Shute Shield Grand Final: Tane Edmed’s no-frills kicking in Eastwood v Gordon
Eastwood gun Tane Edmed booted his club into today’s Shute Shield grand final showdown but can his no-frills approach secure a premiership? FULL GRAND FINAL COVERAGE HERE
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There’s no wiggling, shuffling, twitching, hand movements or tugging of shorts when Tane Edmed lines up to kick a ball.
No tapping on the shoulder, heart or forehead, strutting, twerking, knee bends or strange stances.
His pre-kick routine is free of bizarre rituals, jiggling and dance moves.
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His is a no-frills approach and it works for the 20-year-old red head from Five Dock who has signed with the Waratahs and is hoping to end his first season of Shute Shield with a grand final win on Saturday after nailing four penalty goals to score every point in Eastwood’s torrid 12-9 win over Northern Suburbs in their elimination final last Sunday.
The wiggling and things, I kind of used to try that stuff but for me simple is better
“I have always loved kicking, kicking in general is what I love,’’ said Edmed, one game away from winning a major title in his first season of Shute Shield with the Eastwood rugby club. “I wasn’t always the best football player but I was always a decent kicker.
“The wiggling and things, I kind of used to try that stuff but for me simple is better.
“I video my kicking and look at my technique and sometimes I overcomplicate things so I have to be careful.
“I just do five steps back, one scrape, three and a half to the side, a little scrape on the ground, look up, look at where I want it to go, walk in and kick it. Not too much fuss.
“As a goal kicker, the best compliment you can get is to be told you look cool and calm.”
Edmed finished his first regular season of Shute Shield as the third most prolific point scorer (116) behind Southern Districts’ Christian Kagiassis (130) and Gordon’s Rodney Iona (123).
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The youngster, who moved from Randwick to get more opportunity at Eastwood, has played every game of the competition since making his debut in round one and kicking his first conversion of the season.
“Tane is is one of the best goal kickers in the comp. He’s an outstanding kid who plays like a 10 year veteran,” praised Eastwood coach Ben Batger.
Edmed said he is thrilled to be playing in the grand final and hoping to go one better that runner-up with the Randwick first colts side last year.
“This is very important. This Eastwood team, I have just loved it, loved being with them,’’ he said
SHUTE SHIELD GRAND FINAL
Gordon v Eastwood
Leichhardt Oval
3pm