I think we’ve been solid. At this point we’re in the mix and we’re still building.
What have been the improvements from last year?
I don’t think we’ve played as good footy this year. I think the improvements have been flexibility in the team, although that was forced upon us more than we would have liked with Rooey (Nick Riewoldt) and no Grammy (Jason Gram). We’ve won a number of games with five or six grand final players out. Raph Clarke didn’t play last week, Steven Baker didn’t play, Riewoldt didn’t play, Justin Koschitzke didn’t play and neither did Steven King. We’ve brought on some young talent, Rhys Stanley’s played and we’re a more flexible team. James Gwilt has really stood up, as has Jarryn Geary. We’ve put Adam Schneider through the midfield too. Some younger players have really stood up.
What areas still have to be worked on?
You always look for areas but in the last month our attack ranks fourth in the competition, averaging 96 points and the only ones above us are averaging 105. So we’re only nine points off the other top four teams. We’ve kept the defence the same and we’ll keep working on our attack but I’m sure Rooey will help.
You’ve had to change the game plan without Riewoldt. Do you have to change it back to what it was when he comes back in?
We haven’t changed the game plan or structures really. Nothing’s really changed. We’ve just settled on playing Stanley and Koschitzke as the talls. We didn’t change the game plan or our structure at all.
Does everything remain as it was now that he is back in the team?
Yeah, identical. We didn’t ask Stanley or Koschitzke to do anything Riewoldt doesn’t do. What we stopped doing is playing Sam Fisher or Zac Dawson up forward. We just went with two talls like we always have. The game plan was identical.
Do you think the forward line is more multi-dimensional now that they have had to learn how to play without Nick there? Does that make it harder for opposition clubs to plan for St Kilda?
It’s hard to speak about what they think. I think with flexibility comes a degree of unpredictability, no doubt about that.
You’ve spoken a bit about ‘the bubble’. What is it?
We just talk about how there are a lot of things that happen outside the football club, a lot of views and a lot of opinions. Some are good, some are bad. Ultimately whatever you feel, whether they wrap you up or they are negative, we talk about focusing on preparation to give ourselves the best chance to play well. We acknowledge everything outside exists and you are going to feel different things but whatever you feel, make sure you are focused on your football.
Ideally, would you like your players to pay little or no attention to the footy media?
No, we don’t talk about that. We live in the real world, we all read the paper. We all read the headlines but it is about what weighting you give it and whether it distracts you or not. We are all big boys and we can all read the paper and listen to the radio and interpret things however you want to. That’s fine, we don’t want to put our head in the sand. We don’t say that but what we talk about is acknowledge it and move on.
Has ‘the bubble’ concept been a key reason for the excellent on-field performances despite everything that has happened off-field?
I don’t think there has been that much off the field, to be honest. What’s there been? An injury, some vilification and some hyperbole about potential off-field things. There is no correlation between events. What’s allowed us to play well? We had a really good pre-season, we’ve got great leaders and we all work really hard together and under pressure we keep working. That gives us a chance.
It’s a while down the track but could Steven Baker come straight into the side after the suspension is over?
It’s not about hypotheticals. They are hard to get drawn into but he’s a pretty special person and a very respected player. If he was to come back fit and available it would be a very difficult thing to leave him out, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.
Is it all over for Jesse Smith?
He has been placed on a long-term injury list so he’s got the job in front of him. It’s a very pessimistic outlook at this stage.
Is there any one win this season that stands out for you as the coach?
They are all hard-fought, but obviously it is good to win interstate. Good teams win interstate and we’ve done that a few times. Any time you can get the points over at Subiaco you are really pleased. The fact we’ve been able to stand up without some of our good players around gives you more confidence about the list.
Were you surprised at the level of criticism when you lost three games in four weeks?
Nothing surprises me anymore. I just think media and social media gets a life of its own and everyone is trying to be heard above everyone else. Sometimes there are really good accurate articles and sometimes there are inaccuracies. You know what, you just roll with it.
Is it hard to condition yourself to just roll with it?
It’s no big deal these days. I think we provide pretty good access as a club and we don’t try to smother things. We just deal with the facts and move on.
Tony Elshaug’s departure meant Brian Royal stepped up to be the midfield coach. Has he brought a different philosophy there or are things the same?
No, it was a smooth change of the baton and basically we have our game plan and this hasn’t changed. We’re always tweaking and he’s just reiterated what we’ve always looked for in that area of the ground. Brian brings great knowledge and great character to the club and we’re always looking for those things.
What are the plans for Steven King from now on? Is he in a purely mentoring role?
He’s one of our ruckmen. He played in round one and then he was injured. He was coming back and has played the last couple of weeks in the VFL. He is certainly pushing for senior selection.
Has he been working closely with Ben McEvoy and Rhys Stanley to help develop them?
Yeah, that’s part of his role to develop the young ruckmen. A lot of our players do that, Lenny Hayes works with the young mids. It’s nothing out of the ordinary, all our senior players mentor the younger players and try to help develop them.
Does the playing list have more depth than last year?
It’s hard to say. I don’t know. I think a couple have stepped up. Losing (Andrew) Lovett hurt a bit and (Luke) Ball was a senior player we wanted to keep so there are two players who might have helped us run a bit deeper, but we seem to be managing. I think we’ve all got a threshold where it’s going to hurt you on-field, the ability to win games against full-strength opposition. In saying that I think we’ve been able to cover things quite well.
Who are the next wave of leaders at the club?
We see them all like that. Geary and Robert Eddy are really good, Andrew McQualter is in the leadership group. We train them all to prepare really well and be great role models. There is no-one at the minute who is really jumping out among the rest. I think we’ve got such a good depth of leadership with Clint Jones, Zac Dawson, Sean Dempster and Sam Gilbert. They are the obvious ones.
Jack Steven is one young player who has really stepped up in the last couple of weeks. Are there any more young blokes knocking on the door who we might see in the second half of the year?
We’ll have a bit of a look at Alistair Smith and Nick Heyne has played as well. Tommy Lynch is really starting to bang on the door, as is Paul Cahill. Luke Miles was in the emergencies last week and we’re quite excited about that lot.
Miles has been named as an emergency a few times hasn’t he? He must be showing plenty of persistence.
Yeah he is. He has had a bit of bad luck with some stress fractures. He is holding his own and coming again. Hopefully he will get an opportunity.
Are you worried the Gold Coast will take any of your players at the end of the year?
You always worry but we’ve announced some positive signings recently. We’ve really got our core senior 16-20 signed up. I don’t think we’ve got too many threats there. You’re always vigilant and we pride ourselves on our environment and our pay scale is in order. We try to keep good harmony and grow our players and keep everyone happy. But ultimately, as we experienced last year, sometimes objectives of an individual and organisation don’t meet so it’s not a bad will thing but sometimes the opportunities are perceived to be better for the individual and if that happens again, well that happens.
Is David Armitage one of those players who is a worry, just because he is a Queensland boy who hasn’t quite nailed down a regular senior spot?
We just build the environment. I don’t really talk about individuals. We grow everyone and on the surface everyone seems happy so certainly it’s not an issue at this point.
Some of those players that just re-signed were already secured for a couple of years. What was the reason behind extending that?
Logically you want your best players committed to your club. They wanted to be here and we wanted them. It was a marriage made in heaven.
Were there any salary cap issues considering the Andrew Lovett payout?
We sign our players within the context of the salary cap. All variables are taken into account so I’m sure when the contracts are signed that they would have been taken into account.
