Recap the key points of coach Brenton Sanderson’s mid-week press conference …

Will you make a few changes at selection?

“Yes. There will be changes and there have to be. There have probably only been three or four players who have had three really solid games for us. There’s been too much variance in output. We’re looking for players who will perform unconditionally at the standard that’s required at AFL level. It’s not panic stations yet. I mean we’re one win and two losses after round three, but we can’t let it go too deep into the season before we start making adjustments to how we play. There will be guys left out this week, who just aren’t performing at the level we require.”

Do you need to reconsider your forward line structure?

“You watch how other people evaluate other teams and evaluate us. They move magnets around and draw lines … you’d love to say, ‘you stand here and when the ball gets kicked into the forward line you move to here’. It’s good in theory but that’s not what the game is – it’s incredibly random. At times, we’d prefer to have targets to kick the ball to in our forward line who are tall, but at other times we prefer to kick the ball to smalls. We’ll structure up the way we want to structure up, not how you want us to structure up. We’re very clear on the way we want to play.”

What’s the argument against a second dedicated ruckman?

“We’re playing two dedicated ruckmen at the moment (Sam Jacobs and Josh Jenkins). It’s okay (Josh Jenkins is raw). We can (persist with him).”

What do you say to people questioning the team’s hunger, or physical fitness?

“Did those people watch round two? Those same people were very happy with our performance in the last quarter against Brisbane. We took 38 marks-to-five and outscored the Lions five goals-to-zero.

“That’s the thing we’re upset about, that in round one we were disappointing, round two very good and round three disappointing again. We’re not happy with how we’re playing and it’s important we get back to playing our style, but we’re certainly fit enough. We’re fitter than last year. Our GPS numbers show we’re running further in games and at a higher intensity. We trained harder this summer than we did last summer.

“At the moment sides are outrunning and outworking us – that’s not a fitness thing, its determination and will.”

Do you feel more comfortable making changes at selection knowing players in the SANFL are in good form?

“Certainly. It’s important to reward guys who are playing well in the SANFL. When you tell a player they’re not in this week, you tell them it’s because the guys in the team are getting it done and performing well. Alternatively, when you get a performance like the one on the weekend you need to reward guys who are playing well in the SANFL.”

How do you address the performance of the midfield? Does the talent in there run deep enough

“They (the midfielders) get a certain amount of credits I guess, but they can’t get beaten more than winning their 50-50 share. That’s been a strength of ours in the past. The midfield depth is deep enough. We ran deeper in the midfield than Port last week, but they still beat us.”

Where did last week’s loss rank in terms of losses during your time at the Club?

“It was worse than the round three loss to Hawthorn last year. I did ask the players that on Monday and they agreed. It’s the worst loss we’ve had since I’ve been coaching here. There were lots of theories, but basically it’s about consistency of performance. We didn’t run when it mattered, didn’t spread when it mattered and weren’t organised. Those are the things we have to try to adjust and get better at.”

Is there anything the external critics are saying that makes sense?

“Some people have written us off already which is fine. But don’t be offended if we don’t listen to you. If anything, it probably fuels the desire to perform better. We’re not throwing the towel in yet. It’s important we look for ways to improve. It’s a really even competition and you have to turn up to play every week. You can’t just turn up when you want to. It’s fine if you want to write us off, but we’re not giving in.”

What’s your take on the Western Bulldogs?

“I’ve watched all three of their games and their win against Brisbane in round one was super impressive. We learned a lot about how they’re playing. A bit like us, they pride themselves on contested ball and numbers around the contest. Their pressure is very good. They mark the ball a lot and kick it short. It’s a match between two teams with only one win and two losses, so winner takes all I guess this weekend. It’ll be a really fiery clash.”

Is not having Kurt Tippett really hurting your structure?

“I’m a bit tired of hearing about Kurt Tippett still. It’s round four of the 2013 season. He doesn’t play for us anymore. We’re picking players that we’re hoping are going to improve and will be really good players for us now and in the future. We’ll shuffle the structure around until we find one that’s winning.”