Dimma's interview with Gerard Healy and Dwayne Russell ...
AUDIO:
http://media.mytalk.com.au/3AW/AUDIO/20140813_ST_podcast.mp3 .... [Runs from 4:30 to 15:30]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary* Russell claimed the Jack Dyer Medal night had been locked in for September 10 but then asked Dimma if the Club was going to change the date given the form Richmond are in. Dimma replied he didn't know where Russell got his info from but like all clubs we've booked two dates - one in September and one in October.
* Adelaide game - yeah it's a big game with a lot to play for for both sides. It's going to be an interesting game. We're looking forward to playing at Adelaide Oval. Only viewed it from afar but every game Dimma has seen there has been action packed and there's great crowd involvement. Our boys are looking forward to playing there.
* Belief and concidence, certainly from the perspective of our playing group, is something we've captured and run with. Like most sides, if you're playing good footy, your confidence grows and that's what our blokes have found. It's no coincidence, we bring back Lids, Ivan and Rance into our side and our fortunes have gone upwards. Even Jacko has missed a lot of footy. We've still a long way to go. We're still really disappointed with the front end of the season which we've only got ourselves to blame. So we've just got to continue to win some games and see where it takes us.
* It's no better place to be around the club when we're winning. For us the fact we've won six on the trot is great but more importantly out of it our guys have found a steeliness and resolve that probably deserted us earlier in the year. That's the thing we've built our game on which we've got back which is very important for our fortunes moving forward. The contested ball numbers tell us a story about us - the weekend was the first time we've been beaten in that area since about rounds 11-12. We've just got to continue to do what we do, win the ball and get it moving our way.
* Miles - he's an important player because of what he does. The measure of the player in Dimma's mind is the ability to improve players around you and that's what Milesy does. He takes the pressure off a guy like Cotchin to win the footy on the inside all the time and that allows the improvement of other players. Look it's been a remarkable story. He's had success right through his whole footy career and he's just risen to the level. Similar to Sam Mitchell in that for whatever reason he was overlooked at the draft but they've always had the ability to win the ball which is paramount in our game. He's only going to get better; he's just 22 years of age; he's still got areas we believe he can improve on but we've glad to have him at our footy club.
* Healy mentioned the "crap" Dimma copped over where Jack has been playing has disappeared since Richmond has been winning. Dimma replied that Jack is still playing the same role - sometimes he goes deep forward; sometimes he plays up the ground. He leads the marks inside 50 stat and score assists are very high as well. It is a modern game and players are expected to play up and down the ground as required. He's had a fantastic year. He probably hasn't kicked as many goals as he would've liked but he's certainly had a lot of shots on goal and more importantly has set up a lot of teammates. His season has been very good by our standards.
* Russell asked who our All-Australian contenders are? There's probably a couple of guys who have had outstanding seasons - Dustin Martin has had a terrific year and improved while Brandon Ellis has taken his game to a new level; Trent Cotchin and Brett Deledio play at high standards regardless. If Rance hadn't miss 6-7 games at the start of the year - Rance has been in outstanding form, rarely gets beaten one-on-one and is one of those possession game players we and the AFL rate highly. We've a few who have had good seasons but the most important thing is gaining wins as a side.
* Kingy in the cheer squad - we actually thought at first it was a blue and we were trying to work out where it was. Then someone in our box looked at the screen and exclaimed, 'It's Kingy sculling a beer!' Dimma said he replied 'what are you talking about?' and obviously later on we found out he went down into the cheer squad. Look, it was great and our fans down there are really important to us and they mean a lot. The energy they give us is phenomenal. I've been to a lot of big footy clubs but I guarantee you none of them match the loudness of the Tiger Army and most footy people would agree with that. Kingy went down there to thank them and pay his respects to them.
* Does he deserve a lap on Grand Final day? Look, the AFL have their protocols but both you (Healy) and Dwayne would've played with and against blokes that are important players as far as the fabric of our game. So whether the AFL can make exceptions Dimma isn't sure as then you'd have a number of people doing it. Kingy is small anyway so there's no guarantee you'll be able to see him over the back of a Hilux [laughs]. Dean Wallis was in the same mould in Dimma''s playing days at Essendon - he didn't play that many games but the things he did around the club and for his teammates was similar to Jake. They're special players and special to their club but whether we reward them with AFL laps of honour I'm not too sure.
* Lenny Hayes an assistant next year? Look, I'm sure Lenny will find his way into the system at some point in time. He's an outstanding player and an outstanding human being and any club that gets him will be ticking a box regarding getting a high quality person through their doors. It'll be something we'll discuss at this stage; we don't have an opening in our coaching staff at this stage but you can always find an extra position for someone of Lenny's quality. [Russell] So do you want to interview Lenny? [Dimma] Is there any need to interview a person like Lenny? [Russell] That's why I'm asking the question. [Dimma] Nah we haven't spoken to Lenny at this stage and we'll leave that sort of thing to the end of the year.
* Healy said 3aw's training spotter Sam Maclure has seen Liam McBean doing extra boxing sessions with Choco Williams. He asked if there's any chance McBean would be making his debut this week? Dimma replied not this week. McBean is thereabouts. He's kicking goals with another 5 last weekend and has been averaging about 4 goals per game over the last 5 weeks but he's just got some areas of his game defensively to improve. He's working incredibly hard on that and he's dying to play. He probably won't play this week but I'm sure he will in the not too distant future as he is an exciting prospect for us no doubt. He's a 205cm KPP but plays more like a crumbing small forward at the moment and kicks goals and we all like goals.
* Adelaide coach Sanderson's comments about the heat, etc ... and will you be using it to motivate your players? We did hear those comments through media channels but it's not something we'll discuss. Press conferences are funny things. Sometimes you go in and you just want to get a message across. We don't pay too much attention to it. The six day break thing is blown out of proportion from Dimma's point of view. Players are very good at recovery these days. Look, we'll take our opponent on their merits. Adelaide are in good form. You only have to watch how they played the weekend previously and against Collingwood two-to-three ago and they were outstanding. They are probably the form side of the comp. so it's going to be a great game Saturday night nevertheless.
