Senior coach John Longmire appeared in a weekly press conference on Tuesday (August 8) after a win over the GWS Giants. He answered questions from the media on Round 22, Lance Franklin's retirement and injuries heading into the final rounds.
On Round 21
“We still have some improvement left and there’s a few areas we looked at in review that we can still get better at. Some aspects we played well. Over the four quarters we did a lot of good things, and we played a team that are in red hot form. So to be able to come out on top was a really pleasing result.
On the forward line after Buddy’s retirement
“He had a big presence in our forward line and we were really to keen to have him play and nurture that next generation. Young key forwards take a little bit of time to grow. It has allowed that next generation of players to come through and to have a bit of confidence. They won’t all be consistent, and I don’t expect them to be Lance Franklin, but hopefully we have a system out there that they can keep working on. The more they play together, the better they get.”
On the affect of Buddy’s retirement
“It takes a little bit of getting used to, but on the other hand life moves on and footy moves on really quickly. We turned up this week and went to work. There’s a period of reflection but you get into the next training session and get on with it. Now we’ve got a season to get on with it.”
On selection for Jack Buller
“We’ll pick our best team in the situation to be able to compete every week. We’re fortunate that in the last couple of weeks, even though we had some injuries, our reserves have been in pretty good form. Jack was one of those and he played a half on the weekend and looked really good. If we need some players this week, we know they can come in. It’s a step up but they’ll be able to help out.”
On Braeden Campbell
“We considered (a challenge) long and hard. We felt we would have had a case but given the chat around what is happening in the game we thought our chances weren’t that great.”
On options to replace Braeden
“Dylan Stephens is a chance. He came on and contributed in the last quarter. Matty Roberts is another that played well in our VFL team. Corey Warner has been getting a taste of senior footy this year. We still have a couple of players we can bring in."
On Round 22
“We try and play our best footy every week and we’ve been doing that for quite a period of time now. We know what the scenario is and we have to play out our best footy every week – no matter who comes into the team. We know that the Suns are a strong contested ball team, fantastic around clearances and have a dominant ruckman. It’s going to be a real challenge. Their best footy is really good and we hope our best footy is good enough.”
On strategy against the Suns
“Rowell and Anderson are really good players, and we’ll have to be really strong around the footy and the midfield. There’s no doubt that will be a big battle. The way they’re so strong in contest means we need to be at our best to try and combat that. We feel we can score if we get the ball in our forward line enough, but we have to make sure we’re strong at the contest to be able to do that. That will be our challenge.”
On Errol Gulden
“He works really hard at his game. We showed some vision in our review, not of him scoring any goals, but working so hard off the ball. He’s playing his role really well down in defence. He’s got a great attribute in that space as far as being a two-way runner and he works just as hard in defence as he does in attack. That’s what we think makes him a really good player.”
On Hayden McLean
“Hayden has played a couple of different roles for us. He’s played a fair bit of time as a forward but recent weeks we’ve put him in the ruck. Losing Sam Reid, we’ve been looking for that forward second ruck. That’s the role he’s played. His flexibility allows us to play him in a couple of different roles so hopefully he continues in good form. We’re really keen on Hayden and he works hard at his game.”
On injuries this season
“We’ve always been confident that we have good, young players in our team. We have been tested with injury this year, certainly more than the last two years. We were tested again last week losing three of our best players and still coming out against Giants and playing a competitive game. It says that we’re competitive. The margin is so small and to be at our best every week is something we strive to do.”
On Dane Rampe’s return
“We don’t think (he’ll return) this week. We’ll see how he goes on Thursday. We’re conscious being a calf and being a bit older that we don’t put him through too many risks.”
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