Cogs' full interview after training today. The audio is courtesy of SENhttp://www.sportsentral.com/pro/main/storyreader.aspx?sid=9965&sr=allSummaryHow did you pull up?Yeah pulled up pretty well. The Dome is a really nice surface and yeah especially having a win you tend to pull up better.
Is the emotion relief not just for yourself but for the footy club?Definitely for the footy club. We really needed the win. We were 0-4. Obviously last week there was pressure to perform. Yeah it was just good to get the win and 4 points.
First game back in 3 years. Much difference since you last played?A little bit. It really hasn't changed too much in 3 years. Probably the ball movement around the stoppages. Geelong has set the benchmark there. The ball moves so quickly. It's not long in the players' hands. It just moves pretty quickly so you've got to get use to that.
How did you feel about your game?Reasonable well. Still plenty of room for improvement but got a couple of weeks to get my hands on it a bit more and yeah get out there.
Are you a bit more cautious with how you play?With some of the umpiring maybe. They are pretty big on the head contact so you've got to be a bit careful going in there. General speaking though footy hasn't changed much. Still got to put your head over the ball and win the footy and the umps will protect you. Probably just highlighted more in the last year or two.
Do you have to play differently given your former injuries?No I don't think so. It doesn't affect the way you go about things.
How about the scenes in the changerooms afterwards. Got the Gatorade out of your ears yet?Yeah and in the eyes. Jack Riewoldt was responsible for that. Yeah it's got a bit of a sting to it as well. I wouldn't recommend it.
Are you going to stay in the side or take it easy?Yeah I hopefully play this week and get a bit of form up. It's just about getting the run in the legs. I've played a few VFL games before last week and now hope to get a few senior games and get into the swing of things.
Are you looking forward to playing on the SCG. Smallest ground and plenty of stoppages would suit you?Yeah it's one of those grounds where you need to be hard one-on-one. We'll look at it over the week and try to take them on at their own game. It is a small ground and I've only played there once but there's lots of stoppages and it's pretty hard for the CHF and key position types so it's a different game but it's going to be good.
Do you take a bit of confidence in given the result from the weekend?Yeah. We knew it would only take one win to turn the season around. We're not saying we're back or anything but it's a tight season. If you get 2 or 3 wins on the board then you're right back in there. So we are thinking like that. Sydney's been a tough team over the last few years so it's going to be a good game.
It's obviously been a tough start to the year for Terry. Do you feel a bit vindicated now your back by the way he's stuck by you?Yeah I think so. Look there is that part of it. I haven't in Terry's 5 years been able to play that much under him. The way he's been there when it's mattered makes you want to get out there but it's just wanting to get out there yourself and be with your teammates as well.
Do you feel a bit removed from the pressure that's been building on the club and is that an advantage because you don't have that mental anxiety which as been talked about by some of your colleagues who have been up here in previous weeks?Yeah I think so. It's a good question and something I've always thought. While the pressure of being injured isn't great you don't have the day-to-day or gameday stress that the guys have each week and the pressure the press put you under and that sort of thing. Look while you want to be out there you obviously don't get that gameday scrutiny.
Is it an advantage not for the club but you personally that you've got nothing to lose?Yeah I think so. That's the way I'm seeing it. It's taken me a while to get back so just get in there and have a crack as hard as you can. It's a pretty simple game footy and that's what you've got to do.
What changed on the weekend compared to the first 4 weeks?We obviously changed our gamestyle going in. We played one-on-one footy and took North Melbourne on at something they do. I think we just had more winners on the day than they did. That's basically it. Our backmen were really good. They got forward and kicked a few goals. Our midfield got on top and our forwards were effective. That was basically the game.
Does it amuse you that there was all this pressure on you and Terry and now you're only one win outside of the Eight?It is funny that. As I said before it's a really tight season and a 2-3 game winning streak and you're back in there with a chance to get back in the Eight. That's the way we are seeing it. There's so called upsets every week and we are trying to get on the end of a couple.
Cotchin and Cuz in the VFL. Good to have them back?It's a real positive for the guys to have them back on the track running around. Not sure when they will be back but they must be close. Cotchy played VFL last week and played pretty well. So he's just a hard in and under good stoppage player that we need in there. And Cuzzy is not far away either. So having both of them back is going to boost us as a team.
How's Richo been this week with is injury?He's going to be okay. He'll probably have a light week on the track early on and push on later in the week. I don't know how he is going clinically but he's giving himself every chance. It's not a hamstring tear which is the main thing.
Can you talk about how you were feeling in the lockeroom. It looked fairly emotionally on the tv?Yep it was. I wasn't expecting to lead the guys off and be in the middle of the huddle but it all happened fairly quickly and it was good just to sing the song. For me it was just a big relief to obviously win the game because there was a lot of pressure on us going in and to get through the game okay was a relief.
