The Sydney Swans took on the Brisbane Lions in a match simulation on Friday, as the countdown continues to round one of the 2023 season. Assistant coach Dean Cox took the lead and appeared in a post-match press conference. Read his key quotes following the clash.

On the game:
“We had a really competitive first half and let ourselves down in the second half. It’s good to get out this time of year but unfortunately Brisbane was too strong especially around the contest and opportunities to defend our ground."

On Lachlan McAndrews:
“He battled well. I think when you’re playing against two number one rucks, or people that have played a lot of senior footy, to be able to learn. It’s a massive learning curve for him, he’s come a long way in a short period of time. He got to test himself against a quality opposition which was really pleasing."

On driving a high standard for the Club:
“The constant is we want to drive really high standards. It’s one thing the club and the leadership group has been really good at and it worked really well. We just need to make sure what we did last year, we continually improve on. There’s always marginal gains that we look for both as a coaching and playing group. The ability to test each other but still have a really strong united relationship which is what we’re all about."

On Will Edwards:
“The ability to first of all, he was told Tuesday-Wednesday he was going to have a crack playing in the ruck as well. Something he’s had to train the whole pre-season. He’s a first-year player, he’s been in and out of training, but that’s what you want, that excitement from the youth. You want to give him the opportunity and they’ll learn from that. It will be good vision and a good review with his coach."

On Matt Roberts:
“Hopefully he improves on the one game he played last year. I think the thing with Matt is he’s really composed under pressure. He can find targets when he needs to, he can identify what mode of the game is need and he’s got a mature head fro a young kid. So hopefully he can start to play some football for us."

On improving the squad:
“Part of what we need to address is the ability to make sure when their side gets it, we try to stop it as quickly as you possibly can. But also, when you have it, what’s working for you? So we need to identify that and try give the players a bit of a licence to see how they handle it and try and get the trends themselves. That’s what this part of the season is for. To educate and try to get them to understand what’s going on."

On Errol Gulden:
“The good thing about Errol is he understands every role he’s playing. He’s a pleasure to coach. A good thing is his attention to detail is spot on, and he works really hard on his game and that’s why you’ve seen him have a big impact and he’ll continue to do that.”