Coach John Longmire addressed a number of key issues at his Monday afternoon press conference ahead of Sunday’s clash against Brisbane at the Gabba.
10 day break between games
“We had a session this morning and we will train again this week as we normally do. These days you have to be able to adapt to different training schedules, we had a six day break now a ten day break and we then go into more six day breaks. It is part of modern day football to just keep adjusting which we always try and do.”
Gary Rohan’s hamstring strain
“It's disappointing for him, but I'm sure he's got some confidence out of the type of footy he's been able to play over the last few weeks. He's been able to put some pressure on the opposition and be good with the ball as well, so I'm sure he's confident he'll be able to play at that level when he gets back."
Ted Richards’ concussion
“Ted is really good, he feels really good today so we will see how the week progresses but obviously the ten day break helps. That'll be completely left in the doctor's hands, but all we can look on is today, and he feels really good today, so we'll see how the week goes.”
Having a flexible forward line
“We were certainly a little bit different in our front half but we will certainly try and do the same thing again. Regardless of who is there we like to add a little bit of variation in regards to our starting points. Obviously we have a couple of big guys there that draw the ball but we still need variation there regardless of who is there. We will still try and add some vary our attack and make sure who starts in our forward line is varied.”
Adam Goodes match against Port Adelaide
“He was one of those senior players who were able to stand up, kick a couple of goals in that third quarter and really grab your attention. He looked as though he certainly had some speed, run and competitive spirit in that front half. He was good when we needed him to be.”
Craig Bird potential return
“He didn’t play on the weekend as he had the AC joint but he is a chance to come into calculations this week. Obviously we will have Gary going out and we will have a couple of blokes coming in so how it looks with the other positions we will have to wait and see. The good thing is Birdy has only missed the week and should be available for selection this week.”