, forwards coach Brett Allison and teammates Brent Harvey and Daniel Wells, Thomas realised that part of the problem was that he was putting so much pressure on himself not to miss.
He also had so many thoughts going through his mind while lining up that he wasn't concentrating on kicking the ball.
The key was to stay relaxed and focused rather than to change his run up or ball drop.
"I've got the utmost respect for Brad Scott,'' the 25-year-old said.
"He could have just dumped me and left me there to sort myself out, but he went back and played me and showed a lot of faith in me.
"Having a coach like that in my corner, well, it just meant that I love playing for him and love being part of his team.''
Thomas also devoted the next 18 months to "working my backside off on getting fitter and stronger.''
Becoming more powerful also meant that he was better at staying on his feet, helping to address another perceived flaw in his game: staging for free kicks.
Thomas said the coach told him at the end of 2011 that he was "a more damaging player when you keep your feet''.
"A few years ago he did talk to me about it, but not recently,'' Thomas said.
"If he said I needed to pull back, then I would. He's the only person I really need to listen to. Him and the other coaches and my teammates. But Brad has told me that he's loving the way I'm playing my footy at the minute.''
From the opening six games of this season Thomas has kicked 23.8 - a conversion rate of 74 per cent - and he heads the league's goalkicking table.
If he is still there after Round 23 he will be the first small forward to win the Coleman Medal since Hawthorn's Leigh Matthews in 1975 with 67 goals.
But Thomas has learned not to waste his time over-thinking.
Rather, he trains his mind to what is in front of him, in this case the game against the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium tomorrow.
"It's always good to snag a few early in the season,'' Thomas chuckled.
"It's good for the confidence.''
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