After such a strong first quarter are you disappointed with the rest of the game?
No, we kicked 5.3 in the second to 3.1, so I thought that was pretty positive. I thought that was really good. I thought in the third quarter we still dominated general play and entries. We got a bit cheeky, a bit ahead of ourselves. Fourteen entries to six is general play domination so it was a bit of use on entries and forwards getting ahead of the ball, but that’s human nature. When you are dominating, you are going to start taking some liberties. That’s a really good reminder in league footy how quickly you get bitten. Then in the last quarter, they fought on and we sort of went through the motions. That’s a little disappointing, we would like to close it right out, but I’m really focused, particularly the first three quarters, I thought we were super to be honest.
Was the first term the best the team has played with you as senior coach?
I couldn’t compare to be honest. If you want to go back, our MCG final in 2012, our first half was powerful. I thought our second quarter was still really strong, so in the third quarter we dominated general play and entry so it was really the last quarter you are dealing with, but it’s a non-issue for us.
You were very clinical inside 50. Are you happy with how the guys executed the ball?
In the first half and the third quarter was some slower stuff and they (West Coast) got some numbers back and clogged it, so we could have dealt with that a bit better. But that’s a good learning curve for us. We worked hard, they are a very good team. They came in good form, we came in good form. When the game was up for grabs and the whips were cracking I thought our boys were outstanding.
How good was the midfield?
Our stoppage work was strong, but there are bigger challenges around, with respect. We have Sydney next week, they played in two of the past three grand finals. They are an elite midfield and fiercely competitive so with respect the calibre goes up.
How much does having Matt Taberner and Zac Clarke increase your marking capabilities up forward?
The height has helped but they are undermanned in defence a little bit. Will Schofield is quite tall, Jeremy McGovern, but they obviously had a lot of challenges. Matt Taberner is coming on, he improved again and (Zac) Clarke and (Aaron) Sandilands a bit and (Chris) Mayne, so we are tall. If you go to the previous three years it’s been mainly Clarke, Mayne and (Matthew) Pavlich – but its really Pavlich, Taberner, Clarke and Mayne so we’re always going to have three there. It’s given us good structure in front of the ball for the smalls. Lachie Neale has kicked three to work off, and (Michael) Walters, there was no (Hayden) Ballantyne today. We’ve taken 17 marks inside our forward 50 to their nine. They are pretty good numbers and there is no doubt that that height helps the mids to kick it to someone.
Did you look to stretch their defence a little?
Not overly, because if you focus on that you can get ahead of yourself. We just think our ball use can stand up whether they are short or if they’re tall. When we went deep a couple of times there was a height advantage, so that helped. Modern defence and modern defenders play up in front a fair bit and you can get trapped and you can think you’re getting over the back all the time. We just focus on our leading patterns and our ball use and I think that really helped us.
What ingredients do you need for a ruthless performance?
That's an interesting question. Really, it's never as good as you think, and it's never as bad. I just think we were very good, and they were clearly a bit off. So when you put the two together - and I think the last quarter highlights how at the elite level, particularly in AFL footy, there's such a small percentage difference between going really well and going poorly for both teams. I thought you saw that at different times today. We're under no illusions. We're no juggernaut. We're a hard working, blue-collar team. When we do things well, we're capable. But if we back off, we'll get hurt quickly. So there's no happier person than the coach about the last quarter. We hear the message. They came home strong, and we didn't play very well in the last quarter. So we'll acknowledge that. It's a really sharp reminder for us. So I'm the happiest person in the room at the moment.
What did you make of Lachie Neale’s game?
We're thrilled. Lachie stands up under heat, he stands up under finals-type footy because he wins his own ball and he's a selfless team player.
The better you perform, the more they'll come after you. But what we'd like is weight of numbers - do you go to Neale, (Nat) Fyfe, (David) Mundy, (Michael) Barlow, Danyle Pearce, or (Nick) Suban? The best teams run deep through the midfield. Lachie came over - he hasn't been perfect. We've had a couple of honest conversations. But he's dedicated to his footy and he wants to be a top flight player. We don't do anything to that except provide him the environment that allows him to do that. He's incredibly focused, as it sits at the minute, and hard-working. But you might write a headline. And if we have to give him a clip over the head on Wednesday, we will. He's a fine young man whose displaying great character on the footy field.
How beneficial is it to have young guys like Lachie to rely on?
Well they help all those 30-year-olds out don't they.
Were you happy with the multiple goals from midfielders again?
Every team wants a spread of goal kickers. They move around so much now - are they a forward, wing, or a back? I struggle to track them a little bit how much they move around. It certainly helps the burden, but one swallow doesn't make a summer. We've been improving our capabilities to spread the load. To be honest we've already spoken about Sydney, and they've already spoken about us. It's going to be one of the games of the round. Everything we did today we'd like to do. But we know West Coast were a little bit off early, and we were right on. I think two equal forces will meet next week. We saw what they did to Port Adelaide over there. They'll bring real heat for a long period of time. We'd like to keep the spread of goalkickers going. We're going to need them. But it's going to become a bigger challenge.
Freo mids continue to impact scoreboard
Is it fair to say next weekend’s game may be a Grand Final preview?
Only those who write different stories to the ones we're focused on. Clearly it wouldn't come from within.
How does the team adjust recovery for six day break and heat?
It's a six-day break, but they've got to travel. Six-day breaks as a one-off are fine. They become really problematic when they're consecutive, in a short space of time, whether back-to-back, or three weeks in a row, or three out of four weeks, which we've faced before. And you're travelling. So six day break at home - there's no excuses for us.
Are there any injury concerns?
Matthew Pavlich came off with a corked buttock, or leg. (Michael) Walters rolled his ankle. But we're fine (Matt) De Boer was subbed out to give (Hayden) Crozier a run. At Peel we came out off a strong performance healthy. We had some strong performances down there – (Alex) Pearce, Brady Grey, Connor Blakely, Tendai Mzungu was fantastic, and Jon Griffin. There's some pressure on for spots, and we spoke about that pre-game as well.
