Q. Pending the appeal of course, how much will the absence of Dustin Fletcher affect the backline?
A. If you look at our past record we have probably struggled a little bit without Dustin, so it would be very disappointing to not have him there on Friday night. The positive for us is that we have had a lot of guys - Mark Bolton and Scott Lucas - who have been playing in the backline in the last two months, so we are probably in a better position with tall backline players now than we ever have been. If he is not there, we will cover him quite well.
Q. Scott Lucas was moved forward in the third quarter of the Elimination final and was fantastic. With the absence of Fletcher, will he have to go back again?
A. Scott has been playing some fantastic footy in the backline, so I presume that is where he will start if Dustin is out. I think he went forward last week because we were missing a bit of scoring power with Matthew Lloyd off. Back or forward he is pretty dangerous at the moment.
Q. Do you feel the extra burden with Dustin out?
A. It is definitely tougher when Dustin is not there. He is a great player and he also takes our kick-ins. He is probably one of the better players in the league with kick-ins as well. It is tougher and you would love to have him alongside your. If he is not there, it will be disappointing but I think we have the guys to step up and cover him.
Q. Does it change your role with Dustin out?
A. I am not sure if it will. I suppose Dustin would be the obvious match-up for Tredrea, so now it will be between three or four of the backline players if the appeal is not successful - but we are pretty confident it will be.
Q.How do you rate the Port forward line - are they a difficult forward line to match-up on?
A. They are because they have a number of scoring options and I think the Burgoyne brothers have been very dangerous playing on the front end of the forward line. They have a number of players that can be match winners for them, so it makes them a very dangerous side. It is not just a matter of covering one or two players, there are four or five guys there that can kick a bag of goals. So we rate their forward-line very highly.
Q.All the disruptions this season, with injury and suspension - how do you cope with all of that?
A. I know we are in a situation now where we can't rely on those certain guys. The positives for us are that we have had a number of guys step up for us over the last month. If we were playing finals a month ago, we were probably just making up the numbers, but now we feel we are a pretty even side now and guys are coming into their best form for the year. We have won four games in a row, which we haven't done all year. Confidence is high and we have a lot of faith in the guys we have playing at the moment. It is just a matter of all of us playing well, which we are going to have to do as the Collingwood players did last week.
Q. Have you looked at the Collingwood and saw how they went about it?
A. Yes
Q. What did you think?
A. I thought they were desperate and they went over there with a lot of self-belief. No one gave them much of a chance and it was pretty obvious early in the game that they were going to put up a very good performance - they were very switched on. Getting off to a good start is always important when you are playing an interstate final. We would like to get off to a good start like Collingwood did and get the ascendancy early.
Q. Scott Burns from Collingwood said it was important to put a lot of pressure on Port Adeladie early in the match
A. Collingwood's pressure was terrific. They definitely made Port cough up the football. That is what you have to do in finals. There is no doubt the intensity does go up and the pressure is always there. Collingwood were terrific in that area and we will have to be just as good, probably even better to beat Port Adelaide. They will be switched on.
Q. Do you consider yourselves to be the underdogs?
A. I think we are the underdogs. They have been a lot more consistent side than us this year, where as I think our consistency is a lot better over the last month. They finished top on the ladder and we did finish fifth. The game is also in Adelaide, so you would have to say that all of those factors add up to us being the underdogs.
Q. How does that sit with you?
A. It is a different feeling to the last couple of years, where the expectation is if you finish in the top two you are expected to make the grand final. We haven't had that pressure on us and I think it is showing around the club. We are excited and because we don't know if we were going to be in the finals until very late in the season, now that we are there we have a second wind and feeling positive about this week.
Q. It doesn't look like you will have Lloyd and also Fletcher, where will this rate as a victory if you beat Port Adelaide?
A. If we don't go in with those two players, it will rate very, very highly. It is a huge challenge to beat Port Adelaide over there in front of their home crowd. I guess the odds are stacked up against us, but I suppose Collingwood without a Buckley did the same thing, so it would probably rate pretty similar to Collingwood's victory.
Q. You said it is important to get the ascendancy early - is there a feeling that there is weight on Port Adelaide's shoulders because they have never won a final?
A. Probably a little. I think it is important to get ahead early because of the crowd factor when you go interstate. If you can silence the crowd early and put a bit of scoreboard pressure on it does change the whole game. So we will be wanting to make the most of every opportunity that we do get.
Q. Danny Jacobs and Mark Bolton have really stepped up this season....
A. They know that they belong in the side now. Danny Jacobs has been there for a couple of years now and Mark Bolton would be in the best two or three players over the last couple of months. With that comes confidence and it is really important for the fabric of the side that those guys continue to contribute. That has been really good for us.
Q. Do you think Lloyd will play?
A. To be honest I think he is unlikely to play. It was a heavy knock, but I do know that he was progressing very well and better than expected. It is a decision that Matthew won't make, but a decision the doctors will make with Matthew's health the number one priority.
Q. If you were coach, where would you play Dean Rioli - beside you or up forward?
A. I would like to have him beside me. Dean is a handy player and he provides a lot of drive off half-back. We can throw him forward as well. It will be an interesting one, but his form has been fantastic when he has played there.
