I've stated in nearly each of my posts in this thread that he needs to improve his defensive reads....I'm not sure how much more clearly I can make that point.It’s easy to have a low missed tackle count when you stand passive and don’t even lay a hand on the guy you should be tackling. The hit in on Foran when DCE had him marked (for the Khan P try) was stupid. The stand flat footed inside Daly’s pocket for Brimson to stroll through (the Boyd try) was disgraceful defence. None of that will show up in missed tackle counts.
The problem is not his tackling, it’s his reads. He is the equivalent of a 4 year old learning his ABCs. I was really excited for his transition and he is in my top 3 players at Manly, but it’s not working and will cost us games that could be the difference between top 4 or top 8.
When Ben played, he made definitive decisions and acted quickly. He chased hard when he needed to and hit in with confidence when required. He spent all of season training on an edge, yet slotted in perfectly.
The most startling thing is Garrick was typically our most consistent high effort player along with Jake T, week in week out for the last 3-4 years. Suddenly, his only offerings are points for the opposition?
Yet I still maintain the issue is overblown.