Thoughts on the match, must have been pretty happy especially that second quarter with Jack Darling?

Yeah, it probably wasn’t our cleanest game, but I thought the way that Adelaide played, you know, we scouted this, the ball intensity was there all day, ended well, and they had certain stages where they were on top. So, we made the most of it through a bit of talent, bit of system, but we think we can play better than that, but we were quite impressed with what Adelaide brought today.

Darling’s second quarter, can you just talk a bit about that?

It’s great when we have players that can do that, and we’ll take it, because I thought Nic (Naitanui) and Tim Kelly were very, very good that quarter as well, so getting him the ball more often is priority number one when he’s in that vein of form, so it was great that he did that, but having to rely on someone to get us back in the game single-handedly, it’s fantastic to have someone like him there, but we’d probably like to do it a bit more evenly if we could.

I’m guessing a nutmeg through the legs isn’t part of the coaches’ playbook?

I didn’t actually see it – I thought he marked it 10 metres out and was just going to go back and kick a goal. Yeah look, he was special for that period of time and we’re lucky we’ve got him.

He’s had some big years, but is this the most consistent that he’s been?

Not necessarily, no, I think he’s been consistent for a number of years now. I don’t think he’s been too far off on most games.

How important is he, we speak about Oscar Allen, the young gun rising up, and Josh Kennedy as the experienced head, how important is that one in the middle that just does it all the time?

I don’t think any of us are underestimating Jack Darling’s presence on game day, he’s been there since the day I got there, so this is not new, is it? This has been him for eight, nine years, so like I said, we’re lucky we’ve got him.

Do you feel like you’ve got momentum now?

I think we’re still building with what we’re trying to achieve, obviously since Geelong, we had a pretty disappointing four quarters there, we’ve been consistent, and you know, today we’re really happy to get the win, don’t get me wrong. But I think, too many basic skill errors, couple of fumbles here and there, fundamentals. So I think our best was great today, but our worst looked quite vulnerable, so the last couple of weeks that’s been a bit more even, but as I said, Adelaide have got to take a lot of credit for that, they were really good.

How do you think the two pronged ruck situation is working?

We’re getting more comfortable with it as we go, it’s funny, when you play an extra ruck, it’s all or nothing. You’re either really tall or you’ve got a smaller forward line. So, it seems to work okay for us. They’re talented, they’re defending well, they’re not just aerial threats, so put some work on the deck as well. We’ve just got to get some more supply.

In terms of getting players back next week, Liam Ryan, what sort of chance is he?

Yeah, Liam’s been swimming, which is new, so I think he’s pretty ready to get back into it. So, he trained fully so he’s got to get through the week, but I think he’ll be available. And Shannon (Hurn), I think he signed off yesterday, so he should be in the mix for this week as well. So, it’s been great to get some exposure in some of our younger players, but, it will be good to get those guys back.

How good is it knowing the troops are coming back?

Yeah, I think exposure for the other guys has been great though, I think the depth of our list has been challenged, like every other club this year, us probably more than most with our experience, so we’ve got quite a shorter list with Willie (Rioli) and Dan Venables, we’ve only got 40 players available at the start of the year, so trying to manage that, and give our younger players some exposure has been good for us.

You mentioned Ryan’s been swimming a lot, what more can you tell us about that?

I’ve never seen him in the pool, then I just saw him, this bloke in the pool and I thought, ‘what’s going on here?’ So he’s ready to play if he starts swimming and doing extra cardio like that.

Had it been a challenge having no consistency with your backline due to injury, and has it been difficult to get everyone back fit and working together?

I think we’re all working through injuries and how you manage the way you play, we want to be consistent with our brand, so we’ve got some really distinct roles, the way we want to play and defend and move the ball, so it shouldn’t matter. But, there will be a discrepancy in talent and experience in stages, so that’s our aim, we’re still working towards that.

Nic Naitanui took four marks today, first time since 2018 that Naitanui’s had that many marks. There was a lot of talk throughout the week about him, was he listening do you think and wanting to make a statement at all today?

No. I don’t think Nic worries too much about the statements that he gets in the media. So, he’s building his season as well, I think he’s had some really good games, just like he has his whole career. I think he’s slowly building to a better version of himself this season, so if he takes marks, that’s great, I think his influence around the ground doesn’t necessarily rely on him marking the ball, the more contests he can get to, the better he’s going to look. He’s working on that.

You talked about Tim Kelly, is he stepping up?

Yeah, well with Luke (Shuey), (Elliot) Yeo and (Liam) Duggan’s been playing midfield, so we’ve been really proud of our mids the last three weeks. We got touched up against the Cats, but the way they’ve responded, I think collectively they’ve shared the load. And Tim has had moments where he’s risen above everyone, so that’s something pleasing that he likes the responsibility.

 For you as a coach, is it about management of Tim Kelly to keep him in that zone, especially taking on a new role in the coming weeks?

That will be a great problem to have when that happens, Yeo will be around the bye, so he’s not too far away, so that’s great. Luke’s a few weeks off that. He’s in his second year, last year was quite difficult with the hub and the experience with COVID, so he’s a lot more settled this season.

Alex Witherden came into the role recently, do you think he’s established himself in the backline?

I think he’s growing with us, he’s a good reflection of where we’re at. Coming to a new club, new way of playing, I think he’s served us pretty well in Shannon’s absence. And that’s the next challenge, these guys coming back, we’ve got some guys who’ve really held their own, so some great problems to have.