How did you rate the game Ross?
I have a lot of pride in our effort, we never gave up. We came home strong with a bit of composure, sometimes it’s as simple as a dropped mark or not getting back off and executing. I thought they executed when they went forward off some of our errors really well. There are some really good lessons that we spoke about at halftime and implemented in the second half.
I thought the Eagles played the territory game early, they got it in and they were really hard at the ball, had really strong tackling. Our efficiency getting it out wasn’t great which can happen, but we over-played it. We just needed to take some territory and take the one-on-ones out.
At half-time I think the entries were 14-22 then after half-time we took more territory and had some entry shots, got ground position, things opened up and I think it was 30-21 entries. We learnt some lessons on how to deal with that, so that was good. I thought we never gave up and they just capitalised off some dropped marks and some of those basic errors.
They nutted us out of the middle more than we would have liked in the end, so there are some learnings to go to school on. But it was a tight, tough game and one that was good to be in. We lost (Michael) Walters early, that unbalanced us a little bit, but that would be making excuses. Sometimes you need to deal with those things.
To come in without Matt Taberner and then to lose Michael Walters early did you feel you lacked firepower?
It’s not ideal. I thought it was a tough day for forwards, I thought we defended pretty tight, there was a lot of pressure. We had enough opportunities, just kick the goal, pick it up, don’t drop the mark, get off of the mark. They missed a few when they were on top early in the second quarter, they were letting us off the hook a bit I thought. But again, I thought we got to work, we got ourselves back in, we learnt some lessons. We moved the ball better, we took territory, our pressure lifted and in the last quarter we had 18 entries.
They spent a fair bit of their ‘bickies’ early, if you spend them early you tend to get rewarded. Where we’re at with the narrative and demand, our players are learning a lot about high-pressure football. I thought they were harder overall, not dramatically but just at a few clinches I thought they were harder. So, we’d like to be harder for a bit longer.
What do you know about Walters’ injury?
I think it’s a low-grade medial injury. He tried to run with it but couldn’t quite move so hopefully when it cools down it’s only a grade one. We’ve had a grade two recently with Stefan Giro, that was six weeks. It might be a half grade and he might be able to come up, but if it’s a grade one you are probably looking at four weeks. That’s frustrating because he was looking quite dangerous.
When he came back on he was still clearly struggling?
Yes, our doctors made a call, but he couldn’t get moving. Who knows what the week brings? But it doesn’t look great.
Why do you think they got on top in the midfield?
I don’t know, the midfield coaches will have a look at that. They cleared it (well), they only had a couple more entries but they kicked 2-2 out of the middle. That’s a bit about our defence too. Both teams had 17 scores off possession gain. Around the ground clearances were pretty even. Both teams couldn’t get their kick ins, we kicked 3.1 off kick ins, they kicked 3.1. Both teams would look at it as ‘if we had been a bit more composed there, didn’t drop a mark there, hit that target’.
It was a pretty high-pressure game, it was pretty loud and a hot day. They are a solid team and we are building to be a solid team. We have a big challenge next week against Richmond, and we move on. It is pretty clear what we need to improve on. Lessons learnt and we implemented, so we take that forward to Richmond, who I think had another convincing win. It’s a tough challenge.
How did you view the ruck battle?
I thought Aaron looked dangerous around the ground. He clunked a few and could have clunked a couple more. He got forward quite well. When you lose a player (Walters), the rotations become a bit more manual and you have to get involved a little bit, which isn’t ideal. I thought Naitanui’s ruck work early was quite strong, and I thought we fought back.
Does Sandilands need a rest now? He has been so good.
It’s a bit difficult. Sean Darcy is still a long way from coming back. We have young ruckmen. (Matt) Taberner obviously was doing some rucking, Michael Johnson filled in today. (Scott) Jones and (Lloyd) Meek have a bit of work to do. (Michael) Apeness came back to Peel and rucked today for the first time but he probably needs a couple more under his belt. If he (Sandilands) can hang on for a little while, we will look to give him rest.
After the week we have had with the medal, did you see any irony with the medal being shared between the two teams?
It’s not something I paid too much attention to. I like the passion wrapped around it. Ross Glendinning is a champion of the game. I see him as a North Melbourne champion… and a great West Australian person. I wasn’t involved in any discussion. Clearly at our board and executive level, they see it appropriate for a Fremantle person to be on there and I think that is healthy. Ultimately it’s been resolved and that’s what is going to happen. It’s great that there is plenty of passion, maybe a little bit of irony in there. I thought Gaff was really good as well.
Besides Walters, are you ok injury wise?
There are always bits and pieces but nothing acute.
That hardness factor that you touched on earlier, is that purely a mental thing?
It’s a hard one to talk about as a coach. I will be able to cut out three or four instances, where you have just got to go. Ed Langdon went, their coach can probably name a couple where they went. I could pick out three where I would have liked us to be better. We are all human and we are not machines. Players that have been super hard, you can just have a lapse in concentration and second guess yourself and you don’t quite go as hard as you should. When you become a great team, your concentration stays fierce and you go every time. That’s probably what I am talking about.
How are the young players feeling after an intense start to their first season? Are they still in a good position to keep playing or are you looking to rest them at any time soon?
They are good. They are handling it. We will get more feedback during the week, they have all the markers and monitoring. If anything, we will try and unload them during the week and get them to the game. It’s critical. We still have a couple to come back in. Giro from a medial (six weeks), we’ve got Tom North down there that we really want to have a look at. Griffin Logue is starting to make ground. Ultimately we need to get him back playing footy. So there are still a few down there that we would like to bring up if they play good footy. It’s a bit dangerous, because I am maybe missing a few.
