Backline assistant coach Matthew Boyd says the AFL’s new tackling interpretations only highlight the importance of Fremantle improving in the area this pre-season.
Boyd said the new interpretations, which were released to clubs on Monday, haven’t changed Fremantle’s approach as they continue to focus building their pressure on game days.
The AFL said umpires will now be "less lenient towards players who have had prior opportunity and do not immediately and correctly dispose of the football".
The stricter holding the ball interpretation includes a focus on players ducking into tackles, with clubs warned that "a player who ducks their head prior to being legally tackled" will be penalised more stringently by umpires.
“It hasn’t changed our training at all, it just puts a bigger emphasis on making sure you get the tackle right,” Boyd told SEN WA.
“If you’ve got the right intent to get in there and tackle and that intent is complemented by your technique, you get rewarded for it.
“We’ll embrace that rule and we’ll really hone in and continue to work on making sure that our players are tackling in the right manner, that they’re getting in there and getting after the ball carrier. I think it’s a good thing.”
A 292-game player for the Western Bulldogs, Boyd said he had nothing but admiration for Nat Fyfe as he watches the Fremantle captain recover from shoulder surgery.
“He’s tracking really well. He’s coming back from some significant setbacks from that surgery and he’s now well and truly through those tough times,” Boyd said.
“He’s starting to train really well and we’ll see him early in the season all things going well.
“He’s just such a professional with everything he does. Although he’s had that setback with his shoulder, he’s looked for different ways to get better and to continue to improve himself.
"He’s won two Brownlows and he’s always looking to get better. That’s why he’s such a champion, those sort of players think about what they can do rather than what they can’t do.”
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