What did you make of that?
The whole performance is not what we want to stand for, as a team and a club. As a leader of the club, I am bitterly disappointed and really embarrassed. The player group led by Nathan (Fyfe) will feel the same. We need to go to the break, reassess and make changes because we can’t just roll along.
What changes, game style or personal?
We asked ourselves the question as coaches, “what’s changed”. We were 0-2 and then you win 6 out of 7, so you are 6 -1 against teams like Bulldogs, Richmond and Melbourne in there who are formidable teams. Clearly the principles that we asked to be employed stand up. So really we’ll ask the players what’s changed. I thought our midfield got obliterated. It’s won or lost in the midfield and they got obliterated. They couldn’t get near them. If they won it, they were stripped and couldn't touch it. It was 0-12 clearances. Lots of entries for them. Zorko was inside the wing, so I thought that was really disappointing. Martin around the ground was fantastic with his spread. I thought Zorko, Beams and Cutler got to work. At the end of the day we can't shy away from it but the midfield got obliterated. They need to assess themselves and stand up.
In regards to the midfield, how big of a loss is Sandilands?
It’s hard to compare, because we like to compare apples to apples and we didn’t play Brisbane last week or the week before that and Sandilands didn’t play in those games. We understand Sandilands is a good player but people need to come in, and around league footy people need to play their roles. That’s the point I am making. If I come out here and talk about Aaron Sandilands and make excuses, I am not the coach I would like to be and we are not the club or team we’d like to be. We need to look at it without being difficult. It’s easier to go to that. Aaron isn’t going to play forever. We need to improve. Play what’s in front of us and the personnel that is in front of us. That is the point I am making.
Brisbane were rested with the bye and Fremantle had the six day break and travel, did that have any affect?
No, if anything it should work the other way. They should have a bit of inertia getting back into gear and we should be ready to go, match hardened and ready so if anything they did really well. We missed an opportunity to get to work.
Do you take any positives?
There would be few and far between. We lost Grey early with a hamstring, so that is disappointing for him. What we are doing, we are exploring our list and this will bring some urgency to that. Brennan Cox played. I think he showed some footy nous and Luke Ryan in his second game, he shows he can kick the ball. We’d like more players who can kick the ball well and distribute it well because they let you flow, and probably and bit of leg speed as well. But in saying that, you don’t talk about those things when you are winning. I think Luke Ryan, another game (tonight), hopefully he will start to grow a bit more than he is. I thought Cox showed a couple things that over a two, three, four year period he can grow into a good player. That’s the aim. They are the little things, I wouldn’t have thought too much else.
Four debutants this season, can we expect more?
I would have thought so.
Who’s close? I think you mentioned Sean Darcy recently.
Tonight’s performance, we don’t want to stand for. Clearly internally it’s not sitting very comfortably so to talk about potential debutants and who’s available, I think we get back and in the cold light of day assess it. We have a few long-term injuries, more than we would like. We will asses, there are a couple of guys there.
You’re six and six before the bye, how do you see that?
It’s irrelevant. Internally, we liked that we had won. But you’re only as good as your last performance. We need to improve our football and we need to get a midfiled that can be competitive against fierce, quick opposition. At the minute we are not getting it done. That’s the bottom line.
Do you know how the midfield got beaten, you still have guys like Hill, Mundy and Fyfe that are proven players?
That’s probably the thing in AFL footy, you’re only as good as your next performance. As a coach and a player, we all sit in that otherwise you’re just a name.
Any other injuries aside from Grey?
No, there are bits and pieces but Grey the only significant.
