Hear from senior coach Scott Gowans and Brooke Lochland as they prepare for the Round 5 clash against Carlton in Melbourne this Friday. The two sat down for a press conference on Wednesday, September 27, to discuss the upcoming match, game strategies and celebrating 50 games for Brooke Lochland.
On the 5-day turn around
Scott Gowans: “Everyone is looking fairly good. We didn’t get any injuries out of the game, but bumps and bruises. But the short term around is a little bit of a challenge. We just trained once this week and did an extra recovery. We were able to dial into a review up until this morning and then we flipped over and concentrated on Carlton. It is actually in some ways good, to not have to push through a normal training week, and train once and then play. I’m sure players probably prefer that. That’s a positive. We’ve been lucky that we are fairly fresh, so it has been good.”
On Montana Ham
SG: “She’s in a space where we can play her if we want to, but it’s a matter of Russian Roullet. Do you play someone that is so important to you and use up the time you’ve got with the player with an injury that is going to stay persistent throughout the year? Or do you just manage her, give her a three or four week break, and then play her. It’s backed by science, and we have a discussion with the medics today. There is a chance she will play this week, but there’s also a chance it will be two or three weeks... I imagine that she will be in and out of the side a little bit for the rest of the year, which is just the way it is.”
On Brooke’s 50th
Brooke Lochland: “It is a proud moment for me individually. It has taken me eight seasons to get here. It is definitely something I will celebrate and make the most of this week. It's just fitting that we are going down to Melbourne and I will be able to have all my friends and family there. It has been nice this season to get some wins on the board, we will keep building and hopefully get some more Ws in the coming weeks."
On Carlton
SG: “It gives a little bit of confidence out of the practice match, but to be honest they were trying a few things and so were we. You take a little bit out of it, but we have actually pulled bits out of both our practice games with Gold Coast and Carlton and taken that into our season. There were other things we put in the bin and thought that’s not going to work this season.
"It’s a bit of a fortress there, and if you do happen to beat them there, in my experience anyway, it’s usually only just. So, we will have to fight out four quarters, but it is a really good challenge. And the good thing is, what the practice match does do is just gives you a confidence with a few match ups, so that will be something we can look at doing and try to tie them up a little bit and get the game on our terms as quickly as possible.”
BL: “It’s the best week to be in Melbourne, there’s just a buzz around the city. We were lucky to be there last year for a whole week, so to be able to be there this year is really exciting. Hopefully we will get the stands packed at IKON on Friday, I know I will bring a bit of family there, hopefully there will be some people cheering on the red and the white. We’re really excited for the challenge. We know it will be a tough game, but we are excited for it.”
On Ally Morphett
SG: “She is critical to us. She creates a lot of momentum for us and takes the ball out of the ruck and gets some clearance meters, which is what we look for. We will see if we can get some momentum. Bre Moody is a great player and no doubt she will spend some time forward as well, which will be a challenge. Bring your popcorn and watch Moody V Morphett.”
On game strategy
SG: “They've got a new coach, and their game style has changed. So, there is not much game-plan wise, it is more just to know a little bit about some key players, and where we could get a little bit of an advantage. I also like the idea of speaking to players who come into the team and see what they thought of us, and how they approached playing us. It can give insight into what to expect in the game. Other than that, it is about us and how we can keep moving forward.”
On Bella Smith playing forward
SG: “We always had it in the back of our minds. She actually played forward for us a little bit early on last season, particularly in practice matches and practice scrimmages. It was just circumstantial that she went back when Alice Mitchell did her ACL and then, last year we had Gen Tavan, who is at Carlton ironically playing that role and doing quite well, so it was just a balance thing. When she was at Collingwood, and I was coaching there with her, it was the same thing, she was sort of forward and back. So, I think that she has always sort of done it, and it just worked last week so we will probably look at doing it again. But then, Bre Moody presents a bit of a problem down back for us so we may look at Bella on Bre as well.”
On forward fifty entries
BL: “It has been good practice for us in the last couple of weeks, we have had sides who have been really flood our forward line, which makes it difficult at times. We have been doing some practice in training with our mids and forwards, so we have done a lot of work on it. Hopefully we will see a bit of change this week and we will try and move the ball a bit differently to get better inside fifty entries.
