Catch up with all the key coaches’ comments from Thursday’s press conferences ahead of Round 1, with interesting notes on Dan Houston, Finn Callaghan and Dante Visentini among others.
Collingwood coach Craig McRae discussed the role of Dan Houston, indicating he’s becoming their go-to man with the ball in his hands in defence, including more kick-ins.
He said: “We want the ball in Dan’s hands, there was clear instruction for Dan takes all the kick ins, let’s get the ball in his hands. He’s such a weapon, probably the best kick in our team … probably line ball with Nick (Daicos) I’d say.”
West Coast coach Andrew McQualter confirmed his side will blood four debutants; Milan Murdock, Willem Duursma, Cooper Duff-Tytler and Josh Lindsay. He was especially glowing of no.1 pick Duursma.
He said: “All of our draftees have come in and shown they’re going to be great players for a long time.
“Willem in particular — he’s so versatile and athletic. He’s a competitor so throughout the year we’re going to get some great performances from him. But understanding that these young draftees are still 18 years old and this is a pretty tough caper, so we don’t want to put too high of expectations on them.”
McQualter also discussed the fitness of injury-riddled midfielder Elliot Yeo. He said: “He’s fit to play and we’ll just manage his game-time accordingly to what we think is appropriate but I can’t wait to see ‘Yeoy’ out there.”
GWS coach Adam Kingsley revealed Finn Callaghan remains in some doubt due to soreness, having missed time in pre-season with a hip complaint.
Kingsley said: “We’ll see how he recovers later on today, tomorrow, before we make a call. And if he’s not right, we’re not going to play him. I think there’s a minor doubt on him.
“He’s pulled up really sore. He didn’t play any practice matches and he played over 100 minutes in that Hawthorn game. So, he’s managing some soreness at the moment. We thought it best not to train him and just to try and freshen him up a little bit. But I’d expect he’d be okay.”
The GWS coach discussed Kieren Briggs’ ruck role and what he expects of him. He said: “I just want him to compete against Tim English… Briggs has probably had mixed results against him in the past. So it’ll be a great battle.
“I think we’ve seen that over the last three and a half years now that when Briggs gets his hand on the ball and is able to generate some territory for us, we’re a better midfield.”
Kingsley also praised young defender Joe Fonti in a sign of his growing importance. He said: “There’s speed, there’s composure, there’s a toughness about him.
“They’re great qualities for a half-back. I think he’s quicker than (Lachie) Whitfield, but I think Whitfield has that sort of composure and toughness that not a lot have in that position so I see them as probably the traits that will help him become an outstanding player in the competition in that role. And with his running capacity and speed maybe there’s some other roles that we can potentially introduce him to as his career wears on.”
Port coach Josh Carr explained the decision to select ruckman Dante Visentini. He said: “I think the rules suit Dante. He’s a jumping ruckman, and he’s an aggressive jumping ruckman. He gets around the ground.
“And Sweety (Jordon Sweet) as well, they’ve had a great battle over the pre-season, and it is line ball between the two of them. And Dante’s been in the team, obviously, the last month, and he gets the first nod. But we’re going to need every player on our list this year to have a good year and to improve and get better. So just because a player misses out this week, it doesn’t mean they don’t make us better in the coming weeks.”
Carr talked about debutant Jack Watkins. He said: “He’s had a really good pre-season, so he’s definitely put his best foot forward to give himself an opportunity. We know what he’s going to bring.
“(His improvement) hasn’t surprised me, because he’s just consistent in the way he goes about his footy and his training and effort. So, to be in the position right now to be a possible to play this week, it’s not a surprise.”
The Port coach also was pressed on Jason Horne-Francis’ status. He said: “We managed Hornet’s game time through the game over the four quarters last game against West Coast, and that’ll be similar this week – probably a bit more game time. But he’s tracking nicely and I’m confident that if we’ve got everyone fit on the bench, then we can manage that.”
“Hornet’s played more forward time over the pre-season, and that won’t change. It doesn’t mean he, as you would have seen against West Coast, he goes into the centre bounce and spends a bit of time as a midfielder. It depends on what the game needs. And if you need something a little bit different, then Hornet will either be forward or go on ball. But I’d say he’d be more likely to start forward.”
