Daniel Wells is in Ireland as captain of the indigenous team but still has his mind focused on next season with the Kangaroos

Daniel Wells is in Ireland as captain of the indigenous team but still has his mind focused on next season with the Kangaroos. Photo: Sebastian Costanzo



Determined to rebound from a season of narrow defeats and an over-reliance on luck, star playmaker Daniel Wells says the Kangaroos will work to improve their tackling and intensity through what promises to be a rigorous pre-season campaign.


The Kangaroos have identified tackling as a major area of weakness, particularly late in games, with Wells of the belief it contributed to a year in which 10 of their 12 defeats were by less than three goals, with five by less than a goal.


As part of a bumper off-season of coaching and administrative change, the Kangaroos have secured renowned tackling coach John Donehue, a former body guard to Nelson Mandela and martial arts expert who has worked at several AFL and NRL clubs.


The Roos were ranked 15th this season for tackles, averaging 58.6 per game, and also finished below the league average in tackle attempts and efficiency.


One focus for the players will be on how to prevent an opponent from still being able to distribute the ball while being tackled.


"We got what we deserved, there is no doubt about that. At crucial times, we weren't able to stem the flow and teams were allowed to get back (into the contest)," Wells said.


"We have looked over those games more than anybody and we understand why the results didn't go our way. At training, tackling is probably the biggest thing we need to work on for next year. We will do doing that."


Donehue, who has also worked at Port Adelaide, Carlton and the NRL's Melbourne Storm, had spent time with the Kangaroos during Wells' formative years.


"He is going to step everything up with our intensity and our aggression and also our technique. He is quite an intimidating man. He just has so much power, so much knowledge," Wells said.


Wells, a joint best-and-fairest winner last season with Scott Thompson, said the Kangaroos would also need to become more disciplined in terms of how to retain possession when the contest was close in the dying minutes.


"There is a bit of that - tempo footy. I think at crucial moments we have gone away from the way we play," he said.


"Every player on our team knows exactly what is expected of them at certain stages . . . a lot of it is mindset, and not just young players but some older players as well.


"We are all in it together. We are looking forward to the pre-season coming up. Normally you don't but when you think you are building to something, you get a bit of momentum into the season."


Donehue is one of several off-field changes, headlined by the return of Geoff Walsh as head of football after a seven-year absence from the club and Leigh Tudor in a key assistant's role.


Wells said the players, having missed the finals last season, now had a responsibility to profit from these moves.


"We have to make sure we complement them on field and that's where it counts. They (club bosses) have set up around us the best they can as they have always tried to do. Obviously, this year they have stepped it up again," he said.


"As a playing group, we will head away to Utah in a month and a bit and work as hard as we can to make sure we keep on improving. That's what the game is all about."


While Wells has the responsibility of captaining Australia in its International Rules series against Ireland, beginning on Saturday, it's clear his mind continues to tick over about a 2013 AFL campaign that "definitely was not acceptable".


"We just want to make sure we take out those moments where you need a bit of luck. You are going to need it at stages but we relied on it too much. That was our own fault," he said.