Q: One more thing [Christian] Petracca’s influence. Four out of eight goals. Continues its breathtaking season, right?
A: He does. He’s a great player for our football club. It will inspire our supporters for many years to come. As a coach, you have the privilege of being able to place him in midfield or as a striker when you need him to influence the scoreboard. I thought tonight he had a really good balance in his game, was defending well in midfield and when he went forward he had several options to influence the scoreboard. He’s an amazing player and he just keeps getting better.
Q: Simon, was it important to get the scalp? Everyone is talking about playing the best teams and getting a really good win when you can. Collingwood got a chance a couple of weeks ago last week and didn’t take it. Tonight we managed to cross the border. How important was it to confidence in your own group?
A: It is really important. We built as a site last year. Four out of five, six out of the last nine, we could cross the line. It starts to build a good block of form, but it’s important to translate that into really good shape against the good clubs and teams. St. Kilda has been doing this all season. They play a very different style of play. You are pretty quick. They force you to defend yourself strongly. We had to do that tonight. You challenged us in many areas. It’s just great for our fans and our club to win against a team above us and keep moving forward as the season progresses.
Question: “Was that one of Steven May’s best games for the club?”
He’s been amazing all season. He was one of the best keybacks in the competition all year round. Tonight he showed it again, his ability to mark the ball as it entered was superb and went a long way towards winning the game. His ability to purify the air also beat good opponents. He’s been doing it all year. If you look back on history, who he played on and
As he left, he had an amazing season at our footy club and tonight he was brilliant again.
Q: I know you haven’t seen a replay of Christian’s goal, but would you like to see a goal-line video so the video referee can take a closer look?
A: I talked a while ago about the importance of getting everything right. If we can’t get technology to a point where you can’t make accurate calls, it’s better not to have it. It was designed for the really obvious, but if you’re trying to record touched by a fair way out or on the goal line you need the technology in every venue.
Q: Simon, you seem to have that bit in the second and third quarters where you seemed calmer and St. Kilda was four in a row. How do you get into a position where you won the game?
A: I thought we defended strongly all night, but we probably didn’t win enough competitions in front of the center in the front half of our floor. The battle for supplies within 50 and the game likely affected our ability to win a few more competitions before the ball. Our mids rose by the break, but our ability to win a competition before the ball and get more in 50 was crucial. St. Kilda’s ability to catch marks and wipe the ground ball in front of the center was strong and caused us distress in the second and third quarters. Something that we cleaned up as a coaching group and the players worked hard to win more competitions with a few adjustments. We got the momentum back.
Q: Can I check in? [Michael] Hibberd’s injury?
A: He rolled his ankle. We have a game in five days so we’ll see how it comes to that. It swelled up quickly, so we’ll give a good opinion on it. We are able to look after our players during this time. In a compressed phase of our season, we need to evaluate Michael to make sure he is fit and healthy.
Q: He’s the only one [injured] one tonight?
A: He’s the only one tonight.
