Post Match. Pies dump Dees. All comments.

[RudeBoy]

Hey Pep, I'm in Paris and watch the games on the AFL Match centre site.

[Pep]

Hey Pep, I'm in Paris and watch the games on the AFL Match centre site.

Hey mate, okay cool, might be a silly question, do you watch from AFL site? Will try and use it for the GWS game. Thanks!

[RudeBoy]

I'm pretty hopeless at computer stuff, but here's the link

https://www.watchafl.com.au/match-centre/

[RudeBoy]

DP

[Jezza]

Fly's presser

In terms of turning the game around, what did you make of that?

"I'd like to think for most parts of the game, we felt like we were in control to some degree. Clearly playing against last year's premiers, you expect you would have to play four quarters and play the minutes. I did mention at half time, I thought if the game was finished and we had to review ourselves, 'how did we go'? They were really proud of the effort and the way they were going about it, but the execution wasn't quite there, so those were the messages".

You've beaten Fremantle, Carlton and Melbourne over a 4-week span, what does that say about where this football club is at?

"I just mentioned it now, that we're trying to grow. A lot more stuff gets missed in terms of you see our performance on the weekends. We've got guys that are now doing personal bests in the gym. Steele Sidebottom did a PB in the gym this week. This is a guy at the end of his career. We're trying to get better every single day we're in the club. It's now starting to equate to performances on the field that we're really proud of. We're not a finished product, those sort of things that we're really proud of with the way we're going about it week to week".

Everyone considered you a surprise packet up until this point, but now expectations will start to rise. How do you think the guys will handle that?

"Again, I just wrote on the board about acting like winners. We just want to live in the moment for now. We've got a bit of a break. It's been 13 weeks of footy continuously. This game is pretty hard week to week. We get a chance to take a breath. A bit of a comma if you like on our season, and reset ourselves. We had no idea where we were going to sit in the big scheme of things, and we still don't. It's a pretty long season, but we get a breath now".

You had the roar of the crowd on Anzac Day, and the goal by Crisp in the last quarter was huge with the roar. How infectious is that for you?

"I got a little bit carried away again, I don't know who kicked the goal but I got a little bit excited. It draws emotion. We've got players that have played minimal games with fans. Our fans; to hear them roar, scream; 76,000, it's a privilege to play in front of big crowds and we get to do it regularly. We don't lose sight of that and we're thankful for our fans".

Do you start talking about finals now with the midseason bye approaching? Does it become a focus?

"Not if you're process driven like we are. We don't really talk about winning too often either, I talk about winning habits, but we don't talk about winning too often. We just talk about our processes and who we are. We're seeing that our best can be really competitive. We're growing as well week to week so that will be the message".

Is there a point where finals becomes a "carrot" for the players?

"I'm not sure, I can't speak for what the players are talking about. What I will speak to, I can just see that our players are believing. They're growing and believing in what we're doing. Belief can be really powerful, which can be a motivator".

Mason Cox has gone through some hard spells, how pleased are you with his performance?

"I must admit, I'm really proud of him. I told him how proud I am of him. It's no secret, we go way back. To see him grow as well, he's got a lot of doubters Mason doesn't he. He shows he can play at the level when he's confident about his best".

How big was Mason Cox's third quarter to drop back and take some good intercept marks?

"I'm sure you're watching, you can see him grow. He just gets taller and taller. He had a couple of chances in the first quarter he didn't quite take. They were half chances. He's been really important for us in the past month".

It seems like Cox playing in the ruck has benefited him more than playing predominantly forward?

"I do believe Mason is a better ruck-forward than he is a forward-ruck. I think the ability for him to pinch hit. We've been playing him a little bit more off the bench and then he goes a little bit forward. I do believe that is his best position. I think the game is so fast now and you have to be on the ground more than the air. For him to get the ball to ground is important for us in the forward line. You see him buying into tackling. Last week you see him chasing down guys. I think he's really bought into what we're trying to be".

Brodie Grundy will be back at some point and Darcy Cameron is playing well, will there be a spot for Mason Cox?

"That's a long way away. There's still 6 weeks away. A lot can change in 6 weeks in terms of form and injury. It's a nice thought to have Brodie available and have that as a discussion point".

You say you still don't know where you fit in the grand scheme of things. At what point will you know and why don't you know despite some big scalps?

"If you look at our list profile and when all our magnets are on the board, 'oh that's going to be a really competitive team'. It doesn't take too many to go away and ask of the youth to stress the team a little more. We're confident and we think we've got some young players looking for opportunity at the lower level. This is a very even competition, so you've got to make the most of when your best magnets are available".

Can you talk us through Brody Mihocek's performance, after some doubt he wouldn't play earlier in the week.

"Jeez I was nervous when I thought he wasn't going to play. We don't have the depth to bring in someone else to play that role but Checkers is also just a battering ram for us, he competes so hard. It is a sign of who he is. He was 50/50 for most of the week, didn't train at all and then comes out really sore and then performs. It is one thing to play injured, it's another thing to play well injured, so it's a sign of his character".

How important was the discipline of your defenders?

"Yeah, we wanted to make sure that we were hard to play against. Our backs in the last month worked really hard to play against. We kept last year's premiers to 8 goals. Darcy Moore, Howie, IQ, they've got a good chemistry. Nick Daicos is getting a lot of metres gained for us. It's a good back 6 or back 7 at the moment".

On Nick Daicos, are you surprised how easily he's slotted into AFL football?

"Not surprised with how he's playing. I think we've all believed in his capability to play at this level like he is. To be honest with you, we sort of moved him back to look after him to have experience around him. We [considered] playing him for sub a few weeks because he'll probably need a break, but he's playing too well. He's a kid that's on the rise and a kid who's getting the best out of what his ability is".

After going into a rebuild at the end of 2020, how have the veterans such as Pendles, Sidebottom and Mihocek dealt with that after the club thought you might be a fair way off?

"We always want to win now, and we want to win for the future. We're not shying away from that. If you're talking about performance and outcomes, our leaders in the last four weeks have really stepped up and taken ownership of a lot of stuff. There's a freshness that's gone through the place, I'll say that there is. Change brings that. New coaches, new game style. Pendles and Steele are the two of the elder statesmen. They come openly saying they're learning so much. Brendon Bolton's teaching, Justin Leppitsch is teaching. It's a different voice and the way we educate. There's an energy amongst that".

Are there any plans to expose Nick Daicos to the midfield, or is he set in defence because he's playing too well in that position?

"No, there was. We see him being an inside midfield futuristically. At the moment, put him in there against Selwood and Petracca it's not going to be favourable for him at the moment. We want to give him more exposure. The plan was probably to shift him a little bit more forward in the second half of the year, but that's going to be hard to do now".

In terms of some Melbourne guys, Clayton Oliver had a lot of the ball but Ed Langdon was kept to 10 disposals with 100% of game time. Was there any plan to stop Langdon?

"Yeah, we did. I think any opposition that plays against Melbourne sees Langdon's hard running and his ability to get back and support, so we were really conscious of that. I learned a little bit of what Hawthorn did. I spoke to Sam Mitchell and he told me what they did. In terms of Oliver, he's such an important player for them and we couldn't stop him early. A lot of it was to help out the backline, so we had a couple of things that we tried around that. It worked to some degree, but he's such a quality player".

https://www.collingwoodfc.com.au/video/ ... 5111559001

[Pep]

I'm pretty hopeless at computer stuff, but here's the link

https://www.watchafl.com.au/match-centre/

Awesome!! Thanks!!

[Big T]

Loved WHEs game.

[23 YIPPEE!!!]

Great effort Pies well done tell me did Howe play didn’t see him out there
Thought n daicos should have won the BOG medal

[Ronnie McKeowns boots]

We did well in getting Fly. Not a big name but what we needed.

Agree.

I don't want to gloat too much, but I feel like those of us who were pushing for Buckley to depart last year are vindicated now, despite some of the abuse we received.

Yes indeed Jezza, the vitriol was unfathomable, it was clearly the right choice. Great win, what a team, the structures out there are fantastic, you can actually see what we are trying to do, as opposed to previous years

[mattdally]

Our defence in the last month has been amazing - average of 61 against
Must admit - at 4-5 with the month of footy we had coming up it was almost odds on to be 4-9.

I love this club.

[pietillidie]

Our defence in the last month has been amazing...

Agree, and I reckon it's still improving, having gone from talented, to well-organised and miserly, now to full of rebound. Clubs from Brisbane to Geelong and the WCE have had defences that have stifled us in big games over the years. Now, that's where we're heading. Some of the kicks give me palpitations, but aside from Moorey's brain fade today, almost all of them came off.

[ANNODAM]

I see RICH has taken their rightful position on the ladder

[Mr Miyagi]

[Pies2016]

Loved WHEs game.

Agree, looked like he worked more as a defensive winger and it allowed for some great ball use by Josh Daicos further up the ground.
Thought it was his best game this year and he was part of the plan to stop Langdons influence up and down the ground. He cops a lot of flak but he is capable of playing anywhere, so that shouldn’t be understated.

[Mr Miyagi]

The Sidey/Hosk wing swap on Langdon took him out of the game. Best game from Bruz in a while too