PORT ADELAIDE assistant coach Josh Carr has spoken of the side’s calmness in wrestling back momentum to overcome a five-goal deficit against Carlton on Friday night.
The Power trailed by as much as 31 points just before half time against the Blues, before slowly regaining momentum to record an important win at Marvel Stadium.
Speaking following the team review on Monday, Carr was full of praise for the way the side reacted after a seven-goal to one second term.
He also discussed Esava Ratugolea’s performance as a forward, Willem Drew’s showing in his 100th game, and how the side will prepare for a clash with top-of-the-table Sydney despite the Swans’ recent results.
Josh Carr on the review of Friday night’s win over Carlton:
“The performance from this week versus last week, or there was just a really consistent performance, even though the first half, if you look at that second quarter wasn't exactly how we would have planned it, but the response from the players to be able to go back out there after half-time, be really calm, play a brand of footy that was needed to be played with the contest and get that back in our favor, even to go forward and kick a score and then defend the way we did was really pleasing.”
Josh Carr on how important it was to win against a higher ranked side on Friday night:
“What I think is important is that we just keep stringing them together. We're going to attack every week, you know, one week at a time, because that's what the competition needs right now. We get confidence out of obviously going away and being together and playing a really strong brand footy.
(Winning on big occasions against quality sides like that) doesn't hurt. But I think it's more about affirmation for people outside of the four walls of the footy club. Internally, we feel that in big games we've been okay. But there's just there's been aspects in certain games where we've let ourselves down. When you go through games that we’ve won this year, and where teams have been situated on the ladder, we've been ok.”
Josh Carr on Esava Ratugolea playing as a forward on Friday night:
“He did really well. He got his contest forward of the ball. He's a big unit so when the ball is in his area, he is either wins it or halves it and that was important in this game.
He did embrace (playing forward). He was willing to do whatever it took to win the game of footy and we needed him forward so that's where he played.”
Josh Carr on whether the side will stick with two key defenders or return to having three:
“I guess it's horses for courses so with whatever we come up against for the weekend and how many talls that opposition have to where we need to play our players and what we pick.”
Josh Carr on Jason Horne-Francis’s response to a slow start after half time:
“I think he's maturing with what he's learning week to week and how he handles himself in different situations and under pressure. He was a bit quiet in that first half, but to be able to recover and reset himself at halftime to come out and have a really strong game and have an impact on the team, look, he's done that before and it's probably becoming more consistent.”
Josh Carr on Sydney coming into the game having lost four of its last five games:
“We prepare for their absolute best. No team goes through a whole season playing their absolute best every week. You all go through slumps, as we've seen with so many teams this year. You've got to answer those questions in the media about why you are in the situation that you're in, but that’s just this season, that's what it looks like. They’ve been challenged over the last month, the Swans but when you go through the list and go through the quality of players that they've got, you know, quality players don't stay down for very long.”
Josh Carr on Willem Drew after his 100th game at the weekend:
“You just know what you're going to get every week, you know what he's going to rock up with the type of game that you're going to get from him. And obviously, it's based off effort at the start but Drewy brings more than effort to the team. He's got the ability to find teammates with the footy with the ball in hand, I think gets underestimated at times. He's got a good balance in his game that he brings every week, whether it's offence, defence or other contests.”
