Tackle Titans: Every team’s best pressure players ranked

Pressure is a priority measure for premiership teams and tackling is perhaps the biggest key performance indicator. These are the players and teams excelling at the tough stuff this season. EVERY PLAYER AND TEAM RANKED.

Pressure has never been more in vogue in footy than it is in 2022, after Richmond turned the dial to 11 during its triple AFL premiership dynasty.

And there is no better measure for pressure than tackles.

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The beauty about applying pressure to opposition is it is not capped by skill. Effort is oft spoken about as the key cornerstone to many a quality player and team and it is there that the best tackling – and by association pressure – teams base their performances.

The Bulletin has delved deep into the stats from the QAFL season through to round 8 and arrived on the top five tacklers from each team – and ranked every team based on its average tackles per game.

These are the players who, rain, hail or shine, you can bank on to put their bodies on the line to get their team across it.

1st – LABRADOR (72.3 per game)

PLAYER TOTALS:

Cam Ellis-Yolmen (37)

Joshua Deacon (36)

Connor Ambler (28)

Tom Simpson (27)

Tyler Brown (24)

Noosa's Jai Fitzpatrick racks up touches but also loves a tackle. Picture: Craig Slaney Sports Photography.

2nd – NOOSA (71.0 per game)

PLAYER TOTALS:

Tom Templeton (39)

Aaron Laskey (37)

Jai Fitzpatrick (34)

Joshua Wallis (30)

Sebastian Rogers (30)

3rd – REDLAND-VICTORIA POINT (69.0 per game)

PLAYER TOTALS:

Caleb Franks (46)

Thomas Matthew (41)

Brock Aston (38)

William Johnson (33)

Campbell Aston (32)

Redland-Victoria Point Sharks midfielder Caleb Franks has the equal-most tackles in the QAFL this season. Photo: Highflyer Images

4th – SHERWOOD (66.2 per game)

PLAYER TOTALS:

Bruce Reville (24)

Will Fletcher (24)

Sterling Mitchell (21)

Luca Winton (21)

Abdullah Haddad (19)

5th – MT GRAVATT (63.2 per game)

PLAYER TOTALS:

Bailey Tome (27)

Joel Leahy (21)

Harry Milford (18)

Daine Macdonald (18)

Harrison Gobbie (17)

Luke O’Sullivan (17)

Dylan Smith (17)

6th – WILSTON GRANGE (62.8 per game)

PLAYER TOTALS:

Hugh Fidler (33)

Gavin Thompson (25)

Harry Wilson (23)

Matthew Payne (23)

Daniel Lanthois (20)

Marly McGregor (20)

Tyler Cornish has the equal-most tackles of any player in the QAFL so far this season. (Photo by Albert Perez/AFL Media/Getty Images)

7th – PALM BEACH CURRUMBIN (62.0 per game)

PLAYER TOTALS:

Tyler Cornish (46)

Jed Harrison (32)

Jack Granville (24)

Ashton Crossley (21)

Brad Stafford (20)

Thomas Thynne (20)

Cooper Portelli (20)

8th – ASPLEY (59.5 per game)

PLAYER TOTALS:

Reece Toye (41)

Brandon Batchelor (22)

Jordan Hayden (21)

Will Wolbers (19)

Ryan Banks-Smith (19)

Mitchell Crawley (19)

9th – MORNINGSIDE (57.8 per game)

PLAYER TOTALS:

William Pendlebury (29)

O’Neill Moncrieff (28)

Jack Chapman (26)

Wilson Barry (24)

Tom Jeffrey (23)

Max Lower leads Broadbeach in tackles this season. Picture credit: Brooke Sleep Photography.

10th – BROADBEACH (52.3 per game)

PLAYER TOTALS:

Max Lower (37)

Brandon Chadwick (34)

Brayden Taylor (25)

Jackson Fisher (23)

Sam Jasper (18)

11th – MAROOCHYDORE (52.0 per game)

PLAYER TOTALS:

Joshua Govan (32)

Hamish Govan (27)

Jake Warren (24)

Zac Stone (23)

Sam McLachlan (19)

Joshua Govan and his brother Hamish lead Maroochydore for tackles. Picture: Andy Brownbill

12th – SURFERS PARADISE (39.4 per game)

PLAYER TOTALS:

Harrison Fraser (19)

Jack Yelland (11)

Cameron Topping (11)

Nick Scott (11)

Benjamin Woodburn (11)