Sydney Swans forward Tom Papley addressed the media ahead of training at the SCG on Thursday morning.
Sydney is set to face the Gold Coast Suns at the SCG on Saturday afternoon.
Here are some key quotes from the press conference.
Papley’s body
“I’m going well this week. It’s the first time this year I haven’t put up with a niggle, which is a good sign. I obviously took those three weeks off and it’s helped the body a lot. You get niggles along the way and I unfortunately had a few little niggles at the start of the year. But I took those three weeks off and it’s a blessing in disguise. I put my hand and said I’m not 100 per cent. It was affecting me a bit with the sharp movements.”
Young guns firing
“It’s great seeing Ronke and Hayward doing well. It’s good for the Club and the young boys are doing really well, as is Ollie Florent, and Colin O’Riordan came in for his first game this week and didn’t look out of place at all. Aliir is getting better and better every week too. The game on the weekend was a really good win. We had 10 guys under 33 games and to get the win just shows the depth we have at the Club. It’s really exciting times.”
A ‘veteran’ among a young forward line
“When you’ve got Hayward and Ronke down forward there is a bit more experience in me. I do enjoy sometimes directing them around and teaching them things I might know and I learn off them as well. The way we move the ball and leading patterns are the big things I try to help the younger ones with. Lance helps a lot with that. He’s tremendous with the way he talks to us younger boys and then I try to pass that down to those boys.”
Eyes on the prize
“Percentage is a big thing but you’ve got to take it week by week. Four points is the most important thing. If you’re looking at percentage you’re probably on the wrong path. So four points is the key and we’ll take it one week at a time. We’ll be keeping the foot down 100 per cent of the game. Gold Coast have a few things to prove and we respect them. Stuart Dew is a great coach and he knows us pretty well. He’s going to do some things and Gold Coast are a great side. They’ve got some good players and we’re looking forward to the contest.”
Captain Kennedy
“He’s one of the most durable players out there. He looks after his body really well and is a tough player. He plays through niggles and I think this week he’ll be 100 per cent right.”
