How do you explain that game?
It’s easy to explain. I think West Coast was very good. They won the ball, they spread hard, their intensity for whatever reason was outshining ours and I thought they were really effective. We struggled to defend it and they had us on the back foot. It was eerily similar to the first Derby, but the other way around.

Was the midfield's pressure not where it needed to be?
Yes, I think our mids, all of them but everyone plays a part. But I think we have to give credit to them, they have been playing very good football. As much as you send the message to the players and you talk about it, we’ve won six derbies in a row and probably embarrassed them last time, and it was a critical result, wasn’t it? In the context of the season, from the other side’s position and it was important to us. You can hear the message, but sometimes you do feel it. So we get some valuable reminders how harsh the AFL jungle is.

Was losing Luke McPharlin critical?
I think Luke would have struggled to defend some of that stuff how it was coming in. I thought it sort of flowed in. I think to sum it up, we created opportunities, probably not as slick. They scored really easily off our opportunities, they defended it really well. We slaughtered it with dropped marks, missed handballs, missed kicks. You get what you deserve in this game and we got what we deserved today.

What is your take on the Alex Silvagni incident?
Well, there are two things. One, he is up before a tribunal, so I have an inability to comment. And secondly, I didn’t see it.

Will it hurt to miss a second key defender to suspension?
Zac’s (Dawson) fine, he’ll be fine to be available. We potentially lose one. Luke’s fine as well. Luke just had tone in his calf, which is a tightness that we were uncomfortable with on the back of a corkie. He trained, he wanted to give himself to today. Hindsight is 20/20. In 2012 there were signs with his hamstring and 2014 when he missed the last five, there were signs that we probably ignored. Ken Withers our doctor, made the call and there was no way of wrestling that off him and I think it was the right call. So Luke will be fine next week and Dawson. No one really kept him out at Peel I don’t think, they didn’t play that well. Johnson needed the run. I think he found that out. It was a pretty hot start wasn’t it. He knew he was alive and I think Alex Pearce went back and was super, that kid. He’s going to be a pretty good player for us. So we get a bit out of it. Fyfe, I think after two weeks off had six possessions in the first half, but I thought he ignited us in the second half and got to work. Out of the wreck there were a few positives.

How do you think the forward structure worked after Alex Pearce went back?
I haven't really thought about it. I don't know. I know we were better in the second half, particularly the last quarter. But when you do what they did you've got to expend a lot of energy and clearly we didn't match that so we had a bit more energy to spend. Yeah I think maybe one moment we thought we might be a sneaky chance, it might've been the Walters one, and then we gave a cheap goal away. I think we would've got to 18 points or something. But we'll have a good look at it overall rather than just with Alex Pearce.

Converting chances

Do you think there was any complacency given your ladder position?
No. I can only talk for myself. My aim coming here, and that's why I sit here disappointed, was to measure ourselves against one of the benchmark teams. Clearly, look in the first half I thought we had entries and general play stuff but they scored pretty easily. I think they had four entries and kicked four goals. I thought we gave away some undisciplined free kicks. So why do I sit here disappointed, because I would've liked us to play better against a quality opposition but I think we saw enough at times to think that our best is still pretty good and thereabouts. So that's why, I can't comment on what the players are thinking and whether they're complacent or not but I know I'm not.

20-7 free kick count against at half-time, did your ill-discipline contribute to that?
Not from my end. I wasn't sitting there. Look I don't drill in that much. When you're second to the ball and you're pushing in the back and you're a bit desperate in trying to catch fleet footed people you give away free kicks. Yeah, I'm pretty comfortable with it.

Poor ball use is an ongoing thing, how did you view it today?
I think I touched on it, I was disappointed really. I thought, missed targets, kicked over Pav's head, wide, short. I thought they were pretty slick. But I was watching the pre-game warm up and they didn't miss a target on the lead and handballed off and kicked goals, so I thought well that's a good sign. Then I looked at the other end and it was a bit sloppy. You've got to get the fundamentals right. We need to improve.

You’ve said Hawthorn’s the benchmark, where do you see West Coast in the pecking order?
Well I think they sit second on the ladder. I think, out of respect, certainly they deserve their victory and I've got no problems. It was played in really good spirit, whatever it is. He (Adam Simpson) deserved the victory and his club did and we go away and lick our wounds. So that's what that was. In the context of where they're at I think the ladder tells you where everyone's at. It's about consistency. At the end of the day we'll move on from this game pretty quickly. But we need to learn some lessons and I think it's a significant result for them without really knowing. I think it helps them shore up second for the moment.   

Talking points from Carlton Draught Derby   

Why was Michael Barlow subbed out?
He is normally pretty good, but he wasn’t touching it and we had to do something, I think (Hayden) Crozier gave us a bit of bite and life. He’s a proud player, he won't like it but that was the call. It was an obvious one to me.

So it was selection, not an injury?
No, none whatsoever.

Any injuries to come out of the game?
No

Are you concerned at all with this result and the one against Hawthorn, given they are your immediate rivals?
It’s not ideal is it? It’s about playing good football and the right time and we know that. We need to improve. I thought there were some signs when we got to work and could challenge them. You learn a lot of your losses historically, that’s what I’ve found anyway. We basically know what happened, it’s the same thing. You need to work your way through and learn from it.

Are you looking to put your best team out every week leading into finals?
We did that this week. I think we’ll take a contingency approach to it. So as each week arrives we’ll make those decisions, like we did this week. There was certainly no risk taken with (Luke) McPharlin. If it had have been a grand final he would have played or a first final he would have played. So, it’s a contingency approach, week by week as we get the information we will gather it all together and make informed decisions. It was great to get Michael Johnson back, (Zac) Dawson will be available for selection, McPharlin will be. North have a lot of tall forwards and we will go away and have a look at it.

Is there any issue with the hardness of the surface at Etihad?
No