Ross how do you feel about that win?
It was a bit of a different mix tonight, a lot of lessons to learn. North Melbourne are a very good team, we analysed their form coming in. If you look at who they’ve played, they have played some very good teams in the competition. West Coast, GWS, Bulldogs and Geelong. We knew they were going to be to formidable and fierce and at zero and four it’s like desperation time. With a young group, it's an insidious creep just that mental game and that was always a concern. I thought we started okay. (We were) obliterated around the ball in the second quarter. They just annihilated us and that was about hit around the ball, it wasn’t rocket science. I know the crowd was roaring about umpires but you make your own luck, they were harder at it, they were stronger at the ball, we just thought we were close enough to really dig in there. I wasn’t really worried about the scoreboard, it was more our mental toughness to get going again and I thought we responded. I thought people who had been down got moving and in the end it was quite thrilling wasn’t it? I saw Brad (Scott) coming out of the box and he’ll be hurting and he’s got a young group like us, 10 players under 30 games, so they’re transitioning, we’re transitioning and they’re fighting hard. I thought their leaders stood up and gave them a chance and I think in the end ours stood up. When you are talking about one-point you’re talking about a bounce of the ball and a little bit of luck. We did a fair bit right but from our end it was a different game to last week. It was tough and hard and quite greasy and slippery. I would have expected a bit more high scoring out of both teams but it was just for whatever reason that happened. We get to learn a lot of out it. Now we have basically already moved onto West Coast next week in the derby. That’s how we will approach it. We’ll do a sharp review and we’ll learn and continue to grow hopefully.
What does it do to the belief in the group to get up two weeks in a row in tight games?
I think you just build trust in your teammates that the bloke next to you is going to keep digging away and digging in for you and he’s not going to flick the bails. That’s how you get momentum. At any one time there’s only 18 on the filed so its very much about you might be having a bad night but if you keeping digging in and digging in and keep giving effort eventually things turn your way.
How pleased are you for Shane Kersten after he was under a lot of pressure early in the year?
I never saw him under pressure, that’s external pressure but we understand it where it sits. Ultimately we like kicks, marks, handballs and goals. We see around the competition that there is more than that. There’s more to the game, you have to work collectively and Shane was buying in and preparing really well. He will have his ups and downs but we are really pleased.
How’s Stephen Hill?
He came off with hamstring tightness and they ruled him out. That’s the only update I’ve got. If he’s done a hammy we will let you know, we are not in the position where we need to hide anything. In due course, we’ll get some scans and we’ll let Stephen know first and everyone at the club then let you know. I’m hopeful, nobody has told me anything other than that.
Stephen’s had a huge start to the year?
Yes, he has. He’s been very good.
North has had some goals kicked on them in the last quarter every week. Is that something you mentioned at three quarter time?
No, but it’s a good point. I probably should have. Past results don’t count for the next but if that’s a feature, that’s a small sample. We weren’t in the position to get cocky. We needed to keep hitting in and trying to build our footy character.
You have seen a lot in your 10 years, three weeks ago would have you foreseen this?
I have been in worse positions than zero and two, I think I have been one-and-a- half and seven and been in a grand final. We’ve all got different experiences, but everyone’s truth is their own truth. We’ve all got our experiences and how we interpret what we put in front of us. Clearly, I interpret differently to other people, fortunately.
Is finishing in the eight a realistic goal?
We are all trying to make the eight. You can’t play in finals until you earn the right. That previous 10 years, we never spoke about playing in finals that was the aim and that’s just instinct, that’s just there for all AFL clubs. You have to get your process, your training right and your competition and get enough wins before you can even worry about it. Results can just be distracting, really. The only thing that gets you four points is action, not dreaming about it.
The influx of youth over the past three weeks, how important has that been to the energy of the group?
I think that’s a simple take on it to be truthful because behind closed doors a lot goes in. Simplify and change our week. We’ve changed our meetings, simplified some feedback from the players, we’ve had some simple focuses. It all converges all those threads come together. We’re not flying but we thought out effort in round one was fine. Clearly, round two was not what we wanted, therefore we acted. I have full faith in those guys that went out. Danyle Pearce, Cam Sutcliffe, Nick Suban they can come in and play really good footy. They’ll get swept up in that they’ll be fine.
Do you feel like an underdog heading into the derby?
Odds. I always feel like an underdog, The northern suburbs of Melbourne, that’s what you think, that’s where you learn to fight, never give up.
