Summary
* Good to get the win. In fairness we won ugly. It wasn't one of our better games. Credit to GWS.
* We didn't have things go our way early in our season. Didn't cover for injuries. We just have got to make sure we win games in the back of the season.
* Belief is important. Confidence plays a big part and players play their better footy when they have it. Our contested footy numbers have risen up from 14th to #2. The inclusion of Miles and Maric has been very important. Rance has been important too down back.
* Cotchin has been terrific as captain. Grew the most when we had a poor 4 week period. We always knew he could play and set high standards himself but he has started to demand higher standards on the track which you need to do as a leader. We always knew he would become a good captain. He's only 23 so he's a very young captain and he'll get better and better as he goes along.
* Biggest issue for us is inconsistency. Our 3rd quarters for whatever unknown reason has been our worst and it has cost us games. Cost us the North game and others. We haven't found the answer yet and it was poor yesterday.
* We always knew we were a better side than what we were showing. It sounds strange but it's been a positive. We knew after linear improvement year on year there'd be a hiccup at one stage. We've been able to turn that around. Our personnel has improved but we haven't been able to collectively jell as well yet.
* Playing group knew for them to improve they had to drive the change in reaching higher standards on the training track and on the field. It will stand us in good stead going forward into the future.
* Leadership group of 5 but earlier in the year we only had one on the park (Cotchin). We found other players stand up as leaders - Morris, Grimes, Chaplin and Ellis. It's been a godsend in a way as our leadership has grown within the group. Still got a way to go but it's improving.
* As coach you know what is going wrong but fixing it is the difficult part. When things are going wrong, you'll target one area and other issues will pop up. So it's been a good learning experience for our coaching group to simplify things and break things down.
* Disappointed in the way we played in the Dreamtime game against Essendon. It was our worst game for the year. We were poor in effort and intensity so that will be a big focus this week.
* Trent and the boys have been good controlling their emotions this year and maintaining a stable environment. They haven't been caught up in the roller coaster.
* Conca incident? He's incredibly disappointed with his actions. He had a rush of blood. He'll cop his whack. We want our guys pushing the boundaries but not breaking them. The main lesson he's learnt is he has let down his teammates. You don't want two good players sitting in the grandstand due to suspension.
* This AFL season has been good. Sides 5th-13th have been up and down and they are very even. There's plenty of negativity about the game around but if we keep the season close then it's still a great spectacle. We want as many Tiger supporters there on Friday night.
* Will you pump Friday night up? The boys need it and they need to deliver in big games. Dimma said after the game yesterday he put the onus on the group to stand up and deliver on the big stage. To deliver and grab that big scalp. The one positive in our favour is that our contested numbers are through the roof at the minute.
