Mantis
23-06-2009, 08:46 PM
Finally, a good interview asking questions we might be interested in hearing answers to.
THE SEASON
How do you feel you're placed compared with 2008?
It's an interesting one. We haven't won as many games, so from that aspect we're probably down a little bit. But we seem to be building a bit more momentum than we had this time last year.
An extra win at this stage would have been pleasant but overall we're tracking OK. We've just got to keep the momentum up.
To go into the second half of the year with most of your travel done must be a good thing.
We've certainly got a tough draw, but we always knew in the first half of the year we'd have to travel and in the second half we'd have to play some quality sides. Going into the finals series with most of the travel out of the way will be good with players recovering.
You've said you were pretty confident the players wouldn't suffer another fade-out this year – what makes you so sure?
The last couple of years, the two fade-outs have been for different reasons. In '07, it was due to the lack of fitness and injuries and we just didn't have any petrol in the tank. Last year, I wasn't too concerned about it and I don't think it affected our finals chances at all. We performed pretty well in the finals; we got beaten in that first final but we bounced back well.
We were still playing some good football last year. There were a couple of games that we didn't get over the line that we probably could have won. We had 13-and-a-half wins out of 15, but some of those games we didn't play well and we got over the line – that's just the way it works out.
People rate you on the win-loss ratio rather than how you're playing.
Is it better then to go into the second half of the year knowing there are two front-runners and still some challenges left for you?
You'd still like to have it sewn up and have those wins in the bank because you never know what's going to happen with injuries and form fluctuation. That's why it's vital now over the next four to six weeks that we can really cement a spot where we're at.
What are your goals for the second half of the year apart from winning games?
We want to get as high as we can up the ladder and obviously play finals and have a real, meaningful say in them. But I just want to see some constant improvement.
It's been really pleasing to see the older players have been able to maintain or improve. The group of middle-aged players, the 24 to 27-year-olds, have been a bit patchy and they're the ones we want to get to take over the team. Murphy has been injured and Gia is starting to get some good form, but Hargrave and Gilbee and those sorts of players that have been here a while – we want them to really set their mark. I've been pleased with their form but I think they all can go an extra step.
Hopefully we can also keep introducing some new players. Sam Reid and Guy O'Keefe aren't far away. There are probably another few young lads we'd like to give games to as well.
You get asked this a lot, but do you honestly believe you can be a contender without that key forward?
I would think so. We kick goals. People say you need a tall forward but how do you measure the effect of a key forward? Is it the goals they kick? Is it the marks they take? Is it just the fact they're big? I don't know.
We'd love to have Jonathan Brown, Matthew Pavlich, Tony Lockett. But do you have height just for height's sake? I don't know.
THE PLAYERS
Did you think Jarrad Grant and Jarrad Boumann would be a little bit more advanced by now, 18 months in?
Boumann? No – we knew he was a long-term investment.
It's an interesting one with Jarrad Grant. It's got a lot to do with his body. He's coming out of the private school system where he's barely trained and hardly played TAC Cup and then last year he got osteitis pubis. He's missed a year or two of real development. That's the only thing that's holding him back at the moment.
He's got talent although his form at Williamstown has been up and down, which is defending him a bit, but it's mainly to do with his body development. He's still very lean.
He's only had one pre-season now and he'll need another couple under his belt to really make some progression.
We know that and we're prepared to give him the time to do that.
Did his first and only game in round five hurt his confidence a bit?
Probably. I think he realised how far he has to go. The difference between AFL and VFL now is bigger than it's ever been.
The VFL plays on smaller grounds and the game's not as quick, so you can get a bit of a false illusion of where you're at as a player before coming into league level where it's so quick with repeat speed and repeat efforts. It just catches players out.
How are two of your new forward prospects, Jordan Roughead and Ayce Cordy, progressing?
Good. As is with Grant, we've just got to take our time with them, especially with bigger players. You just can't put huge expectations on them.
Ayce's body is lean and he hasn't trained much. He missed most of last year with a shoulder injury and we've rested him a couple of times this year because we're mindful that fatigue doesn't set in. He's going to fluctuate.
Roughead hurt his shoulder so he missed a few weeks but he'll play at Williamstown next week in the seniors. He's probably more physically developed out of all the younger players so he's more likely to cope with it but he's just had that shoulder injury.
We're not going to have huge expectations on him either. If he plays senior footy this year, terrific; if he doesn't, it's not a big issue.
Ayce looks like he's the type of build that will struggle to really get big. Do you feel like it's going to be hard to build him up?
It probably will be but as they get older, they learn skill sets and strategies to be able to cope with the rigours of footy. It's more about getting constant training into them over a couple of years so their body doesn't wear down. They get conditioned to be able to cope with it.
With Ayce, because he hasn't trained much and hasn't played against men, he's not conditioned to do that. He just needs time.
With Liam Jones' situation at Scotch College, you must feel like he's a mature character given he's been given so much freedom to concentrate on his schooling this year.
One of our guys goes and sees him once a week and Liam reports in once a week as well, but there's obviously some logistical issues with him being at a private school as he's got to play with them. It's not like Callan Ward last year, who could be with us a bit.
He's another young lad who hasn't trained a lot as well. Next year will be like his first year for us – this is like an ultra-development year for him, and hopefully he can pick up what's required and next year will be a big pre-season for him.
Wayde Skipper finally had his body right and is playing well in the VFL. Does he figure in your plans for the second half of the year?
He's a back-up ruckman. He's not quite tall enough to be your No. 1 ruckman but his form has been very good and it's very pleasing. Will Minson and Ben Hudson were both spoken to a few weeks ago that they were under pressure but their form the last three or four weeks has been terrific, so it's hard to make a change when their form is up.
Skip is keeping the pressure on them so they need to keep performing otherwise we can make a change – and we've got confidence to make a change, which is good.
Is Liam Picken one of the best stories to come out of this year so far, for you and the league?
When anyone comes off the rookie list and does well, it's seen as a positive story. He's done everything right. People ask if he's surprised me, and he has to a degree but his assets we knew he had are really showing through. The pleasing thing is he's improving in the other areas that people were questioning; his kicking and his decision-making. He's really becoming quite proficient in that area. There's also a lot more growth left in him.
Ryan Griffen's form has been up and down. Do you think his pre-season family tragedy has had a bigger effect on him than first thought?
I don't think so. I've spoken about Ryan a few times and he started the season really well, and we'd spoken to him about the defensive side of his game and he's really picked that up with his tackling. The expectation from people is high, and that's fair enough, but he's also got expectation on himself and that pressure he's putting on himself to perform is building.
We're just trying to release that a bit. There's no real issue from us. We know he'll turn it around because he's a talented young lad and he's working hard.
How frustrating has it been to have Tom Williams injured again this year?
It's frustrating for him and it's frustrating for us. He tore his plantar fascia, which didn't tear all the way through so he battled for a couple of weeks and then it popped at training. Now it looks as though he tweaked the joint a bit and there's a bit of local bone bruising.
That will go and hopefully it will only be another week for him.
It's just a matter of him being confident in his body. With what's happened over the past few years, that's had him questioning himself. But we've got confidence in him and hopefully he can just get a bit of luck.
Where is Andrejs Everitt at?
I've spoken about last year and how it was disappointing for him. He got into the side early this year and his form was OK but there were people who were playing better than him. He's been treading water a bit. His form at Williamstown has been patchy and there are probably some other players at Willy now that are in front of him because of the form and effort they're showing.
He's toiling away but he's got to lift his intensity and work rate. Football is getting harder and harder and players need to adjust to that. We're confident he can do that but he's a work in progress.
Cam Wight is another; he was spoken to last year about where he was at and we've been a bit disappointed with his application to what he was spoken to about. Having said that, his last two or three weeks at Williamstown have been really pleasing. He's started to get a grip but he's another who is fighting for his life and needs to be prepared to do anything to get there, and we hadn't noticed that until the last few weeks.
What about Malcolm Lynch?
His body is now OK but he's got to get some confidence in it. We still think he's holding back a bit. He's had a couple of games in the seniors at Williamstown but he hasn't played well enough to grasp his opportunities. We're keen to get him in the seniors at AFL level but he's got to show that willingness at Williamstown first.
He's been patchy but now he's got to let himself go if he wants to have a career in AFL.
What about your veterans? Have you been pleased with the way they've been playing and are they where you thought they would be?
They're probably ahead. Johnno, Aker, Welsh, Eagleton and Hudson … the five of them have been good. Johnno started well and then was a bit patchy because he had a bit of an injury, just a niggle, but his last few weeks have been terrific.
Aker's season has been fantastic, Eagleton has had a consistent year but his last three weeks have seen him go to another level and Hudson had a down patch but he's really competed well against opposition ruckmen. Welshy is the one that was down a bit with injuries but he's come back and we've thought his first couple of games have been pretty good.
Is it a certainty that Brad Johnson will go on next year?
I would think if he's mentally fresh enough, he would be able to play on. With the way he's playing at the moment, it's a testament to his work rate. He's had a great pre-season, he doesn't miss any sessions, he works really hard and his leadership is terrific. I think he's been able to display he has something to offer going forward.
We'll sit down with Brad at the end of the season and see where he's at mentally and physically. If he can maintain his form and he's keen to go on, I don't see why not.
Who's the next captain?
I don't know. Everyone in our leadership group has got the capabilities to be captain. It's a real testament to that group; Daniel Cross, Matthew Boyd and Dale Morris are all great role models and work really hard, Daniel Giansiracusa and Robert Murphy are talented players but have great leadership qualities and Shaun Higgins is the youngster and we see him as a future leader of the club.
Is Matthew Boyd one of your most improved players this year?
Oh yeah. He's gone to another level. He's nearly developed himself into an A-grade midfielder. He's got that work rate that other players I've spoken about don't have; he's a testament to what you can do when you're working that hard, you can knock the door down to become a good player and then you develop belief.
THE SEASON
How do you feel you're placed compared with 2008?
It's an interesting one. We haven't won as many games, so from that aspect we're probably down a little bit. But we seem to be building a bit more momentum than we had this time last year.
An extra win at this stage would have been pleasant but overall we're tracking OK. We've just got to keep the momentum up.
To go into the second half of the year with most of your travel done must be a good thing.
We've certainly got a tough draw, but we always knew in the first half of the year we'd have to travel and in the second half we'd have to play some quality sides. Going into the finals series with most of the travel out of the way will be good with players recovering.
You've said you were pretty confident the players wouldn't suffer another fade-out this year – what makes you so sure?
The last couple of years, the two fade-outs have been for different reasons. In '07, it was due to the lack of fitness and injuries and we just didn't have any petrol in the tank. Last year, I wasn't too concerned about it and I don't think it affected our finals chances at all. We performed pretty well in the finals; we got beaten in that first final but we bounced back well.
We were still playing some good football last year. There were a couple of games that we didn't get over the line that we probably could have won. We had 13-and-a-half wins out of 15, but some of those games we didn't play well and we got over the line – that's just the way it works out.
People rate you on the win-loss ratio rather than how you're playing.
Is it better then to go into the second half of the year knowing there are two front-runners and still some challenges left for you?
You'd still like to have it sewn up and have those wins in the bank because you never know what's going to happen with injuries and form fluctuation. That's why it's vital now over the next four to six weeks that we can really cement a spot where we're at.
What are your goals for the second half of the year apart from winning games?
We want to get as high as we can up the ladder and obviously play finals and have a real, meaningful say in them. But I just want to see some constant improvement.
It's been really pleasing to see the older players have been able to maintain or improve. The group of middle-aged players, the 24 to 27-year-olds, have been a bit patchy and they're the ones we want to get to take over the team. Murphy has been injured and Gia is starting to get some good form, but Hargrave and Gilbee and those sorts of players that have been here a while – we want them to really set their mark. I've been pleased with their form but I think they all can go an extra step.
Hopefully we can also keep introducing some new players. Sam Reid and Guy O'Keefe aren't far away. There are probably another few young lads we'd like to give games to as well.
You get asked this a lot, but do you honestly believe you can be a contender without that key forward?
I would think so. We kick goals. People say you need a tall forward but how do you measure the effect of a key forward? Is it the goals they kick? Is it the marks they take? Is it just the fact they're big? I don't know.
We'd love to have Jonathan Brown, Matthew Pavlich, Tony Lockett. But do you have height just for height's sake? I don't know.
THE PLAYERS
Did you think Jarrad Grant and Jarrad Boumann would be a little bit more advanced by now, 18 months in?
Boumann? No – we knew he was a long-term investment.
It's an interesting one with Jarrad Grant. It's got a lot to do with his body. He's coming out of the private school system where he's barely trained and hardly played TAC Cup and then last year he got osteitis pubis. He's missed a year or two of real development. That's the only thing that's holding him back at the moment.
He's got talent although his form at Williamstown has been up and down, which is defending him a bit, but it's mainly to do with his body development. He's still very lean.
He's only had one pre-season now and he'll need another couple under his belt to really make some progression.
We know that and we're prepared to give him the time to do that.
Did his first and only game in round five hurt his confidence a bit?
Probably. I think he realised how far he has to go. The difference between AFL and VFL now is bigger than it's ever been.
The VFL plays on smaller grounds and the game's not as quick, so you can get a bit of a false illusion of where you're at as a player before coming into league level where it's so quick with repeat speed and repeat efforts. It just catches players out.
How are two of your new forward prospects, Jordan Roughead and Ayce Cordy, progressing?
Good. As is with Grant, we've just got to take our time with them, especially with bigger players. You just can't put huge expectations on them.
Ayce's body is lean and he hasn't trained much. He missed most of last year with a shoulder injury and we've rested him a couple of times this year because we're mindful that fatigue doesn't set in. He's going to fluctuate.
Roughead hurt his shoulder so he missed a few weeks but he'll play at Williamstown next week in the seniors. He's probably more physically developed out of all the younger players so he's more likely to cope with it but he's just had that shoulder injury.
We're not going to have huge expectations on him either. If he plays senior footy this year, terrific; if he doesn't, it's not a big issue.
Ayce looks like he's the type of build that will struggle to really get big. Do you feel like it's going to be hard to build him up?
It probably will be but as they get older, they learn skill sets and strategies to be able to cope with the rigours of footy. It's more about getting constant training into them over a couple of years so their body doesn't wear down. They get conditioned to be able to cope with it.
With Ayce, because he hasn't trained much and hasn't played against men, he's not conditioned to do that. He just needs time.
With Liam Jones' situation at Scotch College, you must feel like he's a mature character given he's been given so much freedom to concentrate on his schooling this year.
One of our guys goes and sees him once a week and Liam reports in once a week as well, but there's obviously some logistical issues with him being at a private school as he's got to play with them. It's not like Callan Ward last year, who could be with us a bit.
He's another young lad who hasn't trained a lot as well. Next year will be like his first year for us – this is like an ultra-development year for him, and hopefully he can pick up what's required and next year will be a big pre-season for him.
Wayde Skipper finally had his body right and is playing well in the VFL. Does he figure in your plans for the second half of the year?
He's a back-up ruckman. He's not quite tall enough to be your No. 1 ruckman but his form has been very good and it's very pleasing. Will Minson and Ben Hudson were both spoken to a few weeks ago that they were under pressure but their form the last three or four weeks has been terrific, so it's hard to make a change when their form is up.
Skip is keeping the pressure on them so they need to keep performing otherwise we can make a change – and we've got confidence to make a change, which is good.
Is Liam Picken one of the best stories to come out of this year so far, for you and the league?
When anyone comes off the rookie list and does well, it's seen as a positive story. He's done everything right. People ask if he's surprised me, and he has to a degree but his assets we knew he had are really showing through. The pleasing thing is he's improving in the other areas that people were questioning; his kicking and his decision-making. He's really becoming quite proficient in that area. There's also a lot more growth left in him.
Ryan Griffen's form has been up and down. Do you think his pre-season family tragedy has had a bigger effect on him than first thought?
I don't think so. I've spoken about Ryan a few times and he started the season really well, and we'd spoken to him about the defensive side of his game and he's really picked that up with his tackling. The expectation from people is high, and that's fair enough, but he's also got expectation on himself and that pressure he's putting on himself to perform is building.
We're just trying to release that a bit. There's no real issue from us. We know he'll turn it around because he's a talented young lad and he's working hard.
How frustrating has it been to have Tom Williams injured again this year?
It's frustrating for him and it's frustrating for us. He tore his plantar fascia, which didn't tear all the way through so he battled for a couple of weeks and then it popped at training. Now it looks as though he tweaked the joint a bit and there's a bit of local bone bruising.
That will go and hopefully it will only be another week for him.
It's just a matter of him being confident in his body. With what's happened over the past few years, that's had him questioning himself. But we've got confidence in him and hopefully he can just get a bit of luck.
Where is Andrejs Everitt at?
I've spoken about last year and how it was disappointing for him. He got into the side early this year and his form was OK but there were people who were playing better than him. He's been treading water a bit. His form at Williamstown has been patchy and there are probably some other players at Willy now that are in front of him because of the form and effort they're showing.
He's toiling away but he's got to lift his intensity and work rate. Football is getting harder and harder and players need to adjust to that. We're confident he can do that but he's a work in progress.
Cam Wight is another; he was spoken to last year about where he was at and we've been a bit disappointed with his application to what he was spoken to about. Having said that, his last two or three weeks at Williamstown have been really pleasing. He's started to get a grip but he's another who is fighting for his life and needs to be prepared to do anything to get there, and we hadn't noticed that until the last few weeks.
What about Malcolm Lynch?
His body is now OK but he's got to get some confidence in it. We still think he's holding back a bit. He's had a couple of games in the seniors at Williamstown but he hasn't played well enough to grasp his opportunities. We're keen to get him in the seniors at AFL level but he's got to show that willingness at Williamstown first.
He's been patchy but now he's got to let himself go if he wants to have a career in AFL.
What about your veterans? Have you been pleased with the way they've been playing and are they where you thought they would be?
They're probably ahead. Johnno, Aker, Welsh, Eagleton and Hudson … the five of them have been good. Johnno started well and then was a bit patchy because he had a bit of an injury, just a niggle, but his last few weeks have been terrific.
Aker's season has been fantastic, Eagleton has had a consistent year but his last three weeks have seen him go to another level and Hudson had a down patch but he's really competed well against opposition ruckmen. Welshy is the one that was down a bit with injuries but he's come back and we've thought his first couple of games have been pretty good.
Is it a certainty that Brad Johnson will go on next year?
I would think if he's mentally fresh enough, he would be able to play on. With the way he's playing at the moment, it's a testament to his work rate. He's had a great pre-season, he doesn't miss any sessions, he works really hard and his leadership is terrific. I think he's been able to display he has something to offer going forward.
We'll sit down with Brad at the end of the season and see where he's at mentally and physically. If he can maintain his form and he's keen to go on, I don't see why not.
Who's the next captain?
I don't know. Everyone in our leadership group has got the capabilities to be captain. It's a real testament to that group; Daniel Cross, Matthew Boyd and Dale Morris are all great role models and work really hard, Daniel Giansiracusa and Robert Murphy are talented players but have great leadership qualities and Shaun Higgins is the youngster and we see him as a future leader of the club.
Is Matthew Boyd one of your most improved players this year?
Oh yeah. He's gone to another level. He's nearly developed himself into an A-grade midfielder. He's got that work rate that other players I've spoken about don't have; he's a testament to what you can do when you're working that hard, you can knock the door down to become a good player and then you develop belief.