WHY can't we tackle?

[scarecrow2k1]

Everyone knows we have issues with tackling as a club. We rarely ever beat our opposition in the tackle count.
No longer does it seem a problem with player hardness, as we are one of the best sides in the competition in winning the hard ball.
Is it that we have some passengers who simply don't get many tackles?
Perhaps incorrect coaching at the club?
Why is this still a problem

 

[bigrayohall20]

And i thought we had some Rugby guy come down to training. Or was it the Storm? Cant remember.
Anyways a couple of Tamblings efforts on Sunday were pretty awful but i just laughed it off because we were up by so much. Against Carlton though i remember an attempt from Deledio on the Half Back Flank which was just as bad. That one really pissed me off.

 

[scarecrow2k1]

Tambling tends to get a fair few tackles, don't think he is the main culprit

 

[tiggywigs]

Everyone knows we have issues with tackling as a club. We rarely ever beat our opposition in the tackle count.
No longer does it seem a problem with player hardness, as we are one of the best sides in the competition in winning the hard ball.
Is it that we have some passengers who simply don't get many tackles?
Perhaps incorrect coaching at the club?
Why is this still a problem

Answer: Lack of big hard bodies. Things will change. Watch as the boys put on muscle over the next two to three years.

 

[beaver fever]

Terry's love of soft skinny outsiders means they aren't very good at doing hard things like tackling and playing football.

 

[Rayzorwire]

Terry's love of soft skinny outsiders means they aren't very good at doing hard things like tackling and playing football.

Who are these "soft skinny outsiders" Wallace has supposedly riddled our list with?

I'll give you McMahon, who else? Bowden? Tivendale? Hardly Wallace era recruits are they? Howat? Hardly being rewarded for being soft and outside is he?

Edwards and Tambling will both be mids who win their own ball inside...beyond that small handful of players, who are you talking about?

Time to separate myth and legend about Wallace from reality.

As for tackling, we tend to zone off and pick up the contested ball rather than force stop-play contests - which is why we're up the top in contested ball and low in the tackle count. With no dominant ruckman, a lack of fitness in many of the juniors rotated through the centre, and what is currently a midfield without a great deal of depth, we have to play an interception and first-use attack brand of football based on zoning, not a 'maul them at the stoppages' Swans brand.

I'm sure Wallace has an amazed chuckle over the fact that somehow he's managed to be simultaneously known as a 'dirty' coach for the highly physical way he won games with the Dogs, and also a coach whose sides are chock full of 'soft outsiders.'

It's pretty hilarious right?

 

[beaver fever]

Wallace picks these players Razor. Perhaps I should have specified you don't have to be skinny to be an soft outsider. Hyde, Tivendale, McMahon, Bowden with high picks used on JON and Meyer.

Newman and Brown are others that are hopeless at the defensive aspects of the game.

Look of course I am being pedantic and over the top here, but you can't deny the fact we have a team that can't tackle.

 

[Strawbs]

Some good calls Razor - especially about the game style and Wallace. Disagree on McMahon but he does seem to polarise opinion doesn't he? Reckon if he wasn't there last week (and on a number of occasions this year) we would have been bemoaning the fact that we didn't have a runner off half-back who could hit a target. Bigger bodies will definitely help the tackles stick. Same reason we don't knock off the big guns - too physically strong for us at this stage.

 

[mitch richmond]

Wallace picks these players Razor. Perhaps I should have specified you don't have to be skinny to be an soft outsider. Hyde, Tivendale, McMahon, Bowden with high picks used on JON and Meyer.

Newman and Brown are others that are hopeless at the defensive aspects of the game.

Look of course I am being pedantic and over the top here, but you can't deny the fact we have a team that can't tackle.

I reckon Newman is fantastic at the defensive aspects of his game. When opponents are running at him he often causes a turnover or at least a contest. I feel a lot safer when he's in the side and working hard in the back pocket/half back area.

I love it when Bowden is slagged off. He's a gun, class player, good decision maker (as seen through his effort to leave his man and help out Kelvin Moore in Port game to win it for us). Get a game in any defence in league.

As for JON - He is 20 years old, 20!!!!! Not 21! Not 24! Not 32! Not 86! TWENTY!!!!! Woo Hoo!!!! 20!!!!! 6 foot 2, athletic and wait for it .....20!!!!!

 

[beaver fever]

As for JON - He is 20 years old, 20!!!!! Not 21! Not 24! Not 32! Not 86! TWENTY!!!!! Woo Hoo!!!! 20!!!!! 6 foot 2, athletic and wait for it .....20!!!!!

and hopeless.

 

[TigerCleavage]

hopefully tackling and pressure will be big focus over the summer.

 

[Rayzorwire]

Wallace picks these players Razor. Perhaps I should have specified you don't have to be skinny to be an soft outsider. Hyde, Tivendale, McMahon, Bowden with high picks used on JON and Meyer.

Hyde, Tivendale and Bowden are what Wallace inherited and they are all borderline players or never to be played again now, so let's leave them aside eh?

McMahon has been good value, Meyer has been crippled by injury, JON was always going to take a while to develop an AFL frame - he'll only ever be wiry, but he has good height and he's certainly not soft.

Newman and Brown are others that are hopeless at the defensive aspects of the game.

You won't get an argument from me on that mate, but again, they're players Wallace inherited.

I think we've drawn a pretty good balance with our drafting between getting skill and run with skinnier blokes like Tambling and Edwards, and getting solid grunts like Pattison, Polo and King.

Look of course I am being pedantic and over the top here, but you can't deny the fact we have a team that can't tackle.

It's an area we must improve a bit more in, but our deficiencies ATM stem from the age, fitness and strength of the players concerned and the side as a whole, not what will ultimately be their tackling ability once they're fully grown and fit.

 

[Roachy8]

Terry's love of soft skinny outsiders means they aren't very good at doing hard things like tackling and playing football.

I disagree re skinny being the problem.
You don't have to be a hugely strong player to tackle well... you just need to want to tackle as well as have the basic technique.

Our own Andrew Krakeour was an excellent tackler IMO & then you have a look at the likes of Cyril Rioli & Leroy Jetta... little guys but they really go after the player with the ball.

Too many of our guys dont have a good technique, (go with a stiff arm that just bounces off the player rather than going with a strong, rounder arm to "wrap them up" more) or they have a go without optimum tenacity.
You need to also "drive" through with the legs to really make the hit stick.

I agree with posters suggesting this needs to be a prime objective over summer this time.

Tackling is one of those things that... if you get it right, other good stuff will follow.

 

[IDGAF]

You won't get an argument from me on that mate, but again, they're players Wallace inherited.

Wallace "inherited" Nathan Brown did he ?

LMAO @ that

What were you saying before about myths and legends ?

 

[scarecrow2k1]

I don't believe he are a soft team, else we wouldn't be close to league leaders in winning the hard ball. Interesting theory about the zoning off though

 

[Peter SasseGum]

Tigers are more than hard enough at the ball, and our tackling is much improved this year.

Every opposition side knows that when they play Richmond they're in for a tough, physical contest that will fully test all aspects of their game.

Tigers can now push the best sides at everything; strength at the ball, skills on the ground and general team unity are some of the trademarks of this current crop of Tiger stars.

Well done to TW and his assistants for developing a group of players who are challenging themselves to goto the next level, making this side truly "Tiger Tough"

 

[Rayzorwire]

Some good calls Razor - especially about the game style and Wallace. Disagree on McMahon but he does seem to polarise opinion doesn't he? Reckon if he wasn't there last week (and on a number of occasions this year) we would have been bemoaning the fact that we didn't have a runner off half-back who could hit a target.

No doubt Strawbs. This year McMahon is rebounding fast, long and direct, last year we had Raines kicking his sky punts which result in instant turnovers or a total loss of momentum at best, or going short, wide or backwards, or trying to break a line then not having the pace and getting caught, or making a poor decision and gifting the opposition an inside-50.

McMahon is setting up fast, positive ball movement 80% of the time he gets the ball. We haven't had that luxury from a rebounding backman since Cameron was around - and he made us a much better side almost single-handedly by doing that.

McMahon's not in the same class as Cameron, but he can do a similar job and there's no doubt he's head and shoulders above what he had.

Bigger bodies will definitely help the tackles stick. Same reason we don't knock off the big guns - too physically strong for us at this stage.

Absolutely mate.

 

[TimeFor11]

Well lets go through it.

Newman - Good chaser not so good at hitting the hips and pinging a man
Thursfield - Good tackler
Deledio - Very good tackler starting to make his man earn it aswell
Simmonds - Dont think he knows what it is
Brown - Prefer's to steer clear of this duty but he is a forward so I can take it
Riewoldt - Not bad actually hits the man hard
Cotchin - Like Foley very good raps himself around the bloke like he is humping a tree.
Edwards - The idea is there just cant hold on yet.
Bowden - Can tackle doesnt have great pace
Richo - HAHAH
McMahon - Prefer him to be chasing players fend him off quite easily
Polo - The boy can tackle
McGuane - Probably our best tackler and guess what he is from QLD those Rugby boys know how to do it.
Johnson - Good
Morton - when he cbf he is good
Tuck - Good
Coughlan - No he doesnt get a game but did I love how he tackles
Schulz - Not bad couple of really good ones on the w/e
Pattison - alot better than Simmo
Tambling - Chaser does it ok
Hughes - See Richo
White - Good
Connors - Edwards case probs
Moore - pretty good
Foley - Same as Cotch

So we have some that are good but not enough specialists, and we have some that dont really know what it is, I think we do zone off more than other teams and that is one of the reasons.

 

[beaver fever]

White has impressed me a lot with his tackling.
Deledio not so much.
Mitch Morton has been pretty decent too.
Cotchin's tackle on D.Kerr on Sunday was sensational.

just some thoughts.