TALL FORWARD Todd Marshall says his side has learned from its loss to Collingwood and is now focused on what’s ahead.
Coming into his own over the last two seasons, Marshall has claimed his place in the forward line after a breakout year in 2022, where he kicked 45 goals from 21 games.
Speaking to the Adelaide media on Tuesday, the 24-year-old says he has gained clarity in his role, which has helped build belief, heading into this Saturday’s Showdown.
Marshall on cementing his role in the forward line
“It's probably just taking the weight off my shoulders and trying to simplify my footy…just doing my role as a tall forward and that's creating a good contest for the kick and finishing my work in front of goals.
“I understand my role very clearly now. Probably the first few years of my career I was sort of chopping and changing between tall forward and half forward so to cement that tall forward spot and know what I’m doing each week is really good.”
Marshall on Showdown preparation
“I guess it's sort of the standard preparation but then (during) the captain's run on Friday there might be a little video where we go into the flashbacks of it and see how important the game is (to the club). We've got a few coaches now who have played in Showdowns in Chad (Cornes) and (Josh) Carr and (Nathan) Bassett so they sort of (explain) the importance of the game to us players and I certainly understand what it is and I’m sure (new players will) learn pretty quick.
“(Junior Rioli) has played a few (WA) derbies so I’m sure he knows the cross-town rivalry aspect of it. I’m sure we will have a few meetings regarding that and watch some vision about how important this game is not only for us as a club but for our fans and supporters.”
Marshall on Adelaide’s form
“I thought their pre-season form was really good…they’ve got a really good young group so going into this week we’re expecting their best and I’m sure they're expecting our best and it’s going to be a tough Showdown.
“They'll probably bring in another tall defender this week but whatever they do, we just want to focus on us as a forward line. We probably have been very inconsistent to start the year so for us, it's all about that contested ball aspect of the game and contested marks so we're not too worried about the opposition at the moment.”
Marshall on selection
“We probably have a couple (that could come into the team). Tom Clurey, Riley Bonner, Jake Pasini who could debut, there are a few players playing decent footy in the backlines. Whatever way (selection goes) we trust that they know our system and believe in our system. The backs have been pretty tough to train on most of the summer so I’m sure whoever takes that spot will do great.”
Marshall on Jeremy Finlayson returning from injury
“I think Jez is tracking well, he's played the last two practice games for the Magpies (in the SANFL). What they do with selection this week will be up to the coaches but like I said before, I think whoever comes in knows our system and believes in our system and whatever role they play they can perform in.”
Marshall on Travis Boak
“I assume Trav will come in (to the 22) and he’s so important to our group and he probably understands the most about what Showdowns are. He’s such a good leader for us, an experienced leader so to have him out on the field will be great.”
Marshall on the loss to Collingwood
“We're going to be looking to bounce back after last week. It was a really disappointing effort from us and Collingwood just got on top of us and once that happens at the MCG in front of 60-thousand, it’s pretty hard to get that momentum back. We've taken some learnings and reviewed it pretty hard so we're looking to bounce back and hopefully we can do that in the biggest game, the Showdown.”
“We got beaten up a bit around the footy just with the contested ball…we knew they wanted to play fast footy and score, it's just tough to stop their momentum once they get it going.”
