Ross what did you make of that?
It was pretty scrappy, I thought we could have been harder at times. We were slow out of the block and didn’t use the ball very well. They took advantage of the breeze in the first quarter. So centre square bounces were a bit sloppy.

We started to build the ball up a bit more in the other quarters. I thought on the outside we weren’t great to be honest. It’s a frustrating period to work through with management and people tightening up, we take no risk at all. Matthew Pavlich just tightened, Clancee Pearce just tightened, (Michael) Johnson played a half, and so did (Zac) Dawson.

I thought a couple (of players) didn’t put their best foot forward, people who are trying to cement spots. Certainly I didn’t think there was anyone who I thought ‘Gee, I really want to sew it up’. I thought they were solid without stamping it. A few of our pros worked into it, I thought (Nat) Fyfe worked into it, I thought Matt Taberner showed some signs, he worked his way through. It was pretty scrappy, I thought they were the better team overall. I thought centre-back they used the ball better than we did, but that is something we have been working on so we’ll continue to work on it.

Fyfe used his handballs pretty well to bring the other members of his team into the game. What were your thoughts on his game?
Yes, that’s what inside players do. He draws a couple of tackles and then he can get it to the outside. He will continue to improve, we get a week off next week where we will train really hard, the players get a three-day break. I sort of back off, the leadership send the messages. So it’s a difficult period with not many team meetings, we would like them to build a lot better than they did today.

NAB three we will get a few more back with (David) Mundy, probably (Hayden) Ballantyne, Harley Bennell, (Zac) Clarke, just off the top of my head. Lee Spurr is pretty important to us. They probably had five or six out, I have no real idea, but so did we. In saying that we still would have liked to have been a bit better in certain areas.

Brady Grey comes on and plays with real intent and hardness, it’s not for coaches to drive that he just drives his personal trademark. They’re the things we will be looking at.

Lyon wants more from players

Do you think some of your better parts of the game came from Tom Sheridan’s run outside 50?
Yes, it did. He is bouncing out pretty well. A few others could join him, they weren’t at their best. We will get some continuity and consistency. He continued to build, he forced some senior players out of the team last year to grab his spot. That’s the expectation. Centre-forward we were okay, centre-back our ball use as compared to what it has been wasn’t of the level we would like it. So we need to work pretty hard, I thought around the contest we were ok.

How do you assess the Griffin, Hannath combination?
I thought they were ok.

Did you want to give them a look without Aaron?
Yes, Aaron’s fine. I think that’s important, they get an opportunity to ruck without Aaron there, because it’s obviously a different look around the stoppage. We’ve learnt with Aaron, (he) had 13 weeks out in 2013 and came back and dominated. We’ll let them serve out the spot, we’ll look after Aaron. We probably won't even play him against Geelong to be truthful, because he doesn’t need it and he’s had a great summer.

You mentioned Matthew Pavlich tightened up, was it always the plan to pull him out after half time?
It was just a hip (tightness). Coming down they were talking about it, he might have had the ‘Mount Barker hip’ at half time, that’s okay he deserves that.

How do you assess Michael Johnson’s half?
I think he’s building, another game, another couple of weeks training and a hard edge. We’re going to be playing a contender in the Western Bulldogs, we don’t see ourselves falling off a cliff. We’ve got plenty of work to do though.

What do you make of the ground and the logistics of coming down here?
I’d like to compliment the community of Mount Barker, the ground was outstanding, the facilities were fantastic. We had everything we needed. It was a short flight, it’s been really professional. It’s really important to get out to these regional communities who are the backbone of Australian footy and show our faces and enjoy it. That’s certainly what we’ve done, I had a look around Albany this morning it’s a beautiful part of WA. We’re rapt to come, we’re a West Australian club who likes to get out to our community.