Greater Western Sydney coach Leon Cameron dissects his team’s 22-point loss to Adelaide …
On what he learned about his team at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night …
“I was proud of them in the last quarter to win contested possession by 14 and still put pressure on … even though the game didn’t really go our way. They (the Crows) were clearly better than us for the first three quarters – we only had some patches.
“The guys, I thought they really hung in. I challenged them at three-quarter time to win the last quarter and a couple of statistics. One of them was contested ball, which we were blown away in in the first three quarters, and they did. It’s probably a really good sign that a young group could respond when things haven’t worked their way, so that was pleasing.”
On what went wrong …
“It’s hard to (pinpoint) specifically other than contested ball, which wasn’t great by us. We’ve prided ourselves on that this year and it’s been pretty good definitely compared to where we’ve come from last year.
“They (the Crows) capitalised. They probably should’ve hit the scoreboard a bit more in the first quarter. We hung in, but the scoreboard was a bit false in the first quarter. It was good that we fought back in the second, but in the third it probably really opened up.
“They’re disappointed, our mids, because as much as the end result is the backs copping the (opposition) forwards scoring, our mids probably let our backs down.”
On Jeremy Cameron’s battle with Daniel Talia …
“Jeremy will be the first to admit that Talia did a good job. I thought Jeremy kept hanging in there. I mean, Talia is an All-Australian defender. Again, the supply wasn’t great either. I thought we were shallow in our entries and really didn’t make good decisions at times. We didn’t really get rolling until the last quarter. The boys will learn from that.
“They (the Crows) are a good side. They beat Sydney here four or five weeks ago. They’ve beaten us and Hawthorn (only) beat them by three points, which arguably you could say (easily) could’ve gone the other way. They’re not in the top eight for no reason – they’re a top-six side.”
On Adelaide’s ability to shut the Giants down …
“We found a bit of energy in the last 30 minutes. The energy was down, it was clearly down a bit. Credit where credit is due, Adelaide stifled our play and played a really good brand of footy that we couldn’t match at times.
“When we started to get moving and used the ball a bit better in the last quarter, we could hit the scoreboard and put a fair bit of pressure back on them. But they were the better side on the night and that’s footy.”
On the experience of playing in front of 46, 737 people – the biggest-ever crowd the Giants have played in front of – potentially approaching finals …
“No one knows whether we’ll play finals or not. We’re 7-3 and it’s been a good start. We’re pleased just under the halfway mark (of the season) but the challenges keep on coming. We go to Geelong next week and that’s a huge challenge.
“In terms of that atmosphere, it’s great. The more and more we play in front of those big crowds – it’s a great crowd and a fantastic atmosphere here. If you’d ask the players, I don’t think the atmosphere got to the players. I think purely they’re just disappointed they didn’t deliver on what they know that they can. When you have an opposition as good as they were tonight, that’s the disappointing part.”
On the possible Goal of the Year contender from Eddie Betts …
“I think I made a comment in the box to the boys. I think I said, ‘Jesus, that’s a bloody good goal, isn’t it?’ He’s a special player. It’s a special round, let’s be honest. It’s a fantastic round. The AFL do it terrifically well. The Indigenous boys, no doubt, liven up our game with what they can do. Whether it’s this round, as a significant moment for them, or any round they just do some special things.
“That goal he (Betts) did was just pure genius. He had a big night tonight and had a big say in the game. It’s great for footy. We’ve got two young (Indigenous) boys who played tonight in (Nathan) Wilson and (Zac) Williams and they were really proud to run out in the jumper. It’s a great round.”
On his notes in the coaches’ box being aired on the television broadcast during the game …
“(I’m) Not really (okay with it). But it is what it is. I understand there’s an interest in looking at the coach being a lunatic at times, which we all are. I shouldn’t say that about the other 17 (coaches), but sometimes I am. There’s no doubt we’ll have a chat and fix it up. You’ve just got to be careful because it (the coaches’ box) is our space. Whether they went a little bit too far, we’ll work that out in the next 24-48 hours.”
