What are your thoughts on that game?
It was a good hitout and was what we needed in preparation for round one. That’s really what the last couple of weeks have been about, getting minutes into our boys and a full match sim as far as game time goes. It was really important.

What was the big improvement from last week’s game?
I think in general around the contest and our tackle pressure really was a big improvement on last week. That’s what we like to base our game on. We were really pleased from that aspect.

Nat Fyfe kicked three goals and had a couple of goal assists?
I was probably more impressed with the assists he got, he has been working really hard on a new role and he has been very open-minded. We are seeing him grow everytime he goes out. We are rapt, he gives us a great contest and he takes a good defender. He kicked his three goals but was also selfless and gave a couple off to Matt Taberner who had been fighting hard all day as well. We’re really pleased.

Fyfe is a contested beast, what sort of weapon will that be this year?
Those contest wins ahead of the ball are always critical and we saw a couple of great contests that he won, but also some that he halved. We want our talls - and he plays that in between role, but he plays like a tall – to bring it to ground and bring our smalls into the game.

What did you make of Josh Treacy tonight?
We are pleased with JT, he has come back very fit and he is a lot lighter than last year. He is covering the ground and for him to be able to play second ruck today, still bring energy in that area and then go forward and play his role, was great. We are rapt with the way JT is going.

Nat Fyfe - three goals in a match sim, three goals last week and three goals today. It’s a good return for someone learning the role. Has he exceeded your expectations?
He is a pretty good player. We don’t look at the goals, it’s a great result for us but he is learning new things. We have got a process that we are working on and the goals are just cream on top really. We know he is a good player and it will take time, but he is getting confidence in his body, getting continuity and chemistry with the other forwards. We’re really happy with him.

Do you get the feeling he now feels he belongs as a forward rather than a midfielder who then goes forward?
I think it has been a real shift in mindset and he has been a great midfielder for so long. He has changed his mindset and really embraced playing as a forward and no matter who you are you take confidence out of performing well. I think he will be in a good place.

The midfield look great too. Will Brodie picked up where he left off last year?
He was a handy midfield recruit for us last year. Jaeger O’Meara has come in this year as well. I think they all had mid-30 disposals; Brayshaw with 36, Brodie with 36 and Serong with 32. The fact that there is multiple threats in the midfield is a real positive and they really work together well.

The backline held up from a lot of forward entries by Port?
They did. That is one area that Port got on top, they had 13 more inside 50s. The backs held up well, I think Alex Pearce had some critical contests on Charlie Dixon that he halved and our high backs really worked back hard and supported those contests with their work rate. Brennan Cox didn’t play a lot of minutes last week and he looked better for the run today.

Sam Sturt had some nice moments, what did you make of his game?
It is important we have some depth and he came in and played his role. I thought he bought really good intensity in the contest as well with some of his pressure. We know he can be an offensive threat. We have Michael Frederick and Michael Walters as well who are pushing for round one and they will be training over the weekend, so it is good to have a bit of a squeeze for selection.

On Josh Treacy, has he done enough now for round one?
He has put his hand up. We have to work out what our team looks like from a balance point of view - but he has done what he can do. He has controlled that and put his hand up.

So Walters and Frederick will do their own sessions?
We have got a group of players still working through their reconditioning. They will put the work in and they are trying to get ready for round one.

How hard is it these days to not play pre-season and then play round one. Is it realistic?
Definitely, they (Frederick and Walters) are both fit. We saw Luke Jackson not play this week as well, but he will be fine. Luke Ryan too, they have done the reps and put the work in over the pre-season. It’s just unfortunate they haven’t been able to play the last couple of games but they are doing everything they can possible to be match fit and ready to go.

Are you confident for Luke Ryan as well?
At this stage we are confident that all guys are going to be available for round one. That is what we are pushing for.

Do you like the shorter model of pre-season where you play less games or the longer model where you play more games?
I’m not sure, clubs these days play so much match sim playing against each other. It is good to play opposition, but we are looking forward to the season starting.

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