PORT Adelaide assistant coach Josh Carr is thoroughly enjoying the return to his old stomping ground.
The 2004 Premiership player has focused his attention to his midfield group, with plenty of players already impressing him on the training track.
Carr spoke to the Adelaide media about pre-season so far, competition for selection and individual player performances.
Carr on his return to Port Adelaide:
“Port Adelaide itself has its own DNA and every time I come back here, I love being back. I enjoy the culture of the footy club and the people. You see the amount of supporters we've been getting at our open training sessions, it’s been really impressive.
“My plan always has been to come back to SA. I needed experience to go away to a different team and learn. To go over (to Fremantle) under Justin (Longmuir) who I really respect as a coach…I thought he could teach me a lot and I think I learned a lot. All football cubs are different and run differently and see things differently so it was nice to get a different perspective.”
Carr on his midfield group:
“Willem Drew's been outstanding so far in the pre-season so you’ve got him and Ollie (Wines) who are the big bulls that are inside, but then you’ve got a bit of a cross section with Jason (Horne-Francis) and then Connor (Rozee) who has weapons that the others don’t have, (and there’s) Butters as well. I’m listing a fair few names but I just think that the balance of the different weapons that they bring to the midfield group (is so good). They're all open to learning and getting better and improving and that's all I want as a midfield coach.”
Carr on the rucks:
“I think it's just the best ruckman come Round 1 (who will) play, and that's no different in the midfield. It's not just my decision, it's obviously all the coaches, but when it comes to selection, it's obviously the best performing player come Round 1. They're all fit – Scotty (Lycett) has had a good pre-season, (Sam) Hayesy's going well, young Dante (Visentini) is starting to step up, so there's pressure for spots. Obviously, Jeremy did well last year in that position too so there are a number of players that could fill the role and it's whatever’s best for the team come the start of the year.”
Carr on Xavier Duursma’s head knock at training:
“He got a knock to the head (today) in a marking contest (and was taken off the ground). Obviously, it's precautionary…it could be (a concussion). He looked a bit groggy so we will see how it pans out. We will look after him. When you’re playing match-play and it's pretty competitive you put yourself out there as a team to have those sorts of incidents, but (he) looks okay.”
Carr on individual players:
Tom Scully: “He has been impressive. He presents at the ball, he’s obviously over 200 centimetres and he’s hard to defend as a tall guy. Each week it looks like he’s getting more confident being out there with AFL payers, not 18 -year-olds so he’s been impressive.”
Jason Horne Francis: “He’s just building. I think each session he’s just got better and better and he’s able to sustain more running and more physicality out there (now). Each session more (of his weapons) come out so it's been enjoyable to watch his progress so far. I think everyone's excited (to see him in a Port guernsey). I could hear the crowd every time he got the ball out there today they got pretty excited by it. He’s only a second-year player…he’s been really open to learning and getting better.”
