The game – Adelaide 21.4 (130) d Essendon 18.6 (114) at Docklands, Rd 11, 2009 Toyota AFL Premiership Season
The stats –11 kicks, eight handballs, 11 handball receives, two marks, two clearances, three inside 50s and one goal
How did you spend the morning before the match?
I was up pretty early because we had an early start. I just went into my normal routine – breakfast, stretching, getting all my gear and drinks ready for the day. Once they were in order I headed to the ground with the team at 11am.
What was your routine once you arrived at the ground?
I’m pretty relaxed before a game. I try and focus on a few areas I want to do well in the game and then I have a meeting with the coach. After he gives you some instructions, I shift my focus to what area I am playing – whether it is down back, midfield or forward – and what I need to do in the game.
What was the message to you from coach Neil Craig?
It was important for us to get off to a reasonable start and make sure we continue to play the football we have over the last few weeks. The main themes were to play with a real high level of intensity and win the contested footy.
I noticed you were the last to run out of the rooms and also did not run through the banner. Are these things that happen each week?
Yeah, that is something that happens every week. Since I started, I have always run out last and never run through the banner, even when I was a kid.
What was the atmosphere like in the rooms before the match, especially with teammate Tyson Edwards celebrating his 300th game for the club?
It was pretty much a normal atmosphere. When milestones come along, we don’t go too over the top. For us, it’s all about doing what we do best.
You started the game on the bench. What was the thinking there?
It was to break the possible tag. I’m getting tagged most weeks, so starting on the bench gave us an opportunity to see what the opposition was going to do.
Can you describe the role you played today?
I pretty much played as a half-back or half-forward. I didn’t roll through the middle. It was important we got what we wanted in terms of match-ups in defence. We worked hard for that and that’s something we try to get going for us each week.
When I went back, I thought Angus Monfries would come to me. A few times he came to me during the game, but I was able to create a two-on-one and free up one of our other guys. They didn’t end up persisting with it in the third and fourth quarters, so we ended up getting what we wanted.
It was goal-for-goal in the third quarter. What was the feeling out there?
It was a bit of an arm wrestle. I felt it was one of those games where it was pretty hard to get the ascendency. We knew if we stuck at it long enough and continued to play the way we wanted then eventually something had to give. Fortunately for us, they gave before we did. We were able to open it up in the end. It gives us a lot of confidence as a team because it was a bit of a struggle, especially in that third quarter.
What was Neil Craig’s message at three-quarter time?
He was quite excited. He said it was a great opportunity for us as a footy club to test ourselves. It was like playing finals footy, so the message was simply to go for it. Obviously we had to get on the front foot, and I felt we started to win the ball around the stoppages. We were down in this area early in the game, but we were able to claw our way back into the lead.
How does it feel to come off the ground with a win?
Every week is really important, especially when you’re in the finals race. When the opportunity is presented to you, you have to take it. It’s something in the past we might not have taken, so as a side we have come a long way in the last three years. The win certainly gives us a great deal of confidence about the way we play. To take those four points and push further up the ladder, it’s great.
How did you rate your game from a personal perspective?
Not too bad. Obviously I played a bit of a selfless role today, trying to create those two-on-ones and freeing some guys up. There were probably a couple of errors by foot early on that I wasn’t real happy with. But apart from that, I’m pretty happy with my performance and look forward to next week.
