We haven’t spoken about the top four. Everyone else writes about those. Expectations are just based on probabilities from the past and past results. It’s just about perception. We understand it’s about the next opposition and the next game and the past counts for nothing. I’m certainly not stuck in the past.
We’ve come in with a lot of enthusiasm and optimism and confidence but at the end of the day it is a new season, a new game and new things are thrown at you. I’m not viewing this in the context of the whole season because that’s not what I do. We commit to review.
In a nutshell, I am happy to talk about the game. Everyone else can have opinions on top fours and de-railings and all those things but it certainly doesn’t help our win-loss ratio and we’re three and three, and we need to do plenty of work to work to our best football.
On the surface, we did a lot of things that I would like. We won the ground ball war, we had 55 entries to 45, we took more marks inside 50, kicked two goals down the middle to none, around the ground clearances were strong, but at the end of the day there were two areas that stand out; they kicked three goals to one from four forward fifty clearances which is really opportunistic and disappointing from our end. I think we’ve had two for the year kicked against us so we will review that. Then secondly it’s a game of scoring off turnovers. We both had equal opportunities, about 45 possession gains through the midfield and we scored about 18 per cent and they scored about 30 per cent, so we couldn’t score very well off our opportunities and they scored really efficiently. I think we all saw dropped marks, missed kicks and some poor decision making, and they took their opportunities really well. It’s not complicated. That’s what occurred tonight.
How far are you off your best?
I can’t put a percentage or a figure (on it). We did a lot right tonight so if we keep that foundation and defend better and score more efficiently. Even in the second we had 13 entries and kicked two goals. We have to find a way to score more efficiently and take our opportunities and defend a little better, which we know we are capable of doing both, but talk is cheap and we need to train to improve it. It’s not complicated from here, we’ve identified we’re we need to improve and we need to train and persist and persevere until we get there.
How significant is the absence of Hayden Ballantyne?
I don’t think it’s about one player, it’s about the team running and spreading, using the ball well, taking their marks and hitting their targets, not forcing the ball into areas where it doesn’t need to go. I don’t think it’s about Hayden.
Does he (Hayden) go back in next week?
It’s not something I’ve thought about at this point. It would be remiss of me not to sit down with our match committee and talk about all the pros and cons of the team and selection on all players, not just Hayden.
You spoke about skill execution last week as an issue. Can you put your finger on the mistakes that are being made?
I think I have alluded to them - dropped marks, missed targets. We train them and that’s what we do, and I have alluded to that as well. We’ll train. We get a couple of opportunities during the week. I thought at times our composure was better tonight but it sort of fell away. Even late, we needed to take some opportunities, but all credit to the opposition, they came over, they challenged.
I thought we had all the momentum. There was some stuff late in the first quarter, in the last two minutes they kicked a couple of goals that were quite easy and there was a turnover, a fifty (metre penalty), a free kick and all those sorts of things, so that didn’t help. They worked and willed their way back into the game and they were good enough with their skill execution to capitalise and we weren’t. I thought that was the game.
Do you have many options to make changes at the selection table next week?
I can’t reel them off at the minute, we have Peel playing tomorrow at the Showgrounds. Not huge (options) I wouldn’t have thought. We’ve got some challenges on the personnel front. You alluded to Hayden (Ballantyne) earlier – he comes back available, Mick Barlow’s probably another week away. It’s not a quick fix, tapping one or two in… we’ve got a pretty good team on the paddock. We won the ball well and gave ourselves an opportunity. At the end of the day the ability to defend and attack competently wasn’t there tonight.
Would you have a few players that would be a bit nervous about holding their spots in their side for next week’s Derby?
Yeah I think so, all of us are a bit nervous. I’m nervous and I don’t like losing. We don’t like losing.
We certainly win and lose together so there’s no witch-hunt here – we understand our fans and members will be disappointed. It’s about highlighting the areas and working on them. That’s been our model for a while and it’s held us in pretty good stead and it’s been my model as a coach.
We identify, we work hard and we commit and we try and grow and improve. We are about growth.
It’s not ideal, we get that, but we are going to need to play better football more consistently than we did tonight to be in the hunt for a finals berth.
You don’t look as hard and as slick a team as you did last year, is that because you are a hunted group now?
I couldn’t answer that… I wouldn’t have thought so.
How did you assess the Crowley v Harvey match up?
I thought it was unusual that Ryan was shaded tonight. I thought Harvey really was quite strong for them. I thought their best were Harvey, Dal Santo had his moments and was quite good, Gibson was very good. I thought all their forwards chipped in and contributed and spread the load.
Zac Clarke didn’t have the same mobility around the ground today. Is he ok?
My understanding is he has no problem.
Is Chris Mayne ok?
I thought he was better tonight, certainly last week he was a bit under… it was probably an error in selection at our end. He’s building and it’s a tough game if you miss a little bit, that’s why I thought Fyfe was exceptional tonight, he’s trained on.
We just need to stick together, train on and improve.
It’s the Carlton Draught Derby next week, which is a real challenge, but we’ve got nine days to have a good week on the track and improve.
You said Barlow was probably still about a week away. Could he make it into the side for the Derby?
He can make an effort, but probably means probably. I think he is unlikely. He’s just back training now, we’d love him back. I’d never write off Michael Barlow, he’s capable of anything. He’s pretty special.
To our fans and members, we are disappointed but we aren’t going to ‘throw the baby out of the bath water’ so to speak, we are going to commit, train and try and improve.
