Sydney Swans vice-captain Luke Parker addressed the media ahead of training at the SCG on Wednesday morning.

Sydney lost to the Gold Coast Suns on Saturday afternoon and is now set to face Essendon at Etihad Stadium on Friday night.

Here are some key quotes from the press conference.

Striking back in Essendon clash

“It was a disappointing loss but it’s just a loss and we move forward. We’re sitting in a really strong position at the moment in terms of where our season is at. With five games to go we know it’s going to be a really close top eight and we’re really hunting for the top four. Going forward you know how close the ladder’s going to be and you’re a game or two from falling out of the eight, but then at the other end you’re a game or two from finishing on top. If you look at it that way, we’re confident we’ll come out and turn it around this week. We know everyone’s playing pretty desperate football at this time of year.” 

Reviewing the loss to Gold Coast

“We turned over the ball at pretty horrible times just with lazy kicks and lazy skill errors and they made us pay for it. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing Richmond or Gold Coast or whoever – if you turn the ball over at crucial spots on the ground they’re good enough to make you pay. If you don’t come up playing your best football you’re going to end up losing the game and that’s what happened on the weekend.”

Preparing for Essendon

“They’re a fast team and like on the weekend if you turn the ball over they make you pay. We had a team meeting this morning and have gone through how we want to use the ball and work against them and we’ll put that into training today. They’re fighting for a spot in the top eight and no doubt down in Melbourne it’s going to be a pretty fierce contest.”

Aliir’s contract extension

“It’s incredible news that we’ve been able to sign Aliir up for another three years. He’s playing some really good, exciting football at the moment and showing the depth and young generation we’ve got coming through.”