Sherrin have released a new football design for the first time in its 137 history, and premiership coach Mark 'Choco' Williams believes it should be the way of the future for the AFL.
The new Sherrinย Precision is built with larger points on either end of the ball, and the design increases the size of the kicking impact zone, and it also has a yellow line painted through the seam to provide a guide for the correct spin that a drop punt should have.
"I'm not sure as time goes on why this can't be the normal football," Williams toldย Fairfax Media.
"We replaced small-headed racquets [in tennis], they're all gone. [Thinner]ย cricket bats and golf clubs, no one uses them any more. But at the time everyone thought they were crazy.
"It's more forgiving, that's the idea of it.
"You get more success, so you'll kick more and you'll think; 'yeah, I can do this!'
"Golf clubs, went from little to big, cricket bats โฆ same thing.
"Everyone laughed at those sports when they started โ and I'm saying this is not just for little kids.
"This is for adults, elite players. This is for goal-kickers, for people who miss passes."
The new Sherrin will likely be introduced into Auskick circles across Australia soon, and will than be available for all senior football leagues around the country, including the AFL.
"People like Levi Casboult and set shots for goal โ this would be fantastic for him," Choco said.
Williams began designing the ball with his son for a school project over eight years ago, and the ball has since gone through a lot of testing, with Richmond's Dustin Martin, who joined Williams at the launch, vouching for the new design.
"Choc brought it in last year for a bit of a trial and there was a group of us who got out on the oval and had a bit of a kick with it and a play around," Martin said.
"He does have a few crazy ideas, but I certainly think this one is going to be very good for people wanting to improve their kicking."
