Forward line ‘firepower’ has been a recruiting focus for Adelaide this trade period, but through its astute selections the Club has addressed another area for improvement – defensive pressure.

After securing Carlton livewire Eddie Betts and Geelong premiership player James Podsiadly, the Crows now boast two players ranked top-10 in the AFL for forward 50m tackles over the past four years.

A two-time leading goalkicker with the Blues, Betts is the No.1 player in the competition for tackles inside attacking 50m between 2010 and 2013. The skilful small forward has laid 137 forward 50m tackles in the last four seasons, narrowly edging out former teammate Jeff Garlett (136). Betts also ranks No.1 in the League for score assists (195) in the past five years.

Renowned for his strong marking and accurate goalkicking, Podsiadly is also a fierce tackler. The mobile key forward has laid 115 tackles inside forward 50m in his AFL career, which started in 2010. This ranks him seventh – level with West Coast spearhead Josh Kennedy – in the League in the past four years. Podsiadly is also second in the competition for contested marks in this period.

As a team, the Crows ranked 13^th in the AFL for tackles inside forward 50m (198) in 2013 – the top four teams in this statistic also happened to be the top four sides on the AFL ladder this year:  Sydney (320), Geelong (302), Fremantle (273) and Hawthorn (269).

Prior to the trade period, Adelaide’s top-ranked player for forward 50m tackles in 2010-13 was aggressive Crow Jared Petrenko, who has laid 75 (ranked 32^nd overall).

Forward 50m tackles in the AFL 2010-13
Eddie Betts (Adelaide) - 137
Jeff Garlett (Carlton) - 136
Lance Franklin (Sydney) - 130
Chris Mayne (Fremantle) - 125
Jack Riewoldt (Richmond) - 122
Jude Bolton (Sydney) - 120
James Podsiadly (Adelaide) and Josh Kennedy (West Coast) – 115
Cyril Rioli (Hawthorn) – 114
Lindsay Thomas (North Melbourne) – 111