Well, he’s basically been cleared to play. He’ll train today. All his strength’s fine, everything’s fine. He’s desperate to play and he’s been cleared to play by the doctors. He’ll train and then we’ve just got to make a decision, is it the smart thing to do? We’d be fighting, going upstream against the doctors, which we never do. He should play but it might come down to mine and the match committee’s gut feel, is it the right thing, even though he’s been cleared to play? It's a bit unusual but I think we can all appreciate why.
Will Aaron Sandilands train today?
No he’s in (for surgery) today. He just gets it (cheekbone) pushed back out. I think it’s probably just local, they just go in and push it back out, without being flippant about it. They’ll get it back out and he’ll start working again tomorrow. He’s had a rough run but he did play the three in a row, I think it was, and built up good form and has done an enormous amount of work. It's not ideal but he’ll certainly play next week unless there’s a soft tissue that would creep up on us.
Surgery today?
Yeah it's usually minor, they just go in and push out the slight depression. That’s all there is to it, without being flippant about it. We wouldn't want it to happen to any of us but it’s just part of the business.
Will he wear a helmet?
The clubs are really good, particularly the medical fraternity, about when you need some assistance and previous experiences. There has been a couple of clubs that have said “we’ve done this” and they sent the headgear over and you sort it out. It just adds that element of protection, that’s our responsibility, not to be negligent and give them the best chance. I would imagine he would have some headgear. I haven't seen it. All players aren't thrilled with it, but I think we’ve all matured, it doesn’t matter what you look like, it’s about what’s best for you. So, probably.
Clancee and Garrick?
To be frank, Clancee had a one-day hiss up that forced him to miss this week rather than push him through. It's not ideal but he’ll play next week for sure. Garrick is being slower than what we’d like, so he’s starting to get to the concerning stage, which is disappointing for Garrick and us, just a niggling Achilles. He’ll be out there doing some work and then he’ll come in, but it’s that not getting over the hump.
Have you been able to determine why the soreness is still there?
I've got no idea. They just tell me he's still sore. I just get frustrated. But I feel for the player and the team. But we've covered a lot of losses this year, and we need to do it again.
Any chance this week (Ibbotson)?
No chance.
Any concern playing players with compromised preperations for finals?
It would be if we picked him. We haven't picked him yet. So we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. It's certainly a consideration. It puts him under some pressure. Everyone is going to get back and play - Clancee, Luke. It's a good point. You can't go in with players that are underdone.
But Garrick is a great athlete who has played nearly every game for two years. Luke's the longest, obviously he'll be eight weeks, that's a big call. But one that's quite unique. Everyone else is back. Matthew should get a five-game run into it. He'll be feeling like it's the start of the year and Clancee will be fine. He would have played, and Aaron would have played. So it will only really be at the minute, Garrick.
Pavlich form?
Yeah really solid, some good signs. He took a couple of really good contested marks last week. Kicked a number of goals. He's got another two weeks, another eight quarters. If you come into a season it tends to be, if I play three, I'm really cherry ripe and ready to go for round one. There's no difference for Matthew. So he'll have four or five in a row, whatever it is and he'll be in really good shape, barring a hiccup.
Is Pavlich’s return a big factor in Hayden Ballantyne’s form?
No I wouldn't have thought so. I thought Hayden was in ripping form. We've adjusted Hayden's positioning. Playing a bit higher, not coming out of the goal square as much. So he's crumbing and playing to his strengths.
Pressure for spots?
Pressure for spots is right up there and everyone knows it. Cam Sutcliffe was really unfortunate to miss out the week before. We always pick a team based on the opposition, but there's some great competition for spots. Our young players have been terrific coming in - like Neale, Sutcliffe, Sheridan. They haven't been perfect, but they've really added a bit. At times Hannath and Taberner, too. From match committee, you need that pressure on spots, no doubt.
How much has Ibbotson been restricted?
I haven't got all the detail, except to say he's in rehab, they work them pretty hard. Most players love to get out of rehab because they get flogged and training is a little bit easier. So he's working really hard and giving himself the best chance. I don't sit throughtheir programs.
Ibbotson's influence?
He's been a good player for us. He's been an important part of the back six. I think he's got a lot of public acknowledgement, which is a credit to him because he's improved his football, which is important. But you've got to be good enough to cover loss of personnel.
Port Adelaide?
Well I'd be disappointed if they were hungrier than us. That's the first thing. That would surprise me. But they've certainly got a lot to play for, as have we as it stands today. We acknowledge we've played some people on the bottom of the ladder but we've been very professional in our approach. This is a bigger challenge. They're really well drilled, really well coached. Their ball movement is a strength. They use it well, and if you don't work and you don't chase they embarrass you pretty quickly. They're a young hungry group, hard running team. Best fourth quarter team in the competition, theoretically, and it's a big challenge for us.
Their transformation?
Well it's a credit to Ken (Hinkley) isn't it. He came out of a great program. He was a great player at Geelong. It was a great program and they reflect a fair bit of Geelong in their ball use and how they structure up. His leadership, I don't think you can underestimate the leadership in a club that was down and out. It just highlights the pillars. You need a strong president, strong CEO, and a strong senior coach and strong footy manager. Those pillars have come together to give that club strong leadership and direction and all their players have bought in and it's a significant achievement by Ken, no doubt.
Freo's 15 minute drop offs?
It's human nature. It's hard to concentrate for more than 20 minutes so you need some stimulus and some incentive to do that. We've spoken about the challenge and those lapses can be really costly, it doesn't matter who you are playing. They were costly against GWS and Melbourne. So we have addressed them. We just spoke about trying to find the stimulus for you to continue to focus on for when you slip. Concentrate, acknowledge it, and try and get back in the zone to keep playing your role. It's certainly been spoken about and addressed.
Can you talk about your mate Paul Roos coaching again?
No, I’d like him stay out of it, he’s a pretty good coach, he might train someone up really strongly and it’s a bigger threat. I’m happy for him to stay out of the industry. We obviously talk, he’s a really close friend, we talk weekly, but what he’s saying publicly is what he’s said to me. At the moment everything’s not aligned, but that could change really quickly.
A comment on Essendon?
I’m happy to acknowledge, we all know what’s going on. I don’t feel like I’m in a position to make any judgements on anyone, I have real empathy for all parties involved, there’s a lot of great football coaches, players and great AFL administrators that are at loggerheards and trying to sort out a problem. All of us have been really patient, it’s clearly coming to a head. The game will always survive because it’s a great game and we all love it, amongst that angst there’s some great football being played and some great young players emerging. As a football coach it is a bit emotional because, it’s a distraction, but we all see the release yesterday and we’re sitting there wondering what’s going on, we’re looking for a conclusion, but I think I like the fact, natural justice, everybody gets an opportunity. What that looks like, it's not for me to judge, but certainly everyone’s entitled, and Andrew’s (Demetriou) acknowledged that as well. To put their case forward and be heard. So I’ll let the professionals deal with what that looks like and the outcomes. The stewardship of the game has been in great hands with the AFL commission since inception. I was around when there was struggling clubs in Melbourne, it was a domestic competition. The AFL commission has headed up this competition, the expansion clubs, Western Australian football and South Australian. It’s driven television rights, great interest in the game and great passion from the fans, so I still have greatfaith in the leadership of the commission, headed up by Mike Fitzpatrick. I’m sure everyone will work their way through it and the game will continue to thrive, that’s the game we all love so much. It is emotional, and I just feel for everyone in there. They’re all really good people, I don’t think we can make personal judgements on anyone. All of us at times can lose our way or get confused. From mine, I’d like to just keep supporting everyone involved and hopefully there’s conclusions where the game goes ahead and grows.
Have you had contact with Hird?
It’s something I’ve thought about, but it’s inappropriate I think, and I think it’s inappropriate to comment any further than I have.
