ONE ON ONE
Obviously you would hope to be better, and probably we would be hoping to be 7-2, maybe even 8-1.
After the Essendon game, we would have expected to beat the Crows the following week, and had we beaten Adelaide, I'm sure we would have accounted for Geelong as well.
Q - Is there anything to explain the change of form from the first 6 rounds, to the last 3 weeks?
Confidence is probably the main thing. As a group we have dropped in form and confidence over the last few weeks, and we just need to regain this confidence to get back on track. The group of players who were playing good footy in the first few weeks are now being noticed and tagged by the opposition, players such as Chaffey, Hilton, Tivendale and even Joel Bowden. The experienced players have been down on form a little also. The Essendon game really provided us with a reality check, and showed us how far away from the top teams we are. Then losing to Adelaide the following week really dropped confidence around the club.
Q - People in the media have questioned the side's hardness. How do you rate it?
I don't think it is really an issue, it seems to get brought up when the side loses, but doesn't seem to be an issue when we win. Essendon are the 'hardest' team in the league, and really showed us the level we need to get to. Against the Bulldogs, we seemed to get rattled after the Matty Knights incident, and we started going after the man too much. This allowed the Bulldogs to get some easy take aways from the centre, and kick some easy goals. They settled much better after the incident. It is now up to the players to prove the media wrong, and the best way to do this is to get a few more wins on the board.
Q - Personally, you started the season in the VFL, was there a reason for this? Did you have a limited pre-season?
No, my pre-season was fine. I had fairly limited Ansett Cup game time, and then in a practice match i got a nock on the knee, and that set me back a couple of weeks. I spent the first two weeks of the season in the VFL, the side was in good form so it was hard to force my way in. Then I played six straight games after Round 3, but last week went back to the VFL to play a full four quarters and get a bit of touch back.
Q - Are you looking at playing again next year or could this be your last year?
This will be my last season.
Q - What are your plans after footy? Do you have any coaching ambitions?
No real desire to coach, no real interest, as this stage at least. I've already got enough grey hairs, and I've seen how many Danny has got over the last year and a half.
Q - We have a very young playing list at the moment, which of the young guys do you think will make an impact in the second half of the year?
Ray Hall had a really good pre-season, and is probably the most advanced of the young group. The more time he spends in the seniors, the more he will develop. Andrew Mills will probably play plenty of games later in the year, providing that he doesn't get any injuries. If the others, Aaron Fiora and Mark Coughlan will probably play a few more games each.
Q - Do you think we may have brought Andrew Krakouer into the team too early?
Andy is going to be something special, and he is the sort of player who only needs 4 kicks, and he will kick 3 goals. Danny and the coaching staff just wanted to give him the taste of the big time, and we just look forward to him developing into a good player for us.
Q - Has anything changed after Wayne Campbell took over the captaincy?
No, not really, Knighter is still really respected around the club, and is still a leader in his own right. Wayne is really relishing the captaincy, and it was really the next step in his career. He had played for Victoria, been All Australian and represented his country and taking on the captaincy at his club was really the next step for him.
Q - At the start of the year, where was the side aiming to finish? Top 4? Top 8?
The team goals at the start of the year were to make the finals, and to finish top 4 to give us a home final, and a second chance basically. We are still looking at the top 4 as a realistic goal at this stage.
Q - When a player suffers a long term injury, such as Marc Dragicevic, do they take on any other roles at the club?
They do take on tasks on matchday, as it makes them feel as though they are still a part of it. Clinton King has been in that situation recently, and Danny has been giving him little jobs, like, working on the centre square setup, the forward structure and analysing players from the opposition each week. When Draga gets a bit more mobile, he will be doing similar things, and for a young player it will be a good chance for him to learn a lot. It allows you to notice things that you probably wouldn't see if you were on the ground, so the injury will have some positives for Draga.
Q - What do you feel needs to happen to turn around the current form slump?
It all really comes back to self belief and confidence, we have basically the same 22 players on the ground now, as in the first few weeks, so it is all about confidence. We just need to get back to basics, and with hard work we will be able to turn it around.
Q - Lastly, do you have anything to say to the Tiger fans who may be a bit frustrated at the side's inconsistency?
Just hang in there, and stick with us, it is frustrating for the players as well as the supporters, and it hasn't just happened this year. For the last 4-5 years we have got ourselves into good positions and then let ourselves down. I understand that it is frustrating, but as I said, hang in there. We will turn it around and finish this season on a good note.
