The game: Collingwood 17.15 (117) d Melbourne 10.4 (64) at the MCG, Rd 2, 2009 Toyota AFL Premiership Season
The stats: 14 kicks, 12 handballs, three tackles and three clearances.
How had you prepared for this match during the week?
Monday and Tuesday we reviewed the game and my individual performance from the previous week. This is when the coaching staff come up with what you are going to work on during the week. Once Tuesday is done and dusted, that’s it. We are focusing on the upcoming game.
What was your routine once you arrived at the MCG?
I arrived at the game at around 12pm. I just cruised around, got into my gear, went out onto the ground and had a kick.
We had a team meeting at 12.30, when we got told everything we need to know for the game and refreshed everything we had done during the week. Then it was your own individual preparation for half an hour. I got my ankles strapped, had a bit of a stretch, a kick and handball around the rooms plus some touch work.
From here, I went with the team and did our on-ground warm-up. Once that was completed, I came back in, got my mouthguard in order and my jumper on and a tiny bit of an indoor warm-up. Then we were into it.
What was the atmosphere like in the rooms before the game?
It’s a great game always [against the Pies], played in front of a good sized crowd. We were all really looking forward to today and it’s disappointing we faded out again. That is two weeks in a row it has happened now, but we worked pretty hard in the first half and all the boys were excited. Then it dropped away which was disappointing.
What role were you assigned during the week?
I guess I have been playing a general midfield role during the two games this year, usually starting on the bench and then coming on and trying to have an immediate impact through the midfield. Today I played a little bit on the wing and on the half-back flank.
You started a majority of the centre bounces in the defensive 50. Was that a direction given by the coaching panel?
There were a few players to rotate through that role. I just started to rotate through that area in the first quarter and that’s where I played the majority of the day.
What were the coach’s instructions during the stages of the match when you didn’t have a direct opponent?
It’s really tough, especially against Collingwood and their amount of rotations. They rotate a number of players through there, so you really have to be on your game. You have to make sure you communicate with the bloke who has just come off and the bloke just going on to try and find out who they were just playing on.
It’s a tough gig, but you have to just try and pick up whoever is out there, especially with the zoning some clubs do these days. The usual measure is to try and pick up the opponent closest to you. You are responsible for them.
Dean Bailey was fairly animated at the three-quarter time huddle towards you and the midfield group. What was his message?
Look, we let ourselves down. We weren’t getting our hands on it. We were clearly beaten around the ground in terms of first possession in the contests, both in the ruck and at ground level. It wasn’t good enough and in that third quarter, it cost us the game.
How did you rate your game from a personal perspective?
Not too bad. I played okay, just trying to work on a few things. I really worked on my decision-making and kicking over the pre-season. I think both have improved. Overall as a team, I thought again we only put in two and a half quarters together and you can’t win games of footy unless you put four quarters together.
What will be your plans for the day following the match?
First we have injury assessments at Junction Oval at 9am on Sunday. The injured players will be straight down to join the rest of us at either the beach or the pool for a recovery session. Then I have the rest of the afternoon off.
What will you and the team take away from today for next week’s match against Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium?
As a team we were good in the first half. We came out and put scoreboard pressure on, we were kicking goals and we were moving the ball fluently. Our tactics we had put into place earlier in the week were working, so we can take a positive out of that.
From here, we all must work towards turning it into a four-quarter performance and getting a win on the board.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
