If each melbourne player sets a goal to make one tackle,bump, or smother a quarter that equals 88 for the game, i dont care how young we are if wse can do that we will win games of footy.

Keep it simple stupid

Also, pratice more goal kicking and we will get ahead of the rest because it is well documented that clubs dont spend enough time practising goal kicking

If each melbourne player sets a goal to make one tackle,bump, or smother a quarter that equals 88 for the game, i dont care how young we are if wse can do that we will win games of footy.

Keep it simple stupid

Also, pratice more goal kicking and we will get ahead of the rest because it is well documented that clubs dont spend enough time practising goal kicking

I thought our tackling was great for at least the first half of the game against Port Adelaide.

I think the club has been working on goal kicking due to some accurate scores posted by the Dees so far this year.

I think our tackling is horrible.

From an offensive (when we have the ball and are trying to break tackles) and defensive (when we don't have the ball) point of view. The amount of times from an offensive point of view we can not get our arms free or only one arm free from a tackle resulting in a stoppage or turn over and the amount of times on the defensive side the opposition team does get both arms free from a tackle we lay and get the ball off to a team mate in space or the opposition is able to break our tackles is hugely frustrating.

Yet I still see it as having improved some from last year, we seem to be laying more tackles and more stoppage producing tackles. It still needs to improve significantly for us to be anywhere near the likes of St Kilda who are leading the tackle count so far.

Tackling will improve as young bodies grow stronger and continue to practice the techniques. It as simple as that!

I think our tackling is horrible.

From an offensive (when we have the ball and are trying to break tackles) and defensive (when we don't have the ball) point of view. The amount of times from an offensive point of view we can not get our arms free or only one arm free from a tackle resulting in a stoppage or turn over and the amount of times on the defensive side the opposition team does get both arms free from a tackle we lay and get the ball off to a team mate in space or the opposition is able to break our tackles is hugely frustrating.

Yet I still see it as having improved some from last year, we seem to be laying more tackles and more stoppage producing tackles. It still needs to improve significantly for us to be anywhere near the likes of St Kilda who are leading the tackle count so far.

Yeah, St.Kilda should be the beach mark on how we tackle they were amazing. In 2006 we were ranked 1st in tackles. C`mon boys put on some pressure, tackles,Bumps and chuck in more some 1%ers to lift the work rate.

I think its often a case of our players being shrugged off before they can even execute a tackle properly, rather than not trying at all.

I think the club needs to put more emphasis into tackling at training, perhaps some assistance from the Storm, something ongoing though not a token news grab.

Tackling will improve as young bodies grow stronger and continue to practice the techniques. It as simple as that!

I dont think age has much to do with it.

Plenty of young kids in the comp laying strong tackles consistently every quarter of every match, look at Mitch Robinson & Daniel Rich. Our own Davey re-invented tackling in his very first AFL season.

Whereas our older players are some of our worst tacklers, Bruce is a prime example.

All our players need to practice how do it properly on an ongoing basis.

Torpedo, big bodies that have had more experience practising tackling techniques tackle more effectively no question - that's a fact.

Sure Davey was and still is good in laying tackles. But for every one tackle Davey or the smaller bodied players lay there would be 5 they either miss or are unable to fend off due to their size or lack thereof. Some young kids are good tacklers straight away but as a general comment age and experience has a lot to do with it how good a player tackles.

Torpedo, big bodies that have had more experience practising tackling techniques tackle more effectively no question - that's a fact.

I'd agree with that.

You seem to be assuming we are practising tackling techniques, we are practising them properly and that with time everything will just fall into place and we will be a good tackling side.

I think thats a cop out. Our tackling is poor across the board, many of our senior players are inept tacklers, its not as simple as years in the system, look at Richmond.

Its about technique & more importantly the coaching department's approach to tackling and from where I am sitting there is scope for immediate improvement in these areas.

But by all means just sit back and expect everything to go click when our list's average age hits 23.2 years old or whatever magical point its supposed to happen at.

Plenty of young kids in the comp laying strong tackles consistently every quarter of every match, look at Mitch Robinson & Daniel Rich. Our own Davey re-invented tackling in his very first AFL season.

Whereas our older players are some of our worst tacklers, Bruce is a prime example.

Absolutely spot on.

Another excellent example of a poor (senior player) tackler is Davey. Now before some of you lambaste me with arguements to the opposite, I acknowledge that he does do a few decent rund downs from behind and works his backside off all around the ground. Unfortunately rundowns from behind are rare compared to front/side on (general) tackles and in these situations Davey simply bounces of opponents - very ordinary tackler when the opponent is actually aware of him and is trying to evade him close in. Tackling is an art form with strength and technique components as well as reading the play and not enough of our blokes in general go for the hips, we get the run around too easily and too many close in broken tackles when we are tired.

I think it is time to get the Storm's tackling coach and a few players back to the club.... from memory we did this a few years ago with a fair bit of success..... lets do it again!

Torp, I agree your comments with respect to the MFC. My view was more of a general observation and yes I made the assumption that the training techniques employed at the highest level would deliver the appropriate technical competencies. Perhaps that is a misguided one but generally I think the quality of tackling in the AFL is at a higher level than ever before.

Our intensity at the ball and the tackling has improved immensely on last year. We are just not doing it for four quarters.

FWIW, an assistant Coach for one of the AFL clubs we have played noted that MFC intensity for the contested ball and tackling was much improved from the previous year.

About 41 tackles v Port = not enough.

McDonald will increse the tally but you need to get up around 60 + per game