West Coast midfielder Matt Priddis has scoffed at claims the Eagles are ducking on purpose, claiming their hard-at-it AFL style is the reason why they win so many free kicks for high tackles.

Last Saturday, Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson criticised the Eagles’ knack of dropping their knees and shrugging their shoulders in a tackle – a tactic which often results in a tackler’s arms slipping illegally high.

Clarkson, speaking after Hawthorn’s five-point loss to West Coast, said he might be left with little choice but to implore his players to do the same if umpires kept ruling this way.

The Selwood brothers – Adam, Scott and Geelong’s Joel – have mastered the tactic, while 174cm Eagles forward Ashton Hams is also catching on quickly.

Clarkson also accused Priddis and Daniel Kerr of using the technique.

But Priddis felt it was unfair to suggest West Coast players were exploiting the rules.

“I don’t think we’re a team of duckers at all,” Priddis said on Monday.

“We go in hard and low for the footy – that’s what we train.

“There’s no way our players go out there to duck their heads.

“Each individual is different. But we’re definitely not trained to do that.”

Priddis said the onus was on the tackler to ensure their arms didn’t slip high.

“I think you’ve just got to aim for the hips,” he said.

“We do a lot of work with (forwards coach) Justin Longmuir through the tackling part of training and it’s really showing on game day.

“If players are getting taken high, that’s a free kick.

“So all we know is we’ll keep going at the ball, keep going low and hard at the footy, and that’s all we can focus on.”

Priddis was pleased to see star midfielder Kerr bounce back to his brilliant best against the Hawks.

Kerr had endured a quiet start to the season, but broke the shackles with 33 possessions and a goal in a match-winning performance.

Rising star Luke Shuey remains a strong chance to take on Richmond at Etihad Stadium on Sunday despite injuring the AC joint in his shoulder against the Hawks.

Priddis said the ladder-leading Eagles would have to be on their guard against the Tigers, who pushed Geelong all the way on Sunday before going down by 10 points.

“I think they’re a team that’s really improved,” Priddis said.

“They’ve got a really good mix of strong bodies and some class in the midfield with (Dustin) Martin and (Trent) Cotchin.

“Then they’ve got the bigger bodies with (Shane) Tuck and those sort of guys. It’s a big challenge for us.”