Tackling was one thing I really thought was going to be a staple of Neeld's gameplan along with aggression and genuine hunger for getting the pill. For a team that spends so long without the ball, the tackling is flat-out embarrassing.

Swallow got 17 (SEVENTEEN) tackles while carving up the midfield and collecting a lazy 32 possessions (17 contested).

Our best tackling effort was McKenzie/Trengove with 6, next best after that was Spencer with 5. And yes, you're reading that right. Jake Spencer, outright 3rd best tackler for the day.

I know there's a plethora of problems at the club but this is the one that's really annoying me, it's a basic of the game and low tackle counts usually suggest low accountability, laziness and a serious lack of effort.

I can remember Cyril Rioli getting over 10 tackles in a 1st quarter, over the first 18 rounds a MFC player has laid 10 or more tackles in a game on only 3 occasions (McKenzie twice and Trengove once).

Mitch Robinson coined the phrase "bruise free footy" and from a tackling perspective, it's irrefutable.

Exactly...I can understand the skills need improving and the fitness,learning the game plan.

But...there is no excuse for lack of desperation and pressure on the opposition.

It's not the quantity, it's the quality of tackling that concerns me more.

It's not the quantity, it's the quality of tackling that concerns me more.

Exactly right

This is a big big issue for us.

Only Trengove ,MacKenzie ,Frawley and maybe Grimes know how to tackle effectively .

Melbourne Storm train next door.-We should ask them.

when a team cuts us apart like north melbourne did today, im not surprised that we didnt have high tackle numbers. we seemed to be chasing all day. as clint says, its more about the quality, we need to make sure we are sticking tackles, and not letting a player get an easy handball out. improved fitness will help with the quantity.

You can't tackle somebody from 3 metres behind them.

It's not the quantity, it's the quality of tackling that concerns me more.

I'd say with more quantity will come better quality.

Take Watts (who averages 1.7 tackles a game) or Martin (1.4), the team isn't going to improve much if those 1 or 2 tackles a game become more effective.

I could however see a big improvement if a few of the players averaging under 2 tackles a game started laying more of them.

My impression is the lack of tackling is related to our overall main problems:

-Lack of speed: too slow to catch anyone and too slow to react

-Lack of spread: we're not near the opposition players

-"Clumping": see above, but we crowd each other around the ball

Tackling is a mindset first and skill second. Losing is something I've learnt to take, but the Melbourne way of tackling (holding an arm out as the opponent runs past) is very disappointing.

On another note I'd also love to see some sheperding from our players. It happens to us often enough. You'd hope they would think we could do it too.

And you know why... because it works.

The pathetic tackle attempt, if you could even call it that, by Joel MacDonald that gave the Kangas their second goal set the tone of the day for me. I could understand that happening to a skinny kid but a senior player has no excuses. Second in patheticness only to Moloney being pushed off the contest by the midget Matt Campbell (#33). This in addition to his 3 wild bombs into the vacant forward line instead of looking at shorter options sealed the deal for me that Moloney should be dropped at the end of the year or retained on a serious pay-cut as a depth player.