Was that win especially satisfying tonight?
I thought we started really well, we jumped out of the blocks and then they struck back with a vengeance, didn’t they? They were fantastic, particularly for a team that are young and have some really good players out. They got right into the game...they were mopping it up at both ends, so our work rate and hardness was down, I thought. We asked for a lift at half time and I thought we were pretty emphatic after half time, particularly the last quarter…I think it was 20 entries to five. We just changed a few little things with their plus one and we scored more effectively in the third (quarter) and the ball lived at our end in the last quarter, we could have scored a little more efficiently I would have thought. All credit to them, they’re a good young side, we knew their ground ball was strong. I thought they had some good speed, ran quite well but from our end it would have been easy to turn up our toes and say ‘it’s a bit hard tonight’, but good teams dig in and find a way and we responded. I thought out leaders stood up and guys that have been down a little bit. (Nat) Fyfe and (Patrick) Dangerfield was a great match-up, they both played great, we both let it roll but backed our players in. Guys that were down a little bit like (Michael) Walters in the third and (Matthew) Pavlich and (David) Mundy lifted in the last (quarter) and (Stephen) Hill. Everyone played a part at different times tonight and that’s what you need if a few guys that are down don’t lift, you don’t get across the line because you can’t just leave it to a couple. I think we were a bit top heavy, I think that was significant and we called that early, we sort of knew that going in. It was a flip of the coin (subbing) (Matt) Taberner or (Zac) Clarke but we just wanted to stick with the other ruckman and that was the reason behind that.
 
In hindsight would have you brought in Tendai Mzungu and left Taberner out?
Hindsight’s really easy, Taberner and Clarke have been fantastic, the structure has been working and it was just a difficult night. The surface is hard, it was wet, it’s fine but it’s just a little bit difficult, that’s okay.
 
Ross your team worked remarkably great with their hands in the first 10 minutes then the rain came, did they struggle to switch to a bit more kicking?
I thought Adelaide’s pressure was really good but too much handballing in those conditions invites us in. We were pretty slick early but if you keep going that way when the rain comes, the pressure comes. All credit to the Crows, they were pretty good.
 
Sandilands had 69 hitouts, how significant is that?
It’s significant because at the end of the day they are number one scoring in defence in the centre square bounce. We’ve kicked two goals to their zero or one point. They kick four when they win and one when they lose, so that was the focus coming in.  At the end of the day that’s significant in the result.

Freo take it to the clearance kings
 
Can you expand a little more on the Fyfe and Dangerfield match-up?
We acknowledged Dangerfield as getting a bit (of the ball) and we thought we’d just let it sit, we didn’t want to go negative, we wanted to attack through the midfield so we just stuck it out. We were happy with the outcome.

Battle of the titans: Fyfe v Dangerfield
 
Is there a bit of a shift for you, usually Fremantle and the other teams you have coached are known for having someone in the centre half stopping that?
Yes, we have had the lockdown tagger during my coaching at St Kilda we had Clint Jones and (Ryan) Crowley at Fremantle. Out of crisis comes opportunity so the opportunity is to play a little bit different, we rely on our team defence and that’s been getting it done. The only time we tagged was Travis Boak round one with (Clancee) Pearce. There might be a time we have to do it, but we are holding our nerve. I’m pleased with the shift.
 
Is it almost ingrained in your psyche to let Dangerfield get close to 40 possessions?
Not really. It’s about adaptability and change. The only constant in the AFL is change and I’m apart of that.
 
Is there a reason why the game has gone away from the hard tagger?
I think it’s still in there a lot. There is a lot of teams who’ve got a tagger. I think you could break them down but I don’t have time, but there’s still a lot of teams that tag.
 
Nat Fyfe proved yet again that he was the best played in the league at the moment
If that’s your view you can write it, I don’t need to validate your view.  I think he’s a pretty good player but I think when you are trying to spilt the highest level echelon of AFL talent you’ve got to be really careful. There are some really good players out there. Buddy’s (Lance Franklin) handy, (Joel) Selwood’s handy, (Patrick) Dangerfield is handy. There are some really special players, (Gary) Ablett is a pretty good player. I think (Scott) Pendlebury is pretty special. I think we just band about the number one player way too easily in my view, but you are entitled to do it. I get it, he’s a great player and we love him and he’s a great leader and he’s growing. I think you’re splitting hairs. Once you’re getting to that level you could take all of them.
 
You mentioned before that some players lifted after half time. Do you think the side's maturing a lot more, now that they are doing that themselves rather than being told?
It’s not something I have thought about too much, we’ve got some really strong leaders. I thought Tommy Sheridan stood up, our youth is going quite well. That’s the sign of a good team, they don’t need a bloke in a little green top to come out or me at half time. There was no berating we just identified a few things and said 'let's respond here, I have full faith in you’ and they duly delivered. It’s a marathon, the road we are on, you are going to have some challenges, the competition throws that up and one was tonight in difficult conditions. It was great to stand up and learn a bit about yourselves.
 
With all these nine wins banked what advantages can you find in that marathon and all those challenges that aren’t available unless you have had those wins?
All I know is that when you are available and in form you need to win. As silly as that sounds because you can be in really good form and play and have a 10-minute lapse and lose a game you should win. The headwinds are going to come; injuries, suspension and form. You’ve got to take your opportunities when you get them and fortunately we’re doing that because there will be some times when things don’t go our way and you’ve got that little bit of buffer. I think it’s a simple as that.
 
Just your comment on Richmond, they won again tonight. Three wins in a row.
It’s significant, they're a big challenge, they’re a momentum team, they are on a role. We’ll accept the challenge and we will need to improve and we come out unscathed, I don’t think there’s any instances that we should be worried about. It’s a short week, we’ve both got to get on the bird, they’ve got to get over and we need to get home. We’ll enjoy tonight, wins are really hard to come by. It’s a significant challenge, we are going to have to play at our very best. We’re really excited about the football we’re playing, we’re excited to play in front of the purple haze at home, the loud crowd…they’re passionate, they’ll be fired up.
 
Nine in a row is a club record, what does that mean for you?
How we measure ourselves is we have a way we want to play and what we want to stand for every week. That’s the battle against ourselves. That’s where we start. What we value and what we measure, we have a vision for how we want to play and a trademark. That’s who we compete against every week. The wins are just a function of that process. We’ll lose one at one point but that won't be about the four points, it will be about how we measure up against ourselves. That’s what we compete against every week.