Senior coach John Longmire appeared in a weekly press conference on Tuesday to discuss Round 16. See what he had to say on James Rowbottom, Fremantle and the team's mentality. 

On Callum Mills 

“He trained really well today. He won't play this week, and he won't play next week. The conversation will be the week after. Hopefully he gets through the end of next week’s training in the sort of form that he trained today. Then we'll have a conversation about the week after.”

On last week’s performance

“There are a few areas that we needed to improve from the week before, which we did early in the game. Even though the scoreboard didn't show it, we were happy with some of the things that we were doing in that first quarter."

“In the last 45 minutes, we were able to hit the scoreboard, but we were able to then play some real territory football in the second quarter. It was wet and slippery, and we were able to do that and get the ball in our front half and score off the back of that. We play a team this weekend who are superb at clearances, for instance, and we've got to be mindful of that territory battle again this weekend, which is always going to be important.”

On James Rowbottom

“We're so fortunate that we've got a good group of players, and that younger group have learned off our older players to be able to make sure that they continue to do a role every week. Last week was terrific by Rowy. He played a very good game on his own, standing up on his own two feet.

“He sort of relishes those opportunities. He's always been a really selfless player and knows what his strengths are. He did it again on the weekend. It was really important to have that depth in our midfield.”

On Fremantle

“They're a good team. We're mindful of their strengths, so we're doing some work on that now. But we’re understanding it's going to be a real big contest here at the SCG on Saturday, so it's going to be a really good test for us. I think it's going to be a big midfield battle.”

On the team’s mentality

“We feel a belief that we've got some strengths, and we need to understand what they are, but it's also about what the opposition do and getting that balance right every week. That's what we're striving to do. We're not perfect at it. We're still working on things in our game and we're trying to get better every day.”

On the SCG as a fortress

“Every game we go in, no matter whether it's home or away, we go in to strive to be our best and hopefully be competitive enough to win - no matter where it is. We've been really appreciative of the crowds we've got here at the SCG this year. They've been huge and extremely vocal.

“Obviously, the vibe that our crowds are bringing are enormous and we hope there's another big one there on Saturday afternoon. That's been a real bonus for us…”

On strategy for different sized grounds

“We have an underlying system we like to play in all phases of the game. Offence, defence, contests, but you make subtle adjustments according to whether you're the MCG or the SCG… It doesn't really underpin your game.”

On Caiden Cleary

“It's a bit early to work out. He only played about 15 to 20 minutes and did a good job. He's adapted to a bit of a different role and we'd love to give him another opportunity. We'll sit down and work that out.

“It was good for Matty Roberts to play a full game in our VFL team. That was really important. We're making sure that next group coming in get some experience, but also some exposure in fitness and form so when they get their opportunity, they're ready to go.”

On complacency

“It's something we all work together with. It's about all of us, coaches included, trying to improve every day we come in here. Whether it's our conditioning staff, us as coaches, our medical staff, whether it's our players, we're all trying to get better every day. If we have that collective approach trying to get better every day, that helps.”

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