Tackling tackles

The game is simple.

During the mid-season bye I spent some time going back through a number of figures that I’ll expand on over the coming weeks, before pulling everything together in my end-of-season review.

One area that continues to stand out is Essendon’s defensive game.

For too long the Bombers have simply been too easy to play against, allowing opposition sides to find uncontested marks, uncontested possessions and move the ball end to end with far too little resistance. That has placed enormous emphasis on how effective they must be in attack mode, and as we’ve seen throughout 2026, it hasn’t been enough to cover the shortcomings the other way.

For this piece I’m concentrating on one of the most basic aspects of football: tackling.

More specifically, I’m looking at the individuals, because there are some disappointing, some poor and some downright abysmal numbers from players in one of the game’s simplest defensive fundamentals.

Currently Essendon ranks 17th for applying an effective tackle per opposition possession, with a rate of 7.75. That is a slight improvement on my last measurement after Round 8, when it was 8.09, but it remains nowhere near the AFL average of 6.41, nor the competition leaders Adelaide (5.1), Fremantle (5.6), Sydney (5.7) and Hawthorn (5.8), all of whom currently sit inside the top five on the ladder.

Below is a table laying out all 37 Essendon players to have featured this season, showing games played, how often they’ve laid three or more tackles, and tackles per 100 minutes on ground.

There are some startling numbers to get through.

To Round 15, only twice has Essendon had more than half the team execute three or more tackles in a game, once against Gold Coast in Round 6 and again in Round 10 against Fremantle. Three tackles is hardly a high bar to reach.

In nine of their 14 games to this point, fewer than 10 players have been able to lay three or more tackles, including eight games where only seven players did so. It is not unrealistic to expect better than this.

To start the season, only once in the opening five rounds did Essendon have more than nine players lay three or more tackles, with the average over that period under seven. It highlights how poorly prepared they were compared to the rest of the competition.

Even in their sole victory in Round 5, Essendon had only six players with three or more tackles, which says a lot about how the game was played to get the win, and why that method is not sustainable long term.

Name names.

Some experienced players, as well as some with important roles to play, are letting the side down repeatedly this year, while for others, new expectations must be set as they mature into the next wave of Bombers.

Archie Perkins has played 10 games and has not once this year laid more than two tackles, including five games with just one. This is a player currently unsigned for 2027, and while there has been some improvement in his overall impact since returning to the seniors after Round 9, higher standards must be set for his remaining games this season.

Another who has yet to lay more than two tackles in a game is Mason Redman, which is quite phenomenal for a defender, and extremely disappointing for an experienced player in the leadership group.

This has never been a strength of his, averaging fewer than two tackles per game across his previous three seasons, and this year has been even worse.

Where are the actions to match the talk, Mason?

Nik Cox, another without a contract for 2027, must be scrutinised as well as commended for his return to full health, but Essendon must demand more from its middle-tier age bracket and expect more than one tackle per game in five of his six appearances, with the other being zero.

Vision hasn’t been too kind to Kyle Langford this year, with multiple occasions showing opposition players breaking through his weak attempts to hold on. In 11 of his 14 games he has been unable to lay more than two tackles, and since the start of 2024 only 17 times from a possible 46 games has he hit three or more.

Further disappointing efforts from the defensive group, with captain Andrew McGrath averaging the second worst return of his career, with only four games of more than two tackles. One of his 11 games I will excuse due to injury, but as a leader this must be better.

Key defenders are not primarily judged on ground-level pressure, but with so much ball coming at them this year (Essendon is giving up over 55 inside 50s), Ben McKay must still be able to lay more than two tackles. The only time he has done so was as a forward and ruck against West Coast, and in four other games as a defender he failed to register a tackle at all. Yuck.

Zach Reid has been partnered with McKay down back and has seen plenty of action, but on four occasions he has failed to lay a tackle, all of those coming in the opening eight rounds.

Xavier Duursma has struggled in many areas this year, and as a player who is part of Essendon’s midfield mix and responsible for defensive transition, only four games of three or more tackles is not close to the required standard for an eighth-year player and senior figure in this inexperienced side.

Now I need to get onto the younger brigade, because while they are being led on-field by their more experienced and hardened teammates, they still need to pull their own weight regularly and show they are the future of Essendon.

Nate Caddy’s issues in being able to impact without the footy are multifaceted, but his biggest problem is his inability to lay a glove on anyone, largely because he finds himself either marking or out of the contest when the ball is not in his hands. He needs to become more realistic in his approach in the air, and keep his balance better to use his natural reflexes at ground level as well.

Zak Johnson cannot be finishing four of his five games this year with zero tackles.

Across his career, only twice in 14 games has he had more than one. There are two basic parts to football, Zak, and it cannot just be what you do with the ball.

Jacob Farrow, Max Kondogiannis and Hussein El Achkar have had a tough introduction to AFL football, but all three will need to improve their tackling execution over the preseason, as too often their hold is broken at key moments.

Archie Roberts is a magnet for the football but needs development in getting lower and using his arms more effectively to lock in opponents.

While averaging over 30 disposals per game is impressive, of the 36 players this season averaging 25 or more, he lays the fewest tackles per game. Only once has he had more than two tackles this year, with three against Carlton in Round 13, and on 10 other occasions he has had one or less.

Roberts clearly has the right intent for Essendon’s future, but he needs to channel it more defensively.

Another uncontracted player at a crossroads is Elijah Tsatas.

While many will point to limited AFL exposure and inconsistent game time, adjusting all players’ tackling impact to per 100 minutes has Tsatas 99th of 114 midfielders to have played six or more games this year.

His issues are multi-layered, including strength and inability to consistently run both ways. Brad Scott was criticised for his review earlier in the year, but here, he is justified.

Let’s brighten it up.

For a player in his first full season, Archer May has shown he can win his own ball aerially while also making it difficult for opponents to exit his area.

We will excuse his game against West Coast after going down early injured, but in three of his nine other games he has laid three tackles, including five against Richmond in Dreamtime and eight against Gold Coast in Round 6, both equal most among Essendon players.

He is a good example for Caddy in keeping his feet on landing to stay in the contest for longer.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/8b4dc1_f1bf82605b77492598a24b344daa4f49/file

Archer May keeping his feet to allow him to follow up on the groundball. Vision Fox Footy, AFL

While Zach Merrett hasn’t quite hit his usual standards with the ball, his tackling pressure has been a strong point.

His average of five tackles per game is his second highest since 2019, with only three games of fewer than three tackles in 14, and since Round 8 he has averaged 5.14, more than any other Bomber in that period.

His average of 7.54 tackles per 100 minutes ranks him 30th among midfielders to have played six or more games, with only Jye Caldwell (20th) ranked higher at Essendon, followed by Sam Durham at 36th.

It’s worth noting that Merrett has also had the most missed tackles in the competition. Imagine his numbers if he had stuck even half of the 16 he has let slip.

Sullivan Robey changed Essendon’s clearance profile once he was given responsibility onball.

Since Round 8, when he first started in the centre square, Robey has averaged 3.8, the most of all first-year players. His season average of 3.4 is equal with number one pick from last year’s draft Willem Duursma, with the pair second on the list of players aged 20 or under who have played six or more games.

Archer Day Wicks is number one of all players 20 and under. In fact, his 3.58 average sees him ranked fifth of all players up to 21 years of age, behind only Hugo Garcia of St Kilda, Harvey Thomas of GWS, and the Bulldogs pair Ryley Sanders and Joel Freijah. Here is a player that is certainly earning weekly selection.

The only player to average at least three tackles in every game, albeit from a small sample, is Will Setterfield. If his average of 6.05 from his last 31 games since joining Essendon continues, it becomes difficult not to offer him another contract ahead of others who are not matching his defensive output over that same period.

Deep breath.

There are multiple reasons for such poor tackle numbers this season, with system, development, standards and execution among the biggest.

The method with the football has been a mishmash of contest and high possession. That approach will always fudge the figures, but more importantly, it has and still does leave players confused on where to be and where to go in attack mode, leading to more costly turnovers and intercepts, with teammates out of position and unable to assist.

The last three preseasons I have attended have seen very little training in tackling techniques.

I understand the changes to contact training hours over the preseason have made things more difficult, but as an example over the summer I witnessed just one session of a concentrated drill teaching players to use their arms and not their hands to keep hold of a player. (Yes, I know I didn’t attend every session, but this has also been the opinion of other track watchers I have spoken to.)

The last, and most important, factor has been holding players accountable to high enough standards, something that is not just central to tackling of course.

In the second half of 2026, there are many things Essendon must work on, improve and fix, with tackling a basic one.

Go Bombers!