Congratulations Justin. Talk us through the first quarter and how you took control of the game.
We had a real focus on the contest, last week it clearly wasn’t up to scratch against Brisbane. That was our main focus of the week, to get back on track there. We tried to throw a few different things at West Coast. I was really impressed with the way the players drove from contest and used the numbers. We connected well inside 50 as well, I think we took eight marks inside 50 in that first quarter, so we got bang for buck on the scoreboard. Our tall forwards especially ‘Tabs’ (Matt Taberner) looked really dangerous. We got on the front foot.
How significant was the game by Caleb Serong? He won the Glendinning-Allan medal, kicked a couple of goals, and lead the Club to victory.
It’s another step in his career. He loves those sorts of games, where it’s a contest. We needed to stand up. Obviously, we were a little light on through the middle of the ground this week, so we needed all our mids to stand up. I thought Dave (Mundy), Caleb (Serong), and ‘Cez’ (Adam Cerra) all had impact on the game. We didn’t get it on our own terms the whole time through the middle. They got on top in stages, so I thought we were able to fight it and Caleb was a big part of that.
What was your reaction to Caleb’s goal?
I thought he should have squared it up to the top of the goal square!
While we are on the topic, did you see the lead up to that goal where it looked like Cerra was out of bounds? Did you see any of that and what did you make of it?
I didn’t see it. Obviously wasn’t out because the boundary umpire didn’t pay it.
The significance of breaking the 11-game RAC Derby losing streak. Can you talk about what that means for the Club and the supporters?
It’s big for our supporters. As a playing group and a coaching group, it’s probably been outside noise more than anything. We’ve lost two derbies under me. We didn’t make too much of it to be honest. What’s gone on in the past is in the rear-view mirror. We focus on what’s in front of us. We just wanted to get back to our best footy. Clearly, we got beaten in the contest last week against Brisbane and that’s not us, so we wanted to rebound.
How do you view the top eight situation right now? You need other results to go your way, how do you approach that with the players?
Look after your own business, that’s the only way we can do it. Focus on St Kilda, prepare for St Kilda at their best, have another really good week on the track in preparation and put our best foot out there. What happens, happens. That has been the learning curve out of the last six to eight weeks. We have sometimes been distracted by the outcomes, finals positions, outside noise and that has taken us away from our preparations. I feel like we got the mix right this week and we need to do the same next week.
Justin, you kicked 8.2 early on. We have seen Freo score 2.8 in a similar position a couple of times this year. Scoreboard pressure makes a big difference doesn’t it?
We kicked a couple of nice ones and I think our shots were from good areas which makes your accuracy look a lot better. It was really good to get some bang for buck. We have had pretty good field position, even last week we won the inside 50s. We didn’t win them today but we had good field position in that first quarter, good ball movement with speed on the ball and we were able to cash in.
Sam Switkowski in the midfield early when things were going well, did you like that?
Loved it. It is something that has been in the back of our minds. He is such a diligent player to role and structure and he is elite with his pressure and hunt on the ball. He could be a good centre bounce player. We probably tried to spin six or seven guys through there and he has missed out but with (Andy) Brayshaw going out and (Nat) Fyfe not available we needed someone else to spend some more time in centre bounce. His number came up and we will continue to evolve that.
Justin, does it feel like your best win as a coach right now?
I don’t really rate them in order, every win is a good win. I don’t really think about it like that. I am just really proud of the players’ effort, I’m really proud we bounced back from last week and really grateful we have been able to keep our season alive.
How about the big picture of where you are at as a Club? 10 wins now which is the best you have had since 2015, what do you think that says about how you are building as a group?
I think it says we have been able to stick to our task throughout the year. We have had a lot of curveballs thrown our way and we have been able to build and learn from the experiences we have had. We have been able to build depth in our group, to see some of the younger players out there executing their role and standing up in the contest, it is going to bode us well in the future. It holds us in really good stead, I feel like we are starting to build a really deep list, that you need that competition for spots and into the future we will have that.
Where do you expect to be playing next week? There is talk of you going to Tasmania, you might be in Melbourne, where's your preference? Do you know anything at this point given quarantine issues are going to apply if you go to certain locations?
I have got no idea at the moment. I will get told probably after you guys. We'll give the players a day off tomorrow, like we always would and we'll hit the ground running on Tuesday with preparation. Hopefully we know a little bit more by then.
Fom a Club's day perspective, David Mundy, obviously such a big occasion, how important was it for you to win that game for the occasion and the history that it's going to bring?
We spoke about Dave a little bit before the game and it feels like every week, he has a milestone. Now he's going to break the record next week, so we might chair him off next week. But it was really about ‘Hilly’ as well. He's been such an excellent servant of our Club. We drew on the fact that he's probably, one of our most diligent, role playing superstars that we've ever had in our existence. His ability to work defensively, hunt the footy and use the ball with real class, we drew on all those aspects today. We wanted to do him proud and the other thing is it is just a big day for our Club in terms of hosting a home RAC Derby. It was a good turnout. It's going to be good for the bottom line, and all those sorts of things. So, we wanted to make our fans really proud of us, given it was our last home game.
When you look at when everyone's been playing, in front of no people at times, and there's a lot of debate around where finals should be played and the Grand Final, to have 50,000 people making noise at a game and giving the players thrill and atmosphere. How much better is football when that's happening?
For our fans, our fans create the game. They are the game, so we wouldn't do it without him and the game wouldn't be what it is without them, so we need them at the games and when it comes to finals, playing them in front of empty stadiums just wouldn't feel right. It's a world class stadium, the Perth people would turn out to watch any finals game. So, I'm all for having them here.
We saw that when Caleb Serong accepted his award, he said, how good was that? David Mundy was talking about finals on the TV and that it was a possibility. Surely everyone is daring to dream from the inside even though you want to keep process oriented, daring to dream has to be important, doesn't it?
Well, we always dare to dream. I've never said we don't want to make finals. We've always wanted to make finals. It's just we can't spend too much time focusing on that. It's not what wins you games, unfortunately.
On Connor Blakely, it looks like a hammy, how bad is it?
Not sure we'll get it scanned, he felt something pop. So, hopefully it's not too bad but he'll be in doubt for next week.
Any other injuries to come out that?
No other than that it looks good, I think 'Cez' got a little corkie, but he'll be right.
