We've got to have a look at who is coming back into our team because we might have four or five players coming back in the next week or two and we've got to manage them in. As the NAB games progress we'd definitely like to get closer to playing just the 22 players. We'd like to make it a lot more fair dinkum in terms of the rules, the kind of team we have and the rotations in preparation for round one and the rest of the season.
Will that include testing out the new substitute rule?
In NAB [Challenge game] two we'll use a few more guys on the bench [than is standard] … we'll probably have five interchange players, but in NAB [Challenge game] three and four we'll definitely trial having three players on the bench and one substitute. We'll see how that unfolds and how that looks for us.
Skipper Domenic Cassisi did an interview recently, suggesting the club would've failed this season if it fails to make the final eight. Do you agree?
I don't think it's as simple as that. Like every team we do want to make the finals … but we've got to look at our bigger picture. Some 85 per cent of our group are aged 18-25 years old and we've got to get some games into them and make sure we can manage them through the season. If we can get those guys on the park and playing together week in and week out we'll be in pretty good shape for the years to come. We do want to make the finals and we won't hide from that fact, but we also have to look at what the future is for the club and make sure we manage that pretty well too.
You've already told Chad Cornes that he won't be selected if there's a young player playing in a similar position to him, who is in similarly good form. What does that say about your 'premiership window' this season?
You're always looking towards the future and in Chad's case we've got a couple of tall defenders and tall forwards, who performed pretty well last year. He's up against that and his performance the other Friday night showed that he's willing to fight for his spot. We've got a lot of players in a young age group and we need them to play a lot of football if we're going to be successful in the coming years, but we've got to get that balance right. You can't just play all the kids. You need to play some senior players and Chad's a part of that. It's all going to come down to who is playing well and who is in form.
Matthew Lobbe will be out of action for 10-12 weeks. Will you put him on the long-term injury list and who is his likely replacement?
We probably will put Lobbe on there, but you only want to do that if you're really going to bring somebody up to play. Jarrad Irons had a good game the other Friday night and Tom Jonas has been okay. We might have a look at one or two more of those rookies in the coming weeks and see if their form warrants [promotion] for round one. We want to get Lobbes up and going, but I was pretty happy with how some of the rookies went.
Your forward line is particularly young now without the likes of Warren Tredrea. How important is a fit and focused Daniel Motlop to that group?
'Motts' is important because he gives us something different, but we've got a lot of guys down there and they're all going to have to play their role as the season progresses. There's a lot of talk about him. He's performed well over the pre-season and we'll see how he goes over the next month to see if he can get himself into the team for round one.
Travis Boak had a breakout season last year, but has had an interrupted pre-season. How concerned are you by the lack of continuity in his summer?
We would've liked for Travis to be out on the track the whole time. He had a pretty good period just before Christmas when his appendix ruptured on him. Since then he's lost a lot of weight and also had a bit of patella soreness, but he's been doing a lot of running for the last two weeks and started skills work last week. We're very mindful of the fact that we're getting him ready for round one and not the NAB Cup. He's probably a bit behind the eight-ball, but by the time round one comes around he'll be good to go.
And Ben Jacobs returned to the club earlier this week. Any update on when he'll be back playing?
Ben had a pretty serious case of glandular fever, so we're not quite sure. It just depends how quickly he gets over it and his body recovers. We'll take our time with him because he's only a young kid. It was disappointing for him to go down with it, but with that once it’s out of your system you can get up and going again. He's a pretty driven kid, so I'm sure we'll see him soon.
So, with the exception of Jacobs, Lobbe and Simon Phillips you're expecting to have a full list to choose from in round one?
A few things can always rear up that you don't want, but we'd like to think that by round one we'll have the majority of the list available to be picked.
Nathan Krakouer left the club in disappointing circumstances at the end of last season. Rumours are already circulating about Greater Western Sydney and who the club might be targeting. At what point do you sit down with guys that haven't re-signed with your club and demand to know what's going on?
We'll probably let it play out until we actually really need to know what's going on contract-wise. Then we'll sit down and have a good, honest discussion with them about where they're at. It's a difficult situation because once their names get bandied around it's close to spot on that they're leaving. We've just got to be open and talk with our players and see where it's at.
Is there an added concern for you seeing as former coach Mark Williams has joined Kevin Sheedy and GWS?
Choco does know the boys well, but we'd like to think that we're progressing better than Greater Western Sydney. While money does speak to a certain extent, hopefully players want to stay at a club that's closer to the finals than another team is.
