We could not be more pleased with our effort last week against GWS. We played really well and our attack and defence was good, and the boys were really ruthless in their approach to playing four quarters and that was probably the main goal for the match.

It was such a difference between the way we finished against Melbourne the week before, and the boys really prepared well and did a lot of work on GWS and how they play, and we clearly got the result. We really stopped their ball movement, which was one of our focuses, and to the boys’ credit they researched and planned really well and then they executed well, so we were really happy.

We travel to Perth this weekend to take on West Coast, who showed some really good form in their narrow loss to Fremantle last week. It was probably some of the best football they’ve played in a while in relation to their pressure and their press, so they certainly are an in-form side. Looking at their stats this year, they’re second for tackles and are number one for goals scored once inside 50m, so they do a lot of things right. They are also a really good marking side and their ball movement, if you let them move the ball the way they want, can really hurt you.

It’s going to be an all-round game; attack, defence and stoppages and we’re going to have to be at our best in all areas.
West Coast have had a few injuries this year, which has really hurt them, but has also revealed their depth in some areas. Through the midfield Chris Masten has been a really big improver, Matt Priddis is just a good player, then you’ve got Luke Shuey coming back as well as young Mark Hutchings who has been in good form and Andrew Gaff is one who just runs hard all day.

Our boys need to go in prepared and with the knowledge that they are a good stoppage, tackling and clearance side, and we’re really expecting a tough contest.

The clearance work and the centre bounces will be really important to focus on with Eagles’ ruckman Nic Naitanui and Dean Cox, who are both very good players in there. First possession is always pretty important to the way we play, so our big boys are going to have to jump hard and compete really hard and not just at the centre bounce but around the ground. We’re going to need Shane Mumford and Mike Pyke to be at their best for four quarters to compete with Naitanui and Cox.

We had really good sessions during the week and the boys have recovered really well. They are saying and doing all the right things at the moment and they know that this is a really big game for the club, so they’re preparing really well and that’s all we can expect.