Port Adelaide utility Kane Farrell says his side is determined not to get ahead of themselves after an emphatic Round 1 win against Brisbane on the weekend.
The versatile left-footer marked his 50th AFL game in style on Saturday, contributing 21 disposals to the exciting 54-point victory.
Farrell fronted the Adelaide media on Tuesday to discuss the group’s desire to continue playing good football, taking on Collingwood this weekend and how Travis Boak is tracking in his road back from injury.
Farrell on the Round 1 win
“It's only been Round 1 so we still want to keep playing the best footy we can. We've had a really strong pre-season and I feel like we've showed what we can do on the weekend really strongly. Our practice matches probably didn’t go as planned but I feel like on the weekend what we've been training really came out.
“It was really our finishing in the first half (that we weren’t happy with). We were getting the ball inside 50 but we really weren’t converting as much as we would have liked to. Then, coming out after half time, everything seemed to click and the ball was going inside 50 how we would like it to. (We were getting it to our) forwards and giving them the best opportunity to mark the footy and kick goals and I feel like in the second half, that worked to our advantage.”
Farrell on selection
“It's a hard one to answer because when you win like that, you don’t really want anything to change. But if the coaches see something that might help the team with the next game, well that's really up to them so we'll have to wait and see what happens on Thursday.
“You’ve still got to play your best footy no matter where you are in your career. (For me) to go to half back at the late stages of last year and to now start there, I feel comfortable there, I feel like that's my position I can hopefully keep it and stay in the side. I can't really complain how the season has started and hopefully there's more to come.”
Farrell on the club’s young talent
“There is a bit more put on them at the moment (especially) with your older boys like Trav (Boak) out, so some people have to step up. For Kenny (Hinkley) to go to the younger group, it just shows where we are as a group. We can put trust in each other no matter how many years we've been in the system so it's always good when you’ve got players that you can rely on.”
Farrell on the possibility of Travis Boak’s return
“That's up to the coaches really if they feel like he's ready and if he feels like he’s ready to play. I feel like they'll take that training session by training session. He's probably feeling that he's ready to go but it's really up to the staff to know if he's good to go.
“He's just not going as hard as he probably wants to at the moment and he's being a bit cautious. I think he'll be firing to go on Thursday for training. He just wants to be out there training so he’s getting out there as much as he can so he can be around the group. He's just a great player, he's a great leader and has been a great player for our club. When you're out there you always stand a little bit taller when you've got someone like that alongside you. It would be great to get him back out there as soon as he can, but we’ll have to wait and see.”
Farrell on Jason Horne-Francis’s impact at Port Adelaide
“It's great to have him around the club. He's trained like (he played) all season, he's been a very good pick up for us. He's only 19 still so he's got plenty more footy to come in the future. He's still got a lot to learn but for him to put out that performance on the weekend for his first game for the club can really put a smile on the players’ and the supporters’ faces. Hopefully more of that to come from him. He’s happy, he's around his family now so for him to be happy off-field, I feel like that's going to show out on the field. He's had a good start to his career at Port Adelaide.”
Farrell on Collingwood in Round 2
“It's going to be huge. They've got a big supporter base that they can really rely on, they like the noise so they can get up and about. For us (we want to) minimise the impact their supporters can have and hopefully we can do our best to quieten that down and play our brand of footy. They’ve got plenty of great players in their side, you saw last year how they played footy. They're a fast side, they rely on speed and we'll do our best to quieten them down and hopefully hit the scoreboard ourselves.”
