I'm pretty new to these forums but thought I'd throw some food for thought out there.

Did anyone notice the huge leap the Dees have taken in tackle sucess ie.tackle sticking during last weeks game against the Swans?

I saw a couple of good tackles early on and from there was watching to see how many tackles we missed. I don't think there was one tackle that was missed that we should have gotten.

I can see this making a big difference to our results as the amount of missed tackles in the past few seasons has been huge.

  On 31/03/2011 at 23:55, WAClark said:

I'm pretty new to these forums but thought I'd throw some food for thought out there.

Did anyone notice the huge leap the Dees have taken in tackle sucess ie.tackle sticking during last weeks game against the Swans?

I saw a couple of good tackles early on and from there was watching to see how many tackles we missed. I don't think there was one tackle that was missed that we should have gotten.

I can see this making a big difference to our results as the amount of missed tackles in the past few seasons has been huge.

Good point, i did notice a couple of big tackles that were laid, especially by Clint Bartram, however he has always been a great defensive player. I have noticed that our players have gotten much bigger and stronger, which enables them to stand up in the tackle more, and win more contested posession..

i noticed that early our blokes were almost too ferocious with the tackles - to the point that they were ending up in the back or over the shoulder of the swans players and giving away free kicks

  On 01/04/2011 at 00:35, DemonWA said:

i noticed that early our blokes were almost too ferocious with the tackles - to the point that they were ending up in the back or over the shoulder of the swans players and giving away free kicks

Yeah true, but I think 'too ferocious' is forgivable sin, especially round 1.

I think it's been a strength of ours for many years.

I noticed it to.

But to me it was noticeable who wasn't playing... Bc all the biggest culprits of missed tackles weren't in the team.

Bate and newton almost never stick tackles, while Morton and even Scully are poor tacklers mainly due to not having the required strength (or perhaps technique?). Strauss is another poor tackler.

Does this show that bate and newton might struggle to get back in the senior team, particularly with our mid-sized forwards n Martin doing ok atm?

  On 01/04/2011 at 02:47, sylvinator said:

I noticed it to.

But to me it was noticeable who wasn't playing... Bc all the biggest culprits of missed tackles weren't in the team.

Bate and newton almost never stick tackles, while Morton and even Scully are poor tacklers mainly due to not having the required strength (or perhaps technique?). Strauss is another poor tackler.

Does this show that bate and newton might struggle to get back in the senior team, particularly with our mid-sized forwards n Martin doing ok atm?

I am a big fan of Martin, but guys, please, it's Round 1 of a 24 round season. He's had 1 performance that warrants another couple of games, he needs to do this on a regular basis. Until then, even Bate and Newton are a chance to play should their form be worthy of selection.

A former topline Rugby coach told me that tackling is mostly in the head. IF you WANT to tackle someone bloody hard, then technique is easy, and can be taught in a very short amount of time (ie 1 or 2 sessions). If such player DOES NOT want to tackle someone hard, you can't teach them to do it.

That's a prett clever way of putting it, and I think correct.

BUT, I think when taught a good technique so that you won't likely get hurt in the act of a tackle can make all the difference MENTALLY, which then has the above mentioned follow-on effect.

I like that advice from the rugby coach about wanting to tackle hard. Jordie McKenzie is a great example of this - he always looks as if it is his life's mission to get the bloke.

I also remember when Jake Spencer was drafted and he said something along lines that he chose footy over basketball purely because he likes hitting bodies hard. An appetite for the tough stuff is a great attribute to have.

*BUMP*

Last year in 2010, one of our clubs shining lights was our competitiveness and appetite to tackle. Leading the way ranked 1 & 2 were: -

• Jordie McKenzie
  
• James McDonald
  

Minus these two and their quick reaction to apply pressure to opposition at stoppages, our clearance work is magnified and the need for others to fill their shoes is paramount. Thankfully on the weekend Gysberts stepped up and played quite well in just his fourth game and contributed to our clearances. Jordie McKenzie is definitely missed and his return in hopefully a few weeks will be welcomed. It will be interesting to see these younguns in McKenzie & Gysberts ply their trade side-by-side and see what influence they have on a stat that really matters.

Our tackling in teh first quarter against the Lions was some of the softest I have seen this team do in recent times.

Agreed, our tackling in the last 2 weeks has been far below where it needs to be.

Jordie being out has hurt our tackle count. We need to find another player capable of laying and sticking tackles on a regular basis. Bartram is solid, but a Jones/Beamer should be having greater numbers when it comes to sticking tackles. Both those boys are strong units.