Zac Lomax insists a change to his goal-kicking tee will pay off long term, with the St George Illawarra centre in the midst of a horror run of crucial misses.
Usually one of the NRL's straightest shooters, Lomax has endured a difficult start to the year with his strike rate of 60 per cent the lowest off all frontline kickers.
That figure is well down on his career mark of 78.3 per cent before this season, with Lomax's misses the difference in the Dragons' last two losses.
Lomax's dip in kicking has coincided with off-season changes to his technique, with the 23-year-old switching to a lower tee on the advice of maestro Daryl Halligan.
"If you look at him, he works with Nicho Hynes, Nathan Cleary, Shaun Johnson and Matt Burton. They are all on a lower tee," Lomax told AAP.
"I just moved to that. It's obviously different to the tee I am using. But I have learnt heaps from him.
"It's a work-in-progress, but I know I am a good striker of the ball and I am confident that I can keep kicking well.
"It shouldn't take too long to adapt. I should have kicked some that I haven't, I am disappointed about that. But that's the way footy rolls and I keep practising."
Lomax's change in tee equates to a difference of the ball being around 2cm lower, with the majority of Halligan's kickers going off close to 7cm.
Halligan, who works with several players across the NRL, is of the view the best kickers across both rugby codes work with the lower tee.
"If you put a football on a rotring master, you might be able to kick it up but you wouldn't steer it in the right direction," Halligan said.
"I have always been a believer that the lower the tee, the better the balance. You take players like Dan Carter or Jonny Wilkinson or Cameron Smith.
"A player who would have bucked the trend is Johnathan Thurston. You can do it, that is the talent the guys have.
"But if they are comfortable on a lower tee, I am in favour of that."
Halligan also backed Lomax to be able to turn around his kicking form quickly as he adapts.
"It takes some people longer than others to get comfortable with the change," Halligan said.
"But Zac has really good energy. He puts things behind him pretty quickly and looks forward to the next thing. That's what he should do and that's what he does do.
"There are many parts to goal-kicking and he is working hard on his shape and trajectory and all things like that.
"I am pretty sure there are a couple of good days ahead of him."
