Interesting first quarter and then second quarter you seemed to get your structures and delivery right?

“I thought the first quarter we had good field position … we had pretty good supply. I thought Hawthorn defended really well. Their back six really held up. But the message at quarter-time was if we keep continuing to get that type of supply we think we can eventually convert. As much as we were disappointed we didn’t hit the scoreboard like we would’ve liked the game was – not on our terms – but we were comfortable where the game was.”

Was it pleasing you had nine goalkickers with Oscar (Allen) down back and (Brendon) Ah Chee bobs up with a career-best four?

“Hawthorn are obviously decimated with injuries as well and combine that with a bit of youth and our backline and their forward line were quite young, but we probably edged them with experience. When ‘Ozzy’ goes back, he’s a mature man. He’s only 21 but he plays like he’s 25 so he helped stabilise that along with Brad Sheppard who is a good leader down there. Then we’ve still got Kennedy and Darling forward who have been carrying the load for a number of years. We thought experience probably overwhelmed Hawthorn at stages. Then Ah Chee coming into the side, he’s been out for a while with hamstring and knee soreness. To come and what did he kick, four? He played a role on-ball for us. Really pleased with his role as well.”

Speaking of Kennedy, how is his calf?

“I think he had it from quarter-time onwards so I don’t think it’s significant. We probably thought there’s a risk if he kept playing he might make it worse so we had to make the sub halfway through the last.”

How pleasing is it to be 5-3 with so much experience on the sidelines?

“It was important we had a good effort today. I said to our players – I know we get criticised for it a little bit – it’s not about winning away from home it’s about playing consistent football that we think stands up in the long-term. I don’t think we’ve been doing that consistently enough, in particular away. To play four quarters of the style we like, it starts with the contest like every club, but I felt like we played more of a complete four-quarter performance today than we have previous interstate trips.”

Was there temptation to throw Oscar forward at quarter-time?

“There was, yeah. That’s a great question. I was thinking at quarter-time if we get 16 inside 50s and don’t score (a goal) … but Bailey Williams came in for his fourth game ever. We started him forward in the second quarter and tried to stretch them a little bit. He got three shots in the second quarter and kicked the last one. I think the last 10 minutes he went forward, Ozzy, to finish the game off. To do that though we’d be really short down back. We’ve got to way that up every week.”

Was there a sense of relief to get that first away win?

“I think we’ve owned our inconsistent form. We’ve had games at home where our form has been patchy where we’ve won. Obviously coming off the Geelong game, 100 point loss, didn’t show much fight after quarter-time, it’s probably more about our roles and our system – all the boring stuff people don’t want to hear. But giving our players that clarity seems to help them be more consistent so went back to that and it doesn’t matter where you play.”

One player who has put together some decent form is Tim Kelly?

“That’s a good point. I think our mids in general, and we’re missing (Elliot) Yeo, (Luke) Shuey and (Mark) Hutchings and now (Liam) Duggan is out for a while. Spreading the load is important, it’s not all about Tim. Collectively our mids the last couple of weeks have stood up. Last week in particular against a really good midfield group in Fremantle, and they were a younger group today but they were still pretty fierce, still really highly regarded in our eyes their midfield.”

We saw Shuey in the coaches box, what’s he providing up there?

“Because we’re a bit light on with the soft cap and coaches and we’re trying to spread the load, he’s out for a while and he’s got a real passion for football. We thought we’d give him this experience helping out the centre bounces with Adrian Hickmott overlooking stoppages. He’s not our stoppage coach but he does have a look over things. He’s such a good on-field leader he contributes in the box pretty well, but he’s still learning and he’s learning quick. He’s been an asset for us. I’d rather him in the middle than in the box, though.”

Do you get anyone back next week from injury?

“I’m not sure. I think there’ll be a few tests. (Jeremy) McGovern, (Tom) Barrass, Liam Ryan, maybe Hutchings, Shannon Hurn, they’ll all be around the mark, so we’ll have to work through that during the week.”