Simmo, commiserations on the loss. What are your thoughts on that one?
Yeah, we did well to stay in it first quarter. We couldn't take a mark in the front half in the first quarter and our backs held up pretty well considering the supply and we could have gone in front of him, we conceded a goal with 30 seconds to go. The second quarter, we just got blown away in the midfield. From the rucks to the mids, so I don’t think we won a clearance in the second quarter and some of the things we tried just didn't work. So 13 shots, 25 contested possessions against. So a really disappointing second quarter, which is a trend that we can't seem to stop. And then the third quarter we responded a couple different things. I think Petch going around the ball was good for us and some of our younger players responded and senior players and then the games too far away to chase. So yeah, showed a bit of resistance in the second half. But in the end, they were too good in particular second quarter.
Just touching on that second quarter, it was just so bad in terms of contested possessions and things like that?
That's what I just said. I can repeat it. I don't want to repeat it. But you're right. And it's hard to point the finger at our forwards because the ball wasn't in there. And our backs just the supply piece. Were overwhelmed with it. So yep, they're are a good midfield and they taught us a lesson in the second quarter and they're a very honest competitive team that has played a very similar way for a number of years and when they get it on their terms, they were really dangerous in the last five weeks, we've seen it. So we knew it was coming and we couldn't stop it.
We've seen how challenged you are at the moment with your list and having your best available, what were the things you saw from your players you can’t put down to availability?
Craft, method and experience. We're not winning hit outs at the moment. So you got to be really good at your craft. So those type of things, we're better than that. They did respond in the in the third. But we're not stopping the momentum when it really elevates to another level. So that's our challenge to stop the bleeding and it's not always stoppages. Sometimes it's ball use or team defense. So tonight, it was clearly around the ball.
You start to get away with it when you have young kids in there but when you've got Kelly, Sheed and Gaff around the ball and its still not working. Is that frustrating?
We're relying a lot on Tim Kelly and Dom Sheed. So, we need them to play at their best every minute. So, when they're a bit off, I think Ruben had 16 tackles or something again tonight, and there's not much more you can do. So yeah, we're getting challenged in that space. So, we want our good players playing well, all the time and when they were a bit off, it hurts us a bit. Witts is a tremendous ruckman and probably the best in the comp at the moment and young Bailey's working through his career and I'm not sure what the headaches were tonight but I'm sure it was significant.
What did you say to them at half time?
We wanted a response. It's not that complicated. We did a couple of things from a coaching point of view, but they all responded in a way that we expected but just expected a bit earlier.
Is the weight of the season getting to them?
Absolutely, it's been difficult. So yeah, there's a lot of expectations on the group that plays every week to perform as best they can and you know, with what we've got available, it's it's a challenge for some of them. So that's reality, but we've got to be resilient, we've got to find a way to compete. I'll sound like a broken record because there is no go to, its keep forging forward, keep trying to find the little things that we do well and do them for longer. Keep growing with your craft, keep going with the style of play we're trying to do, keep trying to stop momentum. So we'll keep pushing that with who got available. That's that's all we can do.
Do you have a theory on why the second quarter is the one that's killing you?
Yes and no without going into too much detail, but it's going to happen you're going to get challenged. It's how you respond when it's two or three goals and we're not responding. So there's so much you can do from a coaching point of view and then there's a bit of digging in deep as applying point of view as well. So we're connected.
The jobs you handed Reuben Ginbey and Xavier O'Neill tonight. What do you think?
Yeah, I thought Xavier did a pretty good job. I don't know what he had in the end. I reckon it was mid teens halfway late in the third side and Reuben just played we put him back in the last quarter. So yeah, those those guys they tried their hardest.
There is so much external negativity around the club, a lot coming from loyal fans and what not. Can you do anything to protect the players and how much is filtering through to the players?
I'm not sure. That's just our industry. We get paid well, to deal with that and all we can do is work our way through it. So that's part of the job.
I guess some players may feed off that positive energy, but when it turns the opposite way how do you respond?
Our fans turn up, they turned up tonight again. So we have 37,000 tonight. So, you know, I know we're not delivering on field, but they've turned it up. So I know, there's some disappointed members out there and I get that and, you know, asking for patients, they can demand as much as they'd like. They paid memberships but we're trying and while we're going through this it's going to be a challenge. So there's no quick fix.
With so much of the season still remaining. What do you do to try keep spirits high?
Get some players back, keep learning, trying to grow from the good bits and learn from the bad bits. Unfortunately, we might have lost Jack tonight with an arm. Jamaine Jones was subbed out with a broken nose. So, we'll get some younger players back in the next few weeks. We're going to keep exposing and give them opportunities, you know, to get to the end of the year, and some of these kids have played 15 to 20 games. That's a positive. So we'll work through that.
Darling looked to be in a lot of pain, is it broken?
I don't know. We'll get an x ray and see how it is. But he didn't want to come off. I know he cops a lot and sometimes when you are out of form that's what it is. But he loves the club and he loves his teammates.
Are you concerned he didn't want to come off given the criticism that he has copped this week?
No, it's the players. He wants to help.
You had Jones go back out there as well. Is that something that you just think the players are trying to fight their way through?
Maybe, people play with broken noses all the time. It just got a bit sore.
You had 47,000 when you played Carlton, and tonight was 37,000. Do you worry that you’ve lost that amount of people in a few weeks?
I'd like to know what our average crowd is against Gold Coast. But yeah, they want to see us being competitive. So I get all that and we appreciate the support that that's coming our way and the criticisms there as well. Can't do much about that.
There was a moment in the third term where Oscar Allen goes on to kick the goal after the free kick that gets called back, you lost momentum and Brad Johnson described it as the worst rule in footy and the next thing you know you have a flooded forward line. Was that frustrating?
I'm really not connected to those incidents. Really. There's bigger picture stuff we're working on. When we get momentum, we're not capitalising so that's probably, whether it's the umpire’s fault. But when we do get dominance, we're not actually hitting the scoreboard. So that's something that happened last week, in the first quarter, we had seven and inside 50's and kicked two or three goals. So, you know, trying to convert from our supplies, when we get it is something that we're not getting as well. So, there's a few things we're going to try and fix but the umpires aren't what I'm really worried about.
Does next week feel big given the proximity of the ladder?
Every week for us is a chance to get better and a chance to expose some younger players to the brutality of AFL. So, Hawthorn next week, will be the same as this week.
Does it feel any different because of the ladder positions?
I'm not thinking about it.