Assistant coach Josh Francou joins us for this week’s Coaches Column, thanks to Cellarbrations, ahead of our clash against GWS at the SCG.

Luke McManus: It was an impressive win on the weekend, the boys looked on from the first bounce, could you sense that in the lead up to the match?

Josh Francou: I reckon you could feel it all week, to be honest with you. I think if you looked at the weekend before against Essendon when we had the sluggish start, we knew the playing group was disappointed with that especially because it was the first game of the season. The week leading into the Power game you could just sense at training, walking down the corridors at the Club, you could sense the players were on edge. We started well and you could tell we were in the game physically and emotionally right from the start.

LM: We restricted Port to six goals which was the Power’s lowest score under coach Ken Hinkley – was that win in itself?

JF: To restrict a side like Port, who is such a hard-running side and who can score goals quickly, to only six goals was a plus for the playing group and coaching staff. It’s one thing to see the way Port play then come up with strategies to restrict how they move the football, but at the end of the day the players had to do it and they did that superbly. Anyone who was at the game or watched it could sense it and the two words that kept getting bought up was effort and intensity. We set the tone early which was a stark contrast to the weekend before.

LM: Can we sustain that energy and intensity on Saturday against the Giants?

JF: Going in with that mindset…that’s the challenge for us week in and week out. It’s a big game, GWS are a good side and there’s a nice little cross-town rivalry happening. I was lucky enough, along with Stuart Dew, to experience derbies for Port Adelaide, against the Crows in the South Australian showdowns. This is starting to have that feel. There’s probably no more motivation than that and I’m sure the boys will bring that to the table again.

LM: GWS have recruited some stronger bodies and their kids aren’t kids anymore, is that something we have to be wary of?

JF: In the first two rounds GWS have proven they’re a different side to previous years. Even though their personnel haven’t changed a whole lot, those young kids have now played 50-60 games now and you can’t buy that kind of experience. They’re at the point where they’re starting to reap the rewards of that. There’s no bigger challenge than playing our cross-town rivals but I’m confident our guys will be more than up to the task.

LM: And lastly, are you looking forward to welcoming footy back at the SCG?

Yeah absolutely, it’s a great venue to play footy at and we’re all looking forward to it. I think it’s an advantage to train on the ground where you play most of your games so that always holds us in good stead. From the playing group’s point-of-view, the SCG is our familiar surroundings and we’ll have the majority of the crowd behind us as well which is always a huge plus.