Are you pleased with the performance, especially that second quarter?
To be honest, our first and third I was pretty happy with, there was a pretty strong breeze out there. I thought three of our quarters were very good, our last was probably the worst to be honest. We controlled the game and worked really hard at stages then took advantage of the wind in that second quarter.
Was the wind really the difference in the second?
Yes, it was. And even the first quarter I was happy to go in two goals a piece at quarter time because that breeze was quite strong. It was always going to be hard to score to that right hand side. I thought our backs held up well in the first and the third and our forwards put some good pressure on in some of those quarters as well, when they did get their opportunities.
Dana East was really impressive today
I think at half time Hayley Miller might have had six and Kiara Bowers four possessions, but it was Dana East who led the way. We love what she does and she jumps onto Kiara’s tail at every training session and just follows her around. Today we really needed her to step up, especially early and she did. I’m not sure how many tackles she finished with but her pressure was great and she was really clean with her game as well. The footy gods smiled on her and gave her a goal on half time.
Ann McMahon kicking her first was really special
Yes, it was. She finished her work at 7am Perth time Saturday morning, she did a night shift. We tossed and turned whether we were actually going to play her, it was going to depend on how she handled the flight so we put her in business class, and she got some sleep, woke up today and probably because it was a later game, we said she would play. For her to do what she did, she’s a pretty resilient character so we know that was never in doubt.
A couple of games in now and you’re sporting some fresh faces, how’s that going?
Yes, it’s really exciting. We’ve got the likes of Tuhakaraina buzzing around forward, she hasn’t had her lick of the ice-cream, but she’s put some forward pressure on and she will get it at some stage. Aine Tighe is just feeling her way but going well. We’re really excited about it, Gabby O’Sullivan is going well through the middle for us and mixing it up. We’ve got some bigger tasks ahead of us no doubt but so far it’s been a pleasing start.
In Victoria now for the next few weeks, what does that look like?
We’re quite excited about it, we said we’ve got a six-day break and normally that can be a negative, but it means that Kiara Bowers isn’t on a roof in 36 degrees, Ann McMahon is not chasing criminals around and Ebony Antonio is not doing her job which can be very taxing as well. The six-day break is almost like an eight-day break because we can prepare properly for it so we’re looking to that aspect of it. Obviously keeping safe is our number one concern at the moment, making sure we’ve got everyone to choose from but that will be our aim this week.
You’ve got a pretty healthy list but Roxy Roux and Kara Antonio missed today?
Yes, Roxy is getting very close and Kara should be available next week as well so we’re looking pretty healthy overall.