Auckland, New Zealand, April 26, 2009 – Big defensive numbers are nothing new to Vodafone Warriors workaholic back rower Micheal Luck but last night he topped all comers by making an NRL record 74 tackles in the 14-14 extra-time draw with the Storm at Olympic Park.
By halftime he had already made 29 tackles, well on track to better his average per game so far in 2009 of 43.
But in the following 50 minutes (the second half plus the 10-minute golden point period), he blew everything out of the water making a further 45 - a phenomenal 74 for the match. Not only that, Luck missed just one tackle and had no ineffectives.
That leaves Luck with 289 tackles in just six matches this year, having missed one with injury (an average of a fraction more than 48 tackles a match to date).
He's not at the top of the list, though. Leading everyone so far this year is one of Luck's rivals tonight, Melbourne loose forward Dallas Johnson.
He wasn't far behind Luck at Olympic Park with 64 tackles, taking him past 350 having played all seven matches so far this season.
