Season Preview: The Coach

1. Earl how would you rate the preseason overall?

It’s been productive I think in terms of the work that the guys have done.  There have been a few that have not got the full volume of work in for varying reasons but the majority of them have worked pretty hard.

2. What has gone right over the preseason and what still needs to be worked on?

The players have all bought in to what we are trying to do.  We have had very few injuries over the course of the preseason.  We have had a couple just of late but generally majority of the guys have been up and going.  The guys are starting to get confidence in how we are trying to move the ball and how we are trying to structure up.

3. Which players have impressed over the preseason?

There have been quite a few that have worked hard but I’m always a bit guarded when it comes to some of our guys who have trained well over preseason until that form translates into a game situation.  The whole group have been very good in taking on instructions and willingness to try and follow instructions and follow the ball movement patterns we are trying to instil which has been really pleasing from my point of view.  The leaders that were in charge of the groups that we put them into have been fantastic.

4. What about some of the younger players in the side?  Maybe someone that is coming straight out of colts?  Jared Bell is a name that I hear that has been settling well into the defence.

Jared has had a good start the last two weeks playing down back.  He trains really hard, the same with Cody Leggett.  Cody’s form probably hasn’t matched Jared’s but his work rate on the track certainly has and I am sure that if he keeps persisting it will happen for him as well.

Daniel Arangio is another bloke who is battling away in a pretty tough position as a tall forward but he’s working hard at it and continuing to try and improve which I’m sure he will.

5. How have the new recruits settled in?

They have been very good.  Brett Wolfenden has been fantastic.  Toby Gianatti is a very quite young man from Peel but he has shown his worth playing in a defensive forward role over the last two weeks and has bobbed up and kicked a couple of goals in both games.

Liam ‘Bluey’ McKenna has been very good and he will continue to improve.  I think he is going to be one to watch this year.  Kelvin Lawrence hasn’t got into the league team as yet but I’m sure he isn’t far away.  He just needs to get a bit more volume in.

Brent Latch has missed a bit of training but he played on the weekend and I think he showed that he is going to be a good player for us.  David Johnston has been good as well.  He has a few things to work on but he is certainly improving and once again he’s pretty versatile and helps us out in an area where we are not necessarily that strong in, in our talls.

6. Dene White was named as captain with Chris Billings and Mitch Morton named as his deputies.  What made them stand out?

Dene White has just got the respect of the playing group.  He’s not necessarily a real vocal guy but he’s one of those blokes that you would follow anywhere through his dedication, his application to hard work.

In my short dealings with Chris Billings he’s been a fantastic guy to work with.  He’s had a bit of chequered history I think at the club but that’s all before my time.  I can only comment on what I have seen and he’s been really willing to help the group go forward.  I think in his own words, he’s had a bit of a change of lifestyle in the last six months in getting engaged and having a baby on the way.  He has certainly matured in that respect.  Talking to coaches that have known him for longer than I have, they can certainly see a change in him to.

Mitch Morton’s is very experienced and he has really bought into the team culture and I’m sure we will see some good results from him.

7. The team lost to Subiaco by 104-points but showed signs of improvement against East Fremantle.  What did you make of those games as hitouts before the proper stuff begins?

These were two quality opposition teams to play against so it was always going to be tough and Subiaco were a week ahead in their preparations than us.  While it was still disappointing on the day, we certainly played a few guys that might not have been quite ready for it just to see where they are at.

East Fremantle is a very experienced side and I am pleased the way we fought as the game went on.  I said to them at three quarter time and after the game that our best football against them was pretty good we just need to start eliminating some of the errors that have crept into our game.

8. There still is a lot of mystery around the preferred set up for the talls within the team.  I noticed that you were using Ben Power more as a key forward with Christian Eyres and Rhys Ironmonger in the ruck and Brent Latch, David Johnston and Chris Billings down back.  Was this where you see them playing this year or do you intend to change things up?

We are still trying to work out who is best suited to those positions.  We haven’t got a great number of tall options there so we just need to find out where each one is better suited to play and we will continue to do that I think through the early games unless they jump up and take the position with both hands.

9. It’s finally here, the first game of the season, you must be excited to finally get things underway?

It’s been a challenging and long preseason.  It has been challenging in terms of trying to recruit players to the club.  We tried to get some quality talls in and unfortunately that hasn’t been the case this year but we will keep persisting.

From the players point of view all the hard work now gets channelled into this first week and hopefully we have gained a bit of confidence out of the back end of last week’s game and are up for the challenge against Swans.

10. What can we expect from the team in the opening rounds?

I think we saw on the weekend you certainly couldn’t question their effort and their attack on the ball and I’m hoping that will be the hallmark of the team for the entire season.  While we might make some mistakes through youth, we certainly won’t be questioned on our endeavour and teams will know that they have been in a game with us.