What were your overall thoughts on the game?
We played a tough, relentless brand where everyone contributed and that’s as simple as it needs to be.
It got a bit tight at the start of the fourth quarter, how proud were you of the players that stood up in those big moments?
I’m always proud and it doesn’t surprise me, we’ve been good in those moments for a number of years where we’ve been challenged and we’ve been able to remain on task and reassert into role and contest and get it done. I think the players have been able to connect with one another and communicate and keep each other on task and process-orientated through those moments and not get caught up in momentum or scoreboard or anything like that. They’re just focused on what’s important. So it was a bit similar to last week where we were able to withstand the challenge and get it done.
Your midfield seems to be getting better each week, what’s been the key?
‘Smithy’ (Joel Corey) is doing a great job at giving them a plan during the week and including them in devising that plan. They’ve been organised and they’ve got their hands dirty. We were probably caught up, and this everyone not just stoppage, caught up in the expectation or a bit of fear and now we are just playing with freedom. I couldn’t have been happier with the amount of pressure we were able to put on the Geelong mids and get looks off that and then we were able to score from stoppage as well through good organisation and good method, and also great intent around the ball. I think the beauty about, not only our stoppage but our total game, is that everyone’s bought in and everyone’s contributing.
What’s the key behind playing with that freedom you mention?
We are worrying about what we can control, not what we can’t control and confidence plays a part in that. I feel like the players got a little bit of confidence out of the Brisbane game and that carried on to the next week and then it started the Hawthorn game, they got a bit of confidence out of that game and now they know what it feels like again. They’re playing more on instinct and we’re getting after the ball and we’re getting after the oppo.
Was that your best win of the year, given the opposition?
Probably but you don’t rank wins. It was an important win in our year and we needed to make sure we kept building off the last couple of weeks. They lost last week, they were desperate this week and we wanted to put in a good showing. I don’t know where it fits in overall wins of the year but it’s a good one.
You dominated but you were only 10 points up at the 2nd and 3rd breaks, how do you keep them up and about?
I didn’t really need to motivate them too much. They understand the ups and downs of a game of footy especially against a good team, my job is just to give them a bit of process-orientated information and coaching, but largely they understand the momentum swings within a game. They knew we weren’t going to get it all on our own terms today, so you sort of take those ups and downs throughout the game on its merits. The break might have come at a good time and allowed us to reset and re-energise and get our process right again.
Nat Fyfe seemed to get through well and take a big step up?
I thought he was instrumental at the start of the third, he had a really good period there in his first rotation, he was moving really well. He’s going to take a little bit of time to come to hand but I think we got what we expected and it worked out well that we were able to get him out of the game when we did.
He was playing well, did you consider leaving him out there?
We did, we left him on for a bit longer than some people would have wanted us to. Our medical staff are really good, medical is one part of it but performance and winning games of football is obviously the most important part. So we left him on for a little bit longer than what we had anticipated. It won’t hurt him, in the long run.
Does he get asked how he is travelling?
Yes. He’s been really open and he understands where he’s at, especially late in games at the moment. He was really open to coming off when he did and getting fresh legs through the middle ground.
Do you feel like you’ve got his mid-forward split right?
I wouldn’t say perfect, I think it will fluctuate and change a little bit, so we want to give him a look at both areas. With our tall forwards, Jye (Amiss), ‘JT’ (Josh Treacy) and ‘Jacko’ (Luke Jackson) playing really well, we probably feel like it’s not a necessity to have him down forward to give us a contest. We’re getting a contest on the ball and helping us get it in there is probably more important, so I thought he did that. We’re not going to be set on it… it’s going to change week to week.
How do you assess Brayshaw’s game, and last few weeks, does it show how much he was struggling with that knee injury earlier in the year?
I’m not sure. All I can say is that his last three weeks have been outstanding and I think today he had a layer of being really effective ball-in-hand and making his possessions turn into scores. I thought his work rate’s been phenomenal and he had another chase down tackle which was important today. He just plays with great energy, but he’s not alone. I think all our mids had a lick of the ice cream today, they all got their hands on the footy and they were pretty dominant in there.
How nice was it to see Michael Walters end up with three goals in Sir Doug Nicholls Round?
He’s a leader in all aspects, but he’s definitely a leader in cultural aspects. He’s a leader amongst Indigenous people and it was good to get his lick of the ice cream today because, I had this chat with him last week, you can work your backside off as a small forward and chase and tackle and get to good spots and the ball just doesn’t fall your way and you don’t lick of the ice cream. But today he kicked three goals, he got some reward for effort and that was nice for him, and us.
The forward line dynamic worked well and there was a large spread of goalkickers?
I thought we got the balance right between advantage kicks, hitting the loose player and taking the contest when we needed it. I thought we played a smart brand of footy forward-of-centre against a really mature, great backline. Fifteen marks inside forward 50 and we were able to force a lot of forward 50 stoppages which we cashed in on. I think we kicked six goals from forward 50 stoppage. I thought our talls gave us a really strong contest which allowed our smalls to get in and pressure, so we were high for tackles inside 50 again. It was a smart, good mix going inside forward 50.
And at the other end of the round, were you happy with how your defenders handled Jeremy Cameron and Tom Hawkins?
Yes. They did look dangerous at times but they are great players and they will, but I thought largely ‘Pearcey’ (Alex Pearce) got his read on the ball and attacked the footy and played an assertive brand and I thought Luke Ryan did a great job on Cameron and he went up the ground searching for kicks and we were reasonably happy with that given he is so dangerous inside forward 50. They are two great players and I think our backs have really benefited from the amount of pressure that is on the ball. Pressure in the middle of the ground and at clearance was really strong which makes their life a lot easier and we weren’t getting that right, especially in the Brisbane and Western Bulldogs games. So it’s good that pressure has lifted because it makes their job a lot easier.
Why did you go with Luke Ryan for that Cameron match up?
‘Boydy’ (Matthew Boyd) thought it was a good match up, so I backed him in. He watches so much footage of the opposition forwards, more than me, so I back him in and it was the right call. Luke did a great job, he reckons he had a sleepless night last night, but he will get a good night sleep tonight.
How much of a focus was there on avoiding their intercept defenders?
It was a big part of our plan going in, (Esava) Ratugolea and (Tom) Stewart and all their backs can roll off. They’re the number one intercept team in the comp, so that’s what I was talking about before, we needed to be smart going inside forward 50, we can’t be too slow otherwise they get numbers back. But we wanted to play at a speed that allowed us to at least be able to get a contest and I thought we did that.
Was it concerning to concede the first few goals from free kicks?
It’s always a concern but a bit like last week, there were aspects of the game that we were doing really well and I thought it was just a matter of time before we’d score at the other end and be able to hold up.
What about the 50m penalties, Bailey Banfield and Nat Fyfe, do you address them?
Yes. We addressed it with Fyfey, he probably didn’t practice that in rehab as much as we would have liked, standing the mark, it’s costly. They gave at least one away as well. We will keep addressing it. The other side of it is we are playing on the edge a lot more, especially Banners’ (Bailey Banfield’s) one. Sometimes when you’re really committed to the contest you can overstep the mark, so we will take the good with the bad.