The Crows improved significantly in key statistical areas, including contested possession, clearances and scores last season but ranked 16th in the competition in tackles.
Adelaide averaged 58.3 tackles per game in 2012 compared to premiers the Sydney Swans, who laid 73.2 tackles a match. Only expansion teams Gold Coast (54) and Greater Western Sydney (58) averaged fewer tackles than the Crows. Of the top eight tackling teams in the League, five qualified for finals.
Sanderson said his side would also look to improve the efficiency of its tackling.
“Tackling is probably the No.1 area for improvement this pre-season,” Sanderson told afc.com.au.
“We’re a very physical side and won our fair share of contested ball this year, but you can’t play consistent finals footy if you’re bottom four in the competition in tackles, which we were.
“The majority of areas we improved considerably, but our tackling was one area we didn’t improve on throughout the year, so we’ll be having a big summer of tackling.
“We’ll increase the wrestling component of our pre-season to ensure we make our tackles stick too.”
Read the rest of Part Three of afc.com.au’s interview with Brenton Sanderson
