SuperCoach AFL: Why tackles are so valuable

KICKING goals is great for SuperCoach but tackles are also keys to a big score. And not every tackle is the same. Allow Champion Data to explain.

KICKING goals is great for SuperCoach but tackles are also keys to a big score. But not all tackles are the same.

Every week of the 2016 season Champion Data will lift the lid on the SuperCoach scoring system to unpack a stat that contributes to player scores.

This week the focus is on tackles.

Jack Ziebell brings down Jesse Hogan in a perfect tackle. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

The defensive aspect of SuperCoach is just as important as the offensive.

Teams have lifted in the tackling department with the competition average jumping to 67.4 per game – the second-biggest recorded in any season to date.

A tackle can be defined as using physical contact to prevent an opponent in possession of the ball from getting an effective disposal. If a player has on, two, or more players hanging off him and executes an effective kick or handball, then a tackle will not be awarded.

The most rewarding tackle in SuperCoach is the run down tackle that dispossess a player, or otherwise known as the Cyril Rioli chase-down. This act is rewarded with six SuperCoach points.

A standard tackle, when a player prevents his opponent from disposing of the ball, is worth four SuperCoach points.

If a player is tackled and records a clanger or ineffective disposal — for example, kicking the ball out on the full — the tackler is rewarded with a ‘tackled by’ stat. That is also worth four SuperCoach points.

And Champion Data also records ‘disposessed by’ which applies to players who have won possession but doesn’t get a disposal away.

TACKLES	SUPERCOACH POINTS
Run-down tackle dispossessed	6
Tackle	4
Tackle from dispossessed	4
Tackle by	4

The leading tackler in the competition after four rounds is Andrew Swallow with 35, five more than any other player. He has built his game around relentless tackling and ranks second in the AFL for tackles since debuting in 2006.

Next best are Will Langford and Jack Ziebell with 30 tackles apiece, with the latter’s 19 against Melbourne in Round 3 making up most of his tally. Ziebell had just 19 disposals but scored 124 SuperCoach points that day.

PLAYER	TACKLES
Andrew Swallow	35
Will Langford	30
Jack Ziebell	30
Patrick Cripps	29
Tom Mitchell	29
Scott Thompson	29
Luke Dahlhaus	28
Gary Ablett	27
Zach Merrett	27
Luke Shuey	26

Champion Data also analyses the effectiveness of a tackle. Tackle efficiency is calculated by the percentage of physical pressure acts that lead to an effective tackle. When using this as the measure, Ziebell’s tackle efficiency of 78.9 per cent is the best of the top 10 players in the competition for tackle attempts.

Essendon's Zach Merrett makes a great tackle on Patrick Dangerfield. Picture: Colleen Petch

At the opposing end of that scale is Shane Mumford, recording a tackle efficiency of 56.8 per cent – the lowest of that group. This is a stat Mitch Duncan might find surprising.

PLAYER	TACKLE EFFICIENCY
Jack Ziebell	78.9
Andrew Swallow	72.9
Gary Ablett	67.5
Zach Merrett	67.5
Scott Thompson	67.4
Tom Mitchell	65.9
Patrick Cripps	64.4
Will Langford	63.8
Levi Greenwood	57.8
Shane Mumford	56.8

Winning a free kick for holding the ball is another way a player can be rewarded in SuperCoach for a tackle, with a free kick worth four points.

Adelaide’s Eddie Betts has won six holding the ball frees this year, the most in the comp ahead of Cyril Rioli, Patrick Cripps, Dayne Zorko, Paul Puopolo and Jamie Cripps (four each).

On the other side of the coin, Eagle Luke Shuey has been caught holding the ball more than any other player, giving up six frees for that offence in four games. Tom Hawkins is next worst with four.

Originally published as SuperCoach AFL: Why tackles are so valuable