Essendon veteran Brendon Goddard concedes he needs to improve his tackling numbers.
Goddard has applied no tackles in the last two weeks, a number he says he needs to increase, but he also explained how it isn’t the only indicator of effort.
“I’m admitting my tackle numbers have been low, but that’s one indicator of effort, which there are a number of other areas that we internally value and you can indicate internally your effort across the board and that’s one area where I need to improve,” he told SEN Breakfast.
“That’s just a statistic you guys can easily go to and use to say he isn’t giving effort because he hasn’t tackled.
“It is kind of difficult to know what is going on looking from afar.
“I look at the tackle numbers and say, yeah I need to tackle more, but it’s not the biggest issue of what you’re trying to suggest.
“I admit that needs to improve and I need to improve in that area.
“The tackling is not the only indication.
“It’s a statistic you guys look at to do that, and I understand that.”
Goddard also explained how the Bombers rate a different tackling stat, as opposed to the basic number.
“It’s about opportunity to tackle within your roles in the team,” he said.
“If you look statistically, defenders and outside players are generally low on tackles, so it’s about having an opportunity then to do that.
“We look at missed tackles and the opportunities you did have to tackle or impact the player.”
Listen to Brendon Goddard’s chat with Garry Lyon and Tim Watson on SEN Breakfast in the player below