Crows call on All Blacks skills coach Michael Byrne to solve goalkicking woes Adelaide Crows coach Brenton Sanderson leading training at Max Basheer Reserve. ADELAIDE has called on an internationally-acclaimed kicking coach to help propel it back up the AFL ladder next season. Hawthorn 1983 premiership ruckman/forward Michael Byrne, who is skills/kicking coach for the All Blacks, worked with the Crows for three days before Christmas and will act as a consultant for the club during 2014. The 55-year-old was an elite kick for goal during his 167-game career for Hawthorn, Melbourne and Sydney from 1977-89, booting 150 majors, and for the past 10 years has worked as a kicking and catching rugby coach in New Zealand, England and Scotland. Renowned for his long, left-foot kicking, Byrne is currently an assistant coach with the Blues in Super Rugby, along with the All Blacks. His expertise was identified by Adelaide chief executive Steven Trigg during his six-month AFL suspension for his role in the Kurt Tippett salary cap scandal. Crows onballer Richard Douglas cools off during training in 34C heat. Crows list manager and acting football manager David Noble said Byrne had been tasked with helping to improve the players' goalkicking after Adelaide ranked a disappointing 14th in goalkicking accuracy last season. The Crows shot at 56.9 per cent accuracy - seven per cent worse than league leader North Melbourne. "In (coach) Brenton Sanderson's end-of-season review one aspect which was identified as a problem was goalkicking," Noble said of an Adelaide side which slumped from third in 2013 to 11th this year. If we had kicked straighter we would have been in many more games. The Crows' main culprits were Josh Jenkins (24.24), Jason Porplyzia (13.14), Shaun McKernan (7.10), Scott Thompson (8.9), Jarryd Lyons (5.6) and Brad Crouch (4.5). Adelaide has trialled many goalkicking coaches in the past few years, including former deadeye dick Darren Jarman, with mixed results. Now it has asked the 200cm Byrne to help forward line coach Mark Bickley add some polish in front of the sticks. "We don't consider our goalkicking to be a major problem but we're just trying to find another small edge which might just make a difference," Noble said. If we can kick one or two more goals a game instead of behinds it could be the difference between a win and a loss in what is an extremely tight competition. Noble said Byrne, who is expected to make the occasional trip to Crows training next season, would work on the players' goalkicking routines and techniques as well as their mindsets when lining up set shots.