First of all, I congratulate Dean Bailey and the Melbourne Football Club. I know they had a lot of pressure on them. It is great for Dean and Josh Mahoney. I'm sure they have had a few sleepless nights. So well done. It is a tough gig. Their players would be wrapped in the win and probably not looking forward to the break. They'd want to be on a roll.
For us it was a great start and we kept on going all day. People talked down their side and talked up their inexperience. All of that was true. We expected to win and to play well - and we did. All you can do is deliver on those expectations. But I fully understand they were undermanned a long way. The good thing for us is we kept scoring and kept working at it. There was a huge amount of chases and tackles. Our players really worked hard to achieve what they did today. We did not kick particularly well (for goal) early and they kicked outstandingly well. By the end of the game we might have been 8.10 (at one stage) but we finished up in a pretty good position. We kicked pretty well after half-time.
There were a couple of outstanding players. I thought Steven Salopek was outstanding. I thought it was his best game. Boak was brilliant. And Daniel Motlop, he continues to astound with some of the great things he does. They're some of the things that bring people to the football. Everyone underestimates what he does for our club. He is a brilliant team player and he is certainly one who tries hard for the rest of the guys out there. Any goal he scores is just a bonus for all the other stuff he does.
Taking Essendon in perspective, what was good of Port Adelaide in this game?
We ran out four quarters. We played in Melbourne again. There was some discussion about whether we could win in Melbourne. I'm thinking we can. In fact, as a club we have shown we can win anywhere. We get on the bus and the plane to fly with that expectation. I thought Alipate Carlile did some terrific work on Lloyd today. Lloyd has come back into some form. But it was a great learning experience for our young backline and young full back. I thought he ran off terrifically well and created a lot down the field. That was good for him. Not sure what else. Most people contributed which is good. There was not too much lairising or over-using the ball. There were a couple of times when we turned over the ball trying to be too unselfish. But you have to applaud that rather than criticise.
What is working at 3-4 that was not at 0-4?
At 0-4 we had lost by nine points to Geelong, which was a massive turnaround from the last time we played them. So we lost, but we felt we got something back from that. We lost by a goal to Adelaide, having lots of shots in the last quarters. We were miles ahead of Brisbane but we can see that Brisbane is a good side. We lost that game as well. I think the courage of the group to keep going at it and keep believing in what we're doing without under-estimating there were miles of footy still to go. We're back among the group. If you look at the draw, I think Geelong have played two teams from last year's top eight. We have played four. I think we're the only team to have played four of last year's finalists. That makes it tougher and no-one takes any consideration of this.
Where are you from your best of last year?
We have a fair way to go, a fair way. We'll keep working on it. It is just a wonderful atmosphere to be a coach at Port Adelaide because everyone comes to work and they work hard to improve. It doesn't matter if it is Peter Burgoyne or Brendon Lade or Shaun Burgoyne, they're all there. You see Boak in his second year. And Salopek standing up. You see Chaplin starting to get better and better. It is a great for our supporters to see that coming through. Matthew Knights will note that you get very inconsistent performances with young players. And when the 17th and 18th sides enter the competition you'll notice it even more. There will be inconsistent performances that we will all have to hold our breath with. So you get back to the drawing board each Monday and work hard to improve.
How do you rate the way you created time and space today?
It was pretty good. It was great to see what has happened to this surface. It is a massive improvement on what we have seen in the past. We certainly appreciated having 15 minutes of a jog here yesterday to get a feel of the conditions. We think that is only fair considering we let everyone on our ground.
Does the break - and rest - come at the right time?
I'm thinking of playing most of my side against the Vics this week. That is a joke.
You’ve got Hawthorn after the break?
We had time to watch Hawthorn (against Collingwood at the MCG on Saturday). They are very impressive. Very impressive. We do have a fairly good record in Tasmania, so we'll look forward to getting down there. I'm sure it will be interesting considering half our team and staff is now at Hawthorn. I saw Stuart Dew back amongst it kicking goals from 100 metres out. He is back in good form. It will be a great test for us. Hodge is out and Chad is out for us. There is a bit of flavour out of the game, but to see Franklin up one end and Motlop up the other .. and aren't the indigenous players going well?
How is the mix in your midfield working now?
We keep turning it around. I wouldn't be surprised if Michael Wilson plays the next time we play. He has been on fire on the track. I think the eight weeks are up. There is not much Michael Wilson cannot do. He is outstanding. He adds to that midfield mix - and we have four on the bench.
Is Hawthorn the big test because of the way they are playing?
It is a contrast (to Essendon). We'll worry about that in the next two weeks, not tonight.
Daniel Motlop mentioned that you and a few of his teammates told him to calm down at three-quarter time. Did you have any message for Daniel at three-quarter time?
I don't like to put too many reins on Daniel Motlop. He is brilliant. I really enjoy watching him. You can wrap up all the fancy stuff he does, but the competitive chasing and tackling and will to win he displays and the way he leads the other young forwards is outstanding.
Is that back in Westhoff's game as well?
I don't know how many goals he kicked, but I reckon he caused five goals from his chasing which is brilliant. People forget he is 199cm tall. And he has miles of development in him. We look forward to him coming along. Warren Tredrea and Jason Cripps have done a great job. The coaching group work really hard to improve our players. We have put ourselves in the mix again and that is good for everyone around the club.
