We were really happy with our performance last weekend at Etihad Stadium as we rate the Western Bulldogs as one of the up-and-coming teams in the competition. We know they’re a strong contested side, so we planned for that and wanted to set the tone early. Our start to the game was really good, which is what we wanted, because it’s important to get a good start each week. We were able to set the tone early, which helped set up a strong win for us and it was really positive to get such a good win down in Melbourne.

What was also good to see in last week’s win was that we were able to do it without a handful of senior players including Josh Kennedy, Ben McGlynn, Sam Reid and Craig Bird. In their absence, we had guys like Tom Mitchell come into the side and step up, and also Shane Biggs came in and did a good job through the midfield on Bulldogs captain Ryan Griffen. It was good to see those guys come into the side from the reserves and be able to take that step up and play AFL football, so that was a real positive for us.

In addition to Mitchell and Biggs, it was also terrific to see our other young players, who have played a fair bit of senior football this year, continue their good form. Guys like Harry Cunningham, Jake Lloyd and Dean Towers, it was good to see that the hard work they put in over the pre-season is really paying off for them now. It’s always great to have so many young players ready and pushing for selection and it’s also good to know that when they do come in they can really contribute and play well.

In the absence of a number of senior midfielders, Luke Parker’s game against the Bulldogs really stood out. Luke has probably been both one of our most consistent and best players this season. He picked up 32 possessions, 10 clearances and 11 tackles on Sunday and seems to be getting better and better with every game he plays. We know how hard he worked over the pre-season, and there is no doubt that those results are starting to show.

This week we take on Richmond at ANZ Stadium on Saturday afternoon, in what is a great opportunity for us to keep our winning form. Richmond have a lot riding on the game, so we’re expecting a tough game. They obviously want to win, but we want to win as well because we want to keep up the momentum heading into the finals. We want to play the type of footy that we have been playing and continue building momentum towards the finals.