What were you happy with today?
I thought our first three quarters we clearly improved. I thought our competition and the way we set the field up and moved the ball and defended pretty well. I thought up until three quarter time we ticked all those boxes and the last quarter we couldn’t get it done around the ball in particular those centre square bounces. Their weight of numbers in the air told and that’s probably what they should be doing in fairness.
So it’s a glass half full approach?
If that’s what you want to call it.
How is Connor Blakely?
I don’t know how bad it is, it’s a subluxed shoulder and he couldn’t finish the game.
What was the process when he came off and came back on again?
I leave it in the doctors hands and they picked up the phone and told me he was right to come back on, so, he came back on.
Have you got any concern that it might make the injury more serious?
I’m not qualified to comment, I’ve got full faith in our doctors. I think you see it all the time in the AFL, people come off with injuries, get assessed and come back on. I remember Daryn Cresswell's knee came out and he banged it back in and he kept playing. It happens.
What did you think of Shane Kersten’s game today?
He is writing his own story, as always there are plenty of people who want to write your story for you in this business. He has worked really hard and I thought he got some better delivery and we moved the ball better. He still has plenty of improvement but it’s a step forward.
Are you happy with the way the back six stood up?
They are a young back six, when the pressure was around the ball they were good. They (GWS) have some genuine key forwards that are the envy of the competition. I thought we handled that quite well. In most defences there is pressure around the ball off turn overs and (you need to) defend pretty well and I thought we did that. Young Griffin Logue has only played a handful of games, Luke Ryan came out of the VFL, Ethan Hughes had only really been playing football for two years before he was drafted, so it just tells us there is some growth and our development is on the right path. That’s what was today showed, we are improving and working really hard and we are on the right path.
What about Sutcliffe coming back after a while out, how did you rate his performance?
I haven’t rated his performance because I don’t as a senior coach and as a leader you are up and can’t get caught in that detail all the time. My assistants would probably know more about how he went. Sometimes you dive into that level of detail but I haven’t done that at this point. He played midfield and he played back. The level of detail I got is that he certainly wasn’t jumping out as someone that wasn’t contributing. So I think he contributed strongly in both roles.
What about Luke Ryan and Brennan Cox coming back in after their week out. Are you happy with how they responded?
I think they responded, understood, learnt and grew. I think Luke Ryan’s roll off is looking really sure, he is a good aerialist and has a beautiful kick. If he stays focused there is an AFL career for him and he can build an opportunity. Cox did some nice things, we asked him to ruck and he looks really athletic and is a good decision maker. But again, plenty of improvement in him.
Do you have any other injuries?
Not that I am aware of.
