Skills the tactics of tackling in AFL, as against NRL.

Covertackle

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What's so hard to believe?
Tackling is not that hard as I said it is more about desire.

mate. give up. you tackle with your arms. that may work in the ruck of an AFL mess, but it wont work in either rugby code. no way you were 'the best in the team' ...with arm tackles....lol
 

cos789

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mate. give up. you tackle with your arms.

Just HTF do you know how I tackle? Do you have a little spy cam or something?

Look, I wish I was a natural at Australian Football, whereby kicking, marking and handballing came naturally as they do to some people. I was an erratic kick, an OK handballer and lacked confidence in marking.
Tackling did come naturally to me and I enjoyed played RU and later rl. I was that good.
I later returned to football at a mature age having learned to correct my deficiences.
Hardness isn't neccessarily physical more often then not it's mental.
Marking isn't hard if you think of it as just catching the ball but it's more the fear of stuffing up.

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Covertackle

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Just HTF do you know how I tackle? Do you have a little spy cam or something?
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no. i kept your quote.....


cos789 said:
Well I found tackling relatively easy. What's to it?
1. Wrap your arms around a guy.
2. It's not like kicking that needs power and precision.
3. It's not like marking that needs, judgement, strength and commitment.
4. Even handballing properly is a harder skill to master.

You might have found tackling hard but I didn't !!!

http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/the-tactics-of-tackling-in-afl-as-against-nrl.942470/page-2
 

Covertackle

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Mate, get over it . If you want to read wwIII into a flipant remeark, you've lost it completely.

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every example you gave was wrong. not flippant, just an ignorant statement. you know nothing about tackling and have never player either rugby at a senior level and i doubt you have ever played senior AFL level...
 

cos789

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every example you gave was wrong. not flippant, just an ignorant statement. you know nothing about tackling and have never player either rugby at a senior level and i doubt you have ever played senior AFL level...

Mate, get over it . If you want to read wwIII into a flipant remeark, you've lost it completely.
If you want to read something into something's that's not there well your crazy.

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How would you improve tackling by yourself. Like would you use tackle bags, etc. Or is it all just about footwork and aggression?
 

Covertackle

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How would you improve tackling by yourself. Like would you use tackle bags, etc. Or is it all just about footwork and aggression?

by yourself..? thats pretty hard. someones gotta hold the bag. your girlfriend could do it..

in AFL its getting the opportunity to tackle. in RL its a nessesary skill, plenty of opportunity, and is required for you to be a 'complete' player.

ill presume you mean tackling in AFL.

i honestly dont know how youd do it alone. youve really gotta 'hit' something, and that something has to move, so you can practice the correct shoulder to use in an instant. its the first basic skill i teach kids, even before ball work. 1st i let them realise they have a favourite tackling shoulder, by getting them to tackle a bag front on. they usually use their right shoulder.

i then explain to them why tackling with only one shoulder is dangerous. i explain that if an opponent is running, or steps to the left of you, and you hit him with your right (favourite) shoulder, it puts your head in the way of the collision and the players momentum, often leading to getting hurt, and your head under the tackled player.

so i then get them used to tackling with their left shoulder, front on, nothing fancy on a soft tackling bag. when they get competant using both shoulders, i explain to them that if a player runs to your right, you tackle with your right, if he runs to your left, you tackle with your left. i then have them run at the bag while i hold it straight, i will then suddenly lean it to the left or the right. the child must make an instant decision of which shoulder to tackle with. after a few sessions it soon becomes natural to them.

i then run with the bag to their left, and they 'cover tackle' at half pace with their left shoulder. then i run the opposite way and they practice their right shoulder. front on takling is an opportunity to deliver your favourite shoulder in a tackle. i dont mind if the child hits high under the ball, or goes low round the legs. its what they feel comfortable with that counts. i teach them that the same leg and shoulder should be forward at the moment of impact, then drive using both legs, and using the players momentum to go to the side as you go to ground. your arms should wrap the player the instant you hit with the shoulder.

tackling is an unnatural act. we always naturally try an protect our head, but when we tackle, we are putting our head in harms way, very close to a big collision. it takes a bit of time and getting used to, and the growth of confidence by a child to get used to the concept. not all kids get it, some never do even as adults. some become excellent at an early age. but the strategy is to put your head on the opposite side of the momentum.

in AFL, i still love to see blokes going in shoulder first in tackles. it rattles the opposition as it happens so infrequently, and i believe in AFL they arent taught to do it much. so many 'tackles' you see in AFL are 'arm' tackles, and a player is swung to the ground. when a more effective tackle would have been a shoulder first tackle and lay the bastard out.

but as far as learning 'by yourself', i dont think its possible. you have to get used to having your head close to collision, and being in collisions. even with great coaching, you wont become a great tackler overnight. it takes at least a couple of years an a couple of hundred tackles to get good. just like boxing, you have to learn to get hit. an experienced boxer will ride your punch unhurt, where a novice will be stiff and feel pain.

going on the lack of opportunity k. hunt gets to smash players in big tackles, id suggest tackling isnt a huge requirement for an AFL player. but i do see opportunity often in games, where had hunt been there, it would have been carnage. there is a role for skilled tacklers in AFL. they just dont get the opportunity to use it like in RL.

as for footwork and aggression, id say yes to both, and add timing, especially timing. but first, get your head on the correct side and hit with your shoulder first.
 

cos789

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in AFL, i still love to see blokes going in shoulder first in tackles. it rattles the opposition as it happens so infrequently, and i believe in AFL they arent taught to do it much. so many 'tackles' you see in AFL are 'arm' tackles, and a player is swung to the ground. when a more effective tackle would have been a shoulder first tackle and lay the bastard out.

You obviously don't watch much Australian Football. The objectives are quite different because the situations are usually quite different. The objectives in Australian Football are to primarily to prevent an effective disposal and possibly gain a free kick with hitting the opposition hard as a bonus. The perfect tackle in Australian Footbal lis one which impedes the opposition player in a controlled manner and restricts his ability to legally dispose of the ball thus drawing a penalty for holding the ball/ illegal disosal. The opportunities for a nice bone -jarring hit just don't happen too o0ften for obvious reasons.
 

cos789

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perhaps not as much as you have, but i could teach you to tackle, you couldnt teach me anything...

As i said, I was a natural tackler who played RU and rl so I doubt you could further that.
However you have much to learn about the place of the tackle in Australian Football in particular when and when not to commit yourself.

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storm fan

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Reading through this thread - if there is any kids reading this regardless of which footballing sport you are playing, which exception of association football, you could do far worse than taking Into account Tigernova's points and tips on tackling. Everything he is saying in regards to tackling is correct.
 

Covertackle

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Reading through this thread - if there is any kids reading this regardless of which footballing sport you are playing, which exception of association football, you could do far worse than taking Into account Tigernova's points and tips on tackling. Everything he is saying in regards to tackling is correct.

thanks mate. its an interesting topic.
 

cos789

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Reading through this thread - if there is any kids reading this regardless of which footballing sport you are playing, which exception of association football, you could do far worse than taking Into account Tigernova's points and tips on tackling. Everything he is saying in regards to tackling is correct.

Yes, it's pretty simple, so why not give it a try.

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Tigernova
Thanks
You should make a YouTube video of this, there really is no guidelines on tackling and a lot of players would like to see and learn from it.

Thanks again.
 

Covertackle

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If its so simple then why do some small men tackle so consistently in drills and some big men cant? How do they position there bodies better ?


actually, thats a great idea. i know of 3 kids 9, 11, and 12, that could tackle aechother and bigger kids and open peoples eyes. i havent much time to get it done as we are moving house soon.

but i have been thinking of putting them together for 1 last tackling session. but that is a great idea. the 12yo won a scholarship this season, and the 9yo has been best and fairest for 2 years. the 11yo is an excellent tackler, but small for his age. that is a seriously good idea.

stay tuned. i can TRY AND set this up. i have a 2 day window.
 

Covertackle

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unfortunately i never got those kids together again. 2 of them were away at the gold coast when i went and saw their dad. he was dissapointed also, as he'd have liked to have his boys on youtube.

however after watching junior AFL recently, theres a couple of observations ive made. 1stly, in junior footy bigger kids will sometimes try and run through smaller players, usually successfully. the kids just arent taught to tackle. so here, is an advantage for kids that can tackle.

2ndly, an advantage ive already noticed is the distance, or extended 'range advantage' an effective diving or cover tackler has. when executed correctly. a diving tackle with the tacklers shoulder as the first point of contact, is perhaps more tactically effective in AFL than in RL, as a tackled RL player retains the ball and gets up and plays it. in AFL the tackled player either gets penalized or the ball is contested.

how that would transfer to senior level; i imagine that the need for front on tackling would be rare, while skilled side on and 'chasing' tackles are a great advantage.
 

storm fan

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a diving tackle with the tacklers shoulder as the first point of contact, is perhaps more tactically effective in AFL than in RL, as a tackled RL player retains the ball and gets up and plays it. in AFL the tackled player either gets penalized or the ball is contested.

and the fact that if you aren't tackling like that in Rugby League, you are tackling wrong and leave yourself open to potentially a high number of injuries.
 

Covertackle

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a discussion on the weekend at the footy got me thinking.

i noted to a bloke that there arent many players in the AFL that have the 'intent' to look for big tackles (apart from perhaps campbell brown). the fellow i was talking to said 'what about k Hunt'? it was a good observation. his point being that it is harder to make a tackle in AFL than in league. im not going to argue with that.

so why hasnt hunt laid waste to many AFL players during his stint in AFL?

i had no answer to what he was suggesting right at that moment. later on the answer came to me. hunt hasnt the positional play, the footy smarts, and doesnt get himself in the right places often enough, whereas someone like campbell brown does.

the opportunities to tackle big are there (i see them) but it takes a player with both tackling skills and intent, and the footy nous to be on the spot to make it happen.
 

Spudley

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When I tackle from behind I tend to wrap my arms around just above the oppositions elbows, so it stops the possibility of a handball. Then drop at the knees so that the opposition is then carrying my whole weight (its a bit harder to run with an extra 65 kgs). Pulling back and to the side so as not get into their back.
 

cos789

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When I tackle from behind I tend to wrap my arms around just above the oppositions elbows, so it stops the possibility of a handball. Then drop at the knees so that the opposition is then carrying my whole weight (its a bit harder to run with an extra 65 kgs). Pulling back and to the side so as not get into their back.

That is the preferred way to do things.
The only improvement is to focus on the non ball holding arm so he cannot handpass and is forced to dispose of the ball by kicking which if you've put him off balance causes him to be free-kicked with holding the ball because of incorrect disposal. Of course, you're very lucky if you can a hand on a player most times.
 

Covertackle

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That is the preferred way to do things.
The only improvement is to focus on the non ball holding arm so he cannot handpass and is forced to dispose of the ball by kicking which if you've put him off balance causes him to be free-kicked with holding the ball because of incorrect disposal. Of course, you're very lucky if you can a hand on a player most times.
Ok, a mother comes to you and tells you her son is nervous about tackling; just like what happened to me today....what do YOU say..?


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