Where did the game change in the fourth quarter?
To be honest, I think it changed in the third. I think that Adelaide completely dominated that third quarter, and it was just the fact that we kicked one against the trend of the game and they didn’t capitalise on their chances. A bit changed in the third, I thought their midfield got completely on top at that stage and they used it well and methodically until they got to their front half. Our mids didn’t really get involved enough and force the turnover, that’s where it was won and lost at that point really.
 
Is there anything you did as a team to try and get on top of Hatchard and Marinoff throughout that period?
Yes and no, we were disappointed with our mids’ efforts to defend those players if they actually had the ball. If they were going to win that contest, that’s fine because they weren’t running forward at great pace but our mids weren’t doing a good enough job at getting the one-on-one. That was the disappointing part, there wasn’t too many levers we could pull, we tried Tuhakaraina in the middle just to change things up and we moved Aine Tighe forward who did show a bit in that space, but we really needed our mids to change it. We had the personnel in there to do it but they just didn’t get that job done today.

What are the emotions like for you and for the team?
We’re disappointed to be honest, not with the loss but with our effort. The group were very flat, and it wasn’t because we lost the game it was because we didn’t have a really good crack at it in a way that we think our brand is. Adelaide were really strong all day and controlled, to be honest they should’ve won by more, the inside 50’s say that 43-17. The initial emotion was disappointment that we played so poorly, but then we’re very fortunate that we get to take on Melbourne next week, who are another really good side and we need to start proving ourselves against those calibre of sides if we’re going to be taken seriously in the competition.
 
You only had four inside 50’s in that second half, how much of a concern is that?
A real concern. It’s a concern obviously in that game, I wouldn’t like to think it’s a trend for us against good sides that we can create a lot more opportunities going forward. That’s one that we’ll review solidly and have a look at why that did happen, like I said I think it was mainly the midfield who were losing that battle, but also what could our backs do to not just soak up pressure but get some ball movement to create some run. That’s something that obviously needs to be addressed because we’re not going to threaten or get anywhere near the good sides if we’re only getting that many inside 50’s, we’ll definitely work on that during the week.
 
Hayley Miller has been so good all season, can you put your finger on why she was quiet today?
She did definitely, she still looked dangerous at times. I think she’s probably taken on a little bit too much workload herself in Kiara Bowers’ absence and maybe that caught up with her a little bit today. Her first rotation was a little bit too long and she’s more of a power athlete than an endurance athlete even though she’s increased that side of her game. She did look tired on occasions, so we’ll freshen her up during the week, she’s a very proud person Hayley and she won’t like that individual performance from herself and she’ll be out to make amends very quickly.

Bowers & Roux, what are their chances of returning next week?
Roux should be available for selection, she had the hamstring but her form had only been patchy so she needs to either really impress on the track or build up some good form at training and maybe WAFLW, so we’ll see how she goes during the week and she’ll be sort of a borderline selection. And Bowers, to be honest, we haven’t got a lot of idea with the knee injury, it was only on Tuesday, scans are all good so that was very pleasing and we’ll see how that progresses. I’d say she’d be unlikely for this round but if it improves quickly you never know with Kiara, she’ll be putting her hand up that’s for sure but we have to also monitor it very closely with her history as well.
 
Steph Cain seemed to take on a bit more responsibility in the midfield today and had one of her better games, how did you see her role today?
Yes, we decided that we would throw Steph in there to basically have that extra midfielder through there with Kiara being out. I was really happy with her game, she worked extremely hard, probably ran herself into the ground and I think she had 14 touches up to half time. I was stoked with her performance in her first time in that role. She has trained in there, we’ve taught her over the past two or three years but she’s so effective for us on the wing that we’re always reluctant to do that. It’s good now that we know she can play both roles and I dare say she would flip between the two for the rest of the season.
 
The defensive battle was enormous sort of at both ends but Jess Low playing that role on Woodland for most of the game, how did you see that and the backline as a whole?
Yes, it was really unfortunate that Woodland did score that late goal because I thought Jess Low was outstanding on her and she did a really good job. To be honest our backs were great. I know Ponter’s had a pretty good game but Ange Stannett I thought was one of our better players as well and I know one of the goals definitely wasn’t her fault it came further up through the midfield. I thought our backs fought really hard to keep a side like Adelaide with 43 inside 50’s to three goals is a remarkable effort by that group, but it’s what we expect from them because they’ve been really good all year.

Do you think you’re still a shot of climbing back into that top two if you tick off these last two wins?
I had a quick look, it’s possible to finish eight and two and finish fifth so that’s our best possible result now. That’s how tight it is at the top and there’s not a lot between those top five sides, so all we can do is what we can do. If we do finish eight and two, I think with our percentage that would guarantee us top four anyway, which gives us at least that first final at home. That’s all we can do and to be honest if we play like we did today we don’t deserve to be anywhere near there or be competitive in the finals, so we have to come out and make sure that we play well next week against Melbourne, whatever will be will be with the ladder and we’ll go from there.