Assistant coach, midfield/stoppage, Adam Kingsley spoke to Matthew Richardson about the Round 6 win over Sydney in this week's edition of Coaches Corner, presented by Hostplus.
A tough afternoon at the office for all
"It certainly was. The conditions didn't help obviously and Sydney, who are really strong defensively, got back to support, and we set up really well defensively also which made it a turnover game. We couldn't score and they couldn't get it inside 50. We've just got to work through that and find a way to be able to score and use the ball a little bit better and hopefully that will lend itself to a more high-scoring game."
The opportunity to trial different midfield combinations
"Our starting midfield against Melbourne was Nankervis, Prestia, Cotchin and Edwards and all those guys missed. So, Soldo, Graham, Pickett and Bolton playing midfield this week for us was really good to see. I thought Shai was really exciting around the ball. Jack Graham's contest stuff and his pressure was really good. And Marlion, when he gets into positions to impact, he certainly hits hard. It's about development for those guys. We were pretty pleased with what they delivered but we need to continue to improve and we're excited by the challenge. Without having our absolute stars in, these guys get a great opportunity to learn, grow and develop and I'm sure they'll make the most of it."
Jack Graham's strong return to the senior side
"He played solely as a midfielder, and when you've got all those other guys playing, he probably gets squeezed out. So it's a great opportunity for him and he found the ball, his pressure and tackle stuff was good. He likes those conditions also, so it was nice for him to get his hands dirty in that aspect. Another big challenge this week against a North Melbourne midfield who, although they might not have big names without Ben Cunnington and Jack Ziebell in there, are a pretty handy midfield."
The midfield group's role in improving scoring
"We've just got to get the ball into a bit more space and the way we do that is using our hands, being creative with that and providing plenty of options for the guy with the ball. And we probably didn't do that as well (against Sydney) as what we have done, certainly the week before against Melbourne. We're continually working on trying to kick a winning score and making sure the midfield is involved in that."
Hub life
"It's good. We're stuck in the one facility at the moment but we're making the most of it. (We're) still able to train, still able to have our meetings and the guys are entertaining themselves. The great thing about it is we're all together and able to spend some really good quality time together doing different things, not just footy. I think that's important in continually strengthening our relationships with one another."
