Simmo Interview Summaries 2020

[bombard]

G'day fellow non-obsessives,

Some years ago I used to keep a running thread of Simmon press conferences for the just-a-fans amongst us. Unfortunately life got in the way in terms of jobs, a Mrs Bombard and now a Bombardling.

As a means of trying to shirk my new responsibilities, I've decided I might give it a crack again this season and see if it's of any use to the board. Of course I reserve the right to completely drop my bundle half way through the season and let this thread rot.

Anyway, I hope this is of use lads.

Simmo presser 17/1/2020:

- Simmo opens up with a prepared statement re Willie
- He's back at the club as of today - many of the players and staff are seeing him for the first time since September
- Good opportunity for him to reconnect with the club and organization - main concern at this point is health and wellbeing
- Really difficult for him to comment given the legal nature of proceedings - keeping Willie away from presser apart a written statement
- Simmo takes the unusual step of directly emploring the journos to give him space beyond taking some shots of him training
- "I know you've got a job to do but we're really here to help him get through the next couple of days."
- "The footy part is secondary."
- Journo Q if Willie is physically ready - Simmo says there's not much to be ready for - priority is mental health
- He needs to work through a few things with the players. He looks pretty good. Hopefully we him on the track next couple of weeks.
- Q re legal proceedings - Simmo says eagles are in the dark. Out of WCE hands. No new information. We're pretty transparent and will share more when we have it, but not much to give. He is allowed to train with us though.
- Q if the training permission is new or if he's always had the right to train with club. Simmo says it's not new - he's been allowed to train with club since September. We thought now's the time to get him back - but we're mindful of not creating distractions
- Q if the club is happy with info flow re the ASADA issue (presumably from AFL etc) - Simmo says it's not his priority and presumably the pace this is happening is the same as previous similar situations. Priority is Willie and supporting Willie. We can't control the process.
- Q on Willie's mental health - how is he? Simmo says going from a tight team environment to nothing is challenging and we have empathy for that. But there's also a process to go through and a playing point of view - so we need to get the group together and move on. This is all part of that. Hard to do that closed doors, so we're not. We know he's back and please respect his privacy.
- Q on contact between Simmo and Willie - he's been home with family and Simmo has caught up with him a couple of times. I've had to find a balance between seeing how he is and preparing for our season - we have a big job ahead of us. We've kept in contact and he has a baby due in a couple of months. We'll get together and keep moving forward.
- Q on his physical fitness - Simmo says he looks fit ("I've seen him worse..") - he's been doing work up home and he looks okay.
- Q on what actually happened re the powerade etc - Simmo says he'd love to be able to talk more freely about it but really can't comment at the moment. Suppose the angle I'm focusing on is the acceptance and care of who he is as a person. What's done is done.
- Q on training - permanent of week by week? Simmo says see how he goes and we'll see how he goes reengaging the players. See what happens.
- Q on training in Darwin and training with family back home - It's been critical to his mental health. Inability to train with us would be difficult if it did come to pass. That's just the situation we have. We have empathy for Willie on all of this but recognize it's self-inflicted as well.
- Q on alternative training options for Willie - Simmo says that he's in talks with the Baldivis Brumbies and new player/coach Chris Masten and captain Hayden Ballantyne about letting him train with the boys there.*
- Q on family in Darwin - he's lucky to have that family support in Darwin. We haven't had the chance to see him up there so it's hard to comment further.
- Q on interaction between Willie and players - well they haven't seen each other so they'll have a chat today, that's part of the process.
- Q on when he's addressing the players - next hour or so.
- Q on whether it will be emotional - Not sure. We'll keep that between the guys.
- Q on whether the players knew he was coming back this week - Yes. We spoke to the players last week and let him know he might be coming in. They're a mature group who care about him but they're focused on the job to do. They've been briefed.
- Q on whether this is distracting for the players - it will be today, sure. We're hoping it dies down pretty quick and we can move on. If it doesn't, we'll readjust.
- Q on reaction from the playing group on news of his return - positive. They have questions which they'll work through and then we will go from there.
- Q is there hope that Willie might play this season? Simmo says he can't comment. i'd like him back next week but we really don't know.
- Q on how frustrating is this, in terms of managing the unknown etc? - Simmo says it's self-inflicted, so we just have to respect the process. It takes time.
- Q on when news is expected re ASADA - Simmo says he can't say. Could be tomorrow, could be six months.
- Q on whether there is a trial hearing, and if so when - No we don't know. Not hiding anything, I promise.
- Q if the unknown element to this is frustrating - "Not in my head at all." We're preparing for the season. That's a legal issue and for the club to work through.
- Q on how to cover for Willie's absence - That's part of what I'm looking to do. He's in our best 18, so we're working through that
- Q on McGovern's rehab progress - He's going well, back on track in a week so. Might be available for second pre-season game.
- Q on the state of origin game and whether we're concerned about injury risk - Simmo says it coincides with a game we'd be playing anyway in the pre-season cup, so whether they play in that game or our game, it doesn't matter. A couple of guys have put their hand up and are keen to play.
- Q on whether Eagles players will take part in the fundraising game - the ones who have put their hands up and are available to play, will play.
- Q on round one availability - anyone in doubt? Not looking like that at the moment. Should have everyone available.
- Q on Gov / Barrass condition and the impact of disruption during preseason - It's an unknown. You don't want to miss preseason. We get a small window for preseason now and those two are missing large chunks of that window. To throw them in deep end is not ideal, but they are experienced players and they handled smilar issues in the past.
- Q on Oscar Allen setback - He was the backup for those two (Gov/Barra) so it's not great for match sim but it's opportunity for other players in the ranks. We'd like them available of course.
- Q on Oscar Allen role for 2020 - Oscar is interesting and we'd like to get him settled but right now it's on needs basis. He second rucked for us last year. Looks like he'd be a backman given the injuries we've got.
- Q on whether Oscar will play preseason - he's ahead of schedule, probably training by end of January.
- Q on Venables condition - Good days and bad. Still working through. Long process. He's improved so much since November. One of our best trainers when he's out there but there are still off days. Slow burn.
- Q on Venables and what determines the days he trains v the days he doesn't - it's a day by day decision. We see how he's feeling. He's got a lot of minutes in training and hasn't missed much at all but he's not quite 100%. Has been doing a bit of contact work. That's the next step.
- Q on Barrass recovery - Simmo says he's on track. Should be near full training by the end of the month. All these guys who had operations in December are getting back on track and no hiccups so far.
- Q on Venables return date - Haven't ruled out start of the season. Working through everything.
- Q on Venables training standards so far this year - "Gee."*
- Q on Jarrod Cameron's ability to fill the Willie hole (teehee) - Young forwardline apart from JK. The half forward line was a little inconsistent last year with Liam, Petrucelle, Venables, all very young. inconsistency stood out a lot last year at stages. We think Tim Kelly can play forward at stages as well.
- Q on JK being old and whether Simmo is happy with his work in pre-season - "It's great to see him on the track. He and Nic is just awesome for our players." Not overdoing it. Nothing beats training in a managed way for JK is great. Both he and Nic have missed preseasons for the last three or four years so that's been a real bonus.
- Q on morale impact of having Nic/JK training - it's good to have our senior guys on the track. They need to be managed but training well.



* May not have happened.

 

[Abed]

Thanks Bombard, appreciate you taking the time to summarise it.

 

[FatPizza]

Thanks Bombard, appreciate you taking the time to summarise it.

That's a summary?

 

[HoneyBadger35]

I’ve always appreciated a good intentions mega thread that inevitably collapses under the workload halfway through the year.

Used to love these summaries, cheers Bombard.

 

[Quinz]

As a means of trying to shirk my new responsibilities

Hey quit stealing my thing

Of course I reserve the right to completely drop my bundle half way through the season and let this thread rot.

Hey quit stealing HoneyBadger35 thing.

 

[nearlyblonde]

Thanks Bombard.

Have missed these.

 

[Keys]

How do you replace someone like Rioli: Adam Simpson

Suspended West Coast Eagle Willie Rioli was back on the training track with his Eagles teammates yesterday and their coach says Rioli was nervous ahead of his first appearance since his suspension. Adam Simpson says Rioli was brought in to the club last week and spoke with his teammates about...

www.6pr.com.au

This interview is a week old (was done on the 18/1) and despite it being noted arsehats Hagdorn and Hardie asking the questions it’s a good listen.

The questions are varied and relevant ranging from fitness of players, where to use TK, preseason programming, Rioli and Venables among other things

Goes for nearly 15 minutes but well worth it

 

[Farang83150]

How do you replace someone like Rioli: Adam Simpson

Suspended West Coast Eagle Willie Rioli was back on the training track with his Eagles teammates yesterday and their coach says Rioli was nervous ahead of his first appearance since his suspension. Adam Simpson says Rioli was brought in to the club last week and spoke with his teammates about...

www.6pr.com.au

This interview is a week old (was done on the 18/1) and despite it being noted arsehats Hagdorn and Hardie asking the questions it’s a good listen.

The questions are varied and relevant ranging from fitness of players, where to use TK, preseason programming, Rioli and Venables among other things

Goes for nearly 15 minutes but well worth it

The Venables comments are a real worry.

 

[bombard]

Simmo presser at the dog race thing they do on the beach (11 Feb):

- Q re outcome of the dog race. Simmo says it's tough to go back to back, despite his recruitment of two more dogs.
- Q whether Simmo is breeding with dogs. He says don't tell the council that hohoho big laughs. They've been taking some rescue Kelpies (aww). Today's a good day for the boys.
- Q whether Simmo's dog Stevie, competed - yes he did. He's a bit out of shape, it's been a big twelve months. (Editorial note: do you reckon Stevie the dog could beat Murray Newman in the 2km trial?) He's done a lap of honour year and it's come back to bite him.
- Q re Gov and round one availability: If everything goes right, he might be available. No pressure on round one specifically. It's the second pre-season in a row he's missed a fair chunk out of. Still hopeful (editorial note: didn't sound hopeful)
- Q re any other concerns? Even Gov is short term - he starts training Wednesday and is hopefully with the full group by next week. It's just about how much we can get into him (training, not pies. -bombard) before round one.
- Q if Gov sees pre-season games: Not sure. The Achilles took a little longer than planned to settle down, but he's turned the corner.
- Q re Rotham: Small hammy, that's all. There's always five or six players who aren't available week-to-week, but nothing long term.
- Q re overall health of the squad: It's an important two or three weeks for us. A lot of guys who are coming back and working into full training. While it looks like everyone is on the track, there's probably 10 or 15 guys who are still transitioning.
- Q re Venables - Up and down. We're working through his good days and bad, but he's training well. He's a week to week proposition.
- Q re Venables timetable to full recovery - can't tell you, I'm not an expert. His health is the main priority so we'll continue to take a cautious approach.
- Q re Nic and not playing in the bushfire game: at this stage I don't think he'll be available for it. He's coming off two knee recos and we need to plan his preseason carefully, no matter how much he might want to play. No final decision there yet though.
- Q on who is most likely to play bushfire game: Everyone has put their hand up so it's really just about getting the balance right for round one.
- Q on Nic's condition: he's training which is great, first time in two or three years, ditto JK. They're both on managed minutes when they train but just having them out there as part of the group is something we've not had for a few years. Sets them up well.
- Journo gets a bit meta-journalist and says "The obligatory Tim Kelly question": He's fit in really well. Tim would be the first one to say it's not all about Tim and he hopefully complements our list. He deepens our midfield and hopefully strengthens us for round one.
- Q re who gets squeezed out for TK: "We'll be right. yeah, we'll be right."
- Q re AFLW derby: I'm not front and centre with the girls but they train with us and we know the coaching staff really well. We've got their backs, win lose or draw. They're all effort and repping the club well.
- Q whether the boys will attend the AFLW game: Definitely. There will be a good showing from the lads. They've connected really well with the girls. They're part of us.
- Q regarding the integration between the playing groups: Yeah, look, it's just great to have them around. What we're most excited about is the new West Coast Eugenics program we've kicked off - we've got the players doing selective breeding with a view to an outstanding father/son mother/daughter pipeline in the years to come. No, we don't see any ethical concerns with it at all.*
- Q if Simmo has given the girls any advice on playing in front of a derby crowd: No, I never played in front of one myself. They'll have to ask the players.
- Q if Simmo is being asked for coaching advice by the AFLW coaches: We're a tight group. The boys who are running the girls team are well known to us. We talk all the time.
- Q re Willie's whereabouts (down, mate, down. -bombard): He's gone back home. He's got another baby due in March and he drove back last week, so he might have just got back in the last couple of days (hohoho). He came back, connected with the players, trained for a couple of weeks. I don't know when we will see him next.
- Q on timing of the Willie hearing: No idea. We're left in the dark and not told when that's going to happen, so, we're waiting like everyone else.
- Q on if that is concerning: I think it's common practice. The way these things work, I don't think they give that transparency. (Editorial note: Simmo isn't doing much to conceal his frustration at the process)
- Q on if Willie stays home for the birth: Yeah probably. Baby is due 13 March and whether he stays here, or in Darwin, or back to Tiwi, is something we're still working through.
- Q on Schofield comments that Willie wanted to win back the respect of the group: It's just about connecting with the players and he got a chance to bond with them again. You [the media] respected his privacy which we appreciated and he got to be normal for a couple of weeks. He loves being on the track so this was a period to do just that. He's still working through stuff but it was a good introduction.
- Journo makes the observation that the chain link fence on Lathlain isn't helpful for stalkers. Asks Simmo on his views on local government redevelopment policies and who should be funding the ongoing maintenance of nearby playgrounds. Simmo tells the journo to go read some JS Mill, get a better handle of the harm principle, and f*ck off until he does.*
- Q on Gov's injury - any setbacks? No, it's just about getting the recovery right. Sometimes if it's not healing right, you need to give it time. That's all. He's been pain free since this time last week and now he's training.
- Q on Nic Reid and the last spot on the list: He's a beagle, played last year. 185cm, had a shoulder reco so he's only just coming into training now. He gets some minutes in the next few weeks and we'll see how we go.
- Q on Brady Grey/last spot: Look we're one down with Willie and his situation, plus Dan venables, so really it's about how we complement that small forward position.
- Q on who Simmo is backing for the BF POTY voting: That's easy mate, hungrytiger.*

* May not have happened.

 

[bombard]

Simmo did 3AW today, it seems:

Gerard, Leigh Matthews and Sam McClure (ugh.)

- Simmo says good evening
- Gerard Q re preparations for 2020 and he specifically mentions the video of JK and Schofield going at it (editorial note: You've got to hand it to Gerard, he actually seems to, you know, watch football. That puts him one up on most pundits these days.) Simmo says when you see old players go at it like that, especially before Christmas, it's pleasing for the players themselves and the side at large.
- Leigh asks re Tim Kelly trade - was he the highest priority type of player we wanted or was it a matter of TK himself? We're always on the lookout for talent and we had invested heavily in the draft in the last five or six years and it was a no-brainer for us when we got the indication he wanted to come home. He fits the profile of what we want and see him as a seven or eight year investment. We did give up a little bit that's the price that needed to be paid.
- Q re NN condition: He's pretty good yeah. He's been training with Josh since November or December We've been managing his minutes but he's available this week and he'll play his first pre-season game in many years. He's been compromised in the last few years and this preseason will build resilience for the year ahead. No guarantees he will stay injury free but it sets him up. He's in good shape.
- Re the 6-6-6 formation and decisive centre bounce clearances. When NN was firing he looked good but it seemed to me [Leigh] that your back six were pretty static and it didn't give the forwards much room to be creative or feed off the clearance. Are we going to see more creativity from your team this year in how you use the forward six? Simmo says it'll be interesting -- when 6-6-6 first started I thought there was an opportunity to expose some back sixes but it also now creates an opportunity for defence to zone a little bit. You can protect your goals a little bit differently. We always start team defence drills with a centre bounce now because it starts really open and then within 20 seconds it's closed down to the standard flow of a game. We probably train team defence more than how to get a goal out of the centre - which is also difficult because you have to come out of the front to expose the 6-man defence.
- McClure asks Q about Amazon's interest in a NN documentary and whether Simmo is comfortable with that: It depends on how we're doing I suppose (hohoho) We've spoken to Amazon as a club about the opportunities coming up and it's exciting for the club and industry. It's gotta be done in the right way and you have to drop a little of the old school mentality about the inner sanctum but we'll probably have a little bit of control of course. But if you commit yourself to these things you need to be pretty open to the good and bad.
- Leigh talks about how he'd never have done pre-game interviews when he was coaching the pies and how it changes each year. Simmo agrees, says pre-game stuff for players and staff is fine but he has some reservations about in-game conversations between coaches and players with media. In 18 GF I had a microphone strapped to my chest from 1pm and it was on me no matter where I was (including toilet) right up until Gov tipped Gatorade over me and recorded every word. I don't know what they've done with that audio. You need to make sure you're careful with the inner sanctum stuff and just be deliberate about what gets pushed out, but that's just the way it is now.
- Gerard notes apparently some coaches are prepared to mic up for the whole year as part of the Amazon project and asks if Simmo is prepared to do it: It'd be pretty boring. We're still working through what it might look like for us to try and find a balance between letting us do our job and giving our fans some access to behind the scenes stuff. We've seen what Melbourne and Collingwood have done previously and I expect Amazon is looking at something similar and they've done it really well before with other sports so we just have to find a way to do it the right way. I doubt we'll let them mic me up every day. Maybe a couple of meetings here and there.
- Simmo reveals that at first he thought the media collaboration being discussed was a reboot of James Sherry's A*MAZING and that the reboot would feature NN and a few of the lads on that giant ****ing keyboard everyone was inexplicably shit at. He was later very disappointed to hear the collaboration was actually with Amazon. (Side note: Those pissant kids never did remember to find the key that was planted in the side of the cactus that was in the foreground of the shot in the final maze. Bloody useless.)*
- Finally a question not about ****ing Amazon - McClure asks how much access will coaches have to the runner this year? We don't have clarity yet. I think we're allowed to use two runners a quarter at the moment in the preseason and that was the consensus (and my view). If we can get a couple of opportunities a quarter to use them without waiting for a goal to be kicked that's great, but we don't have full clarity.
- Leigh asks if Simmo found himself more anxious with the reduced use of runners last year, and the inability to get stuff of his chest quicker: Well, you used to be able to say "Go and tell so-and-so to pull his bloody head in and swim between the flags." Last year I still did that but then had to follow up with cancel cancel cancel. So I still used the runner as a release but I just stopped him from running which is probably for the best anyway.
- Gerard asks about the make up of the leadership group (in context of Shuey and recent changes elsewhere): We sit around five in our leadership group or sometimes more depending on the stage we're in. With our list we're in a mature list shape with players who probably don't need to be in the leadership group to give advice - and if we want it, we'll ask for it or they'll come and give it to us. For us it's captain plus joint VCs with Gov and Kennedy - JK is our veteran, ?McGovern our up and comer, and we have Luke as our skipper who is in his late 20s and he's mature but you need some youth coming through as well. We don't have a set number but it usually comes in at 5, 6, or 7.
- Simmo expresses his horror that Dark Sharks is a POTY winner. Quote: "It demeans the whole award, board, football community and humanity itself."
- Gerard asks (roundaboutly) how much we want a win against the bombers: The nervousness doesn't really go away re have we done the right training, where are we at, are we ready etc. I'm just as nervous today as I am in previous years.
- Gerard asks for a Willie update: We didn't see Willie until in January and reconnected with the players. He's got some stuff to work out with the players and he's dealt with some of that, as well as training us. He's back in Darwin waiting for his baby which is due any day. We still don't know where we're at with ASADA and we haven't been given any update (Simmo is pointed here) - it's been around six months now and we'd love to get some direction but it's a long process. Wait and see.

* May not have happened.

 

[HoneyBadger35]

Simmo did 3AW today, it seems:

Gerard, Leigh Matthews and Sam McClure (ugh.)

- Simmo says good evening

Big if true.

 

[bombard]

Simmo post-game from Marsh Round 1:

- Interesting game with the weather interruption. We got jumped early on work rate which was disappointing. We worked our way back in but it was a grind. They were cleaner at times than us.
- We take some positives from the day. Some good individual performances, we're injury-free, and we know what work we have to do. This performance was probably where I thought we'd be at. We were missing probably five a-graders, but I know Essendon were missing blokes too.
- Good to give kids some opportunity. Bailey Williams stood up I thought. Got to see Tim play and connect with Luke and the mids, and Nic. Glass half full.
- Q re Kelly's quiet first half: it takes time to adapt when you're at a new club. We weren't playing very well either. I thought he improved and ended up with high 20 possessions. Some fumbles like all players. But the story isn't about Tim every week. The mids worked their way into it slowly.
- Q re Nic and connection between he and Tim: Simmo asks why it's always about Tim? I thought Nic with everyone was off a bit early. Sometimes we treat Nic like a new toy and everyone's trying to flush stuff on the run but we need the balance there. When it comes off, great, but it looks bad when we don't make it work.
- Q re Bailey and round one: He took a step forward. There's a spot there. Let's have look again next week.
- Q re NN's game: Good to see him out there. Some rust and it'll take some time but I thought he had impact like normal. He held back a little bit but he came through well and we'll play him round 2.
- Q re JK: Not going to get that every week but it shows you how good he is to do that in these conditions. He's kicking well and hopefully built himself up.
- Q re Waterman: Missing Darling who is important. Played his role and had a pretty good impact at times. Working more towards playing deeper than higher which is a change for him.
- Q re JK/NN doing pre-season and what it does: More resilience in the body for both of them after a lot of missed pre-seasons. When you miss pre-season you are kind of always chasing your tail. It doesn't mean they're going to be injury-free but it does mean they can withstand more. They're well-prepared this year.
- Q re concussions and Venners (will he play 2020?): We've worked hard with him to see where he's at physically. He just hasn't made it far enough and he's going to take the year off. Really disappointing for him and his family. But it's the right call. He's going well but he gets to a point where he can't go to that next level. They've made that decision with the docs - he's out for 2020 and hopefully we see him next year.
- Simmo says he's looking forward to more of the never-ending and bloody banal Venners v SPP debate thread.*
- Q re Venners' emotional state: I suspect we've been heading in this direction for a while so he's had some time to get used to the idea. The progression is just taking more time and we will see how he goes.
- Q re Venners' chance of playing again: I can't comment on that. Hopefully very good. He's in good spirits. We'll work through as best we can.
- Q re Ben Johnson / Exxon in WAFL: First real hit out against any opposition. We've got a reasonably healthy list, missing five or six who were pretty good and we saw our kids last night who took another step. Hickey played three quarters and did a good job. Some depth there and it'll tighten up next week.
- Q re Brander and Treacy: Good opportunity for both of them tonight. We haven't locked Brander's role down in the last couple of years and he's missed a chunk of games with a hammy last year. To settle him down is something we want to do. He's got to earn his spot, but just doing it for a full 3.5 quarters like he did today gives him something to look at and work with. Did some things really well and did some things he needs to work on, but I thought it was a step forward for him. We had some little snippets of improvement and also some areas we need to improve on.
- Q re Treacy: Same thing. New role and getting an opportunity to do it is good. It may only be Marsh 1, but it's still the biggest game of his career so far. Same for Brayshaw as well - he came on in the last and had five or six touches. That's the good thing about the Marsh series - you get to give the kids a taste. Finding the balance of enthusiasm versus risk is a challenge.
- Q on how to handle the lightning break: We just went and sat in the shed and waited. Debriefed a little but we already thought we were on the way back into the game. The AFL did the right thing - although it seemed like there was still lightning when we came back on too.

* May not have happened.

 

[bombard]

Lads,

Simmo post-game from Marsh 2 (or as we henceforth call it: Meltapalooza 2020):

[Editorial note: Simmo has had a fight with a lawnmower and his silver fox haircut is fresh]

- Wasn't one of the great spectacles of a game. I thought for the most part we hit the numbers we normally hit but didn't convert. Freo defended well. Thought we did too.
- 5 to 7 minute period where we conceded goals from stoppages and when it's so low-scoring, the game can turn.
- We like to win and we're disappointed [note: Simmo doesn't actually sound disappointed]
- We'll take some positives with some of the numbers, but it wasn't a pretty game. Got through injury-free.
- Some work to do, and we'll look at it. 6-8 minute period was troubling and we'll get better.
- I thought the last three minutes when the game was really on, both sides went to another level.
- Asked re the comeback and if it was caused by complacency: Maybe. Haven't asked the players. Shows good resilience from Fremantle. Conceding five goals in a row, and then you see the effort in the last two or three minutes makes you think that it was lacking before. We didn't lose any points, but we don't like losing.
- Asked why the game was low-scoring and dour: I think both teams trying some things. It was a bit of an uncontested marking sort of game. We play the way we play. Freo play the way they play. When they combined it turned into a bit of circlework for a while. You'll have to ask Longy about his boys. We had 50 inside 50s and thought we had enough supply but we couldn't convert or win contests in front half.
- Gives us something to work on. Midfield got touched up in the last quarter on clearances.
- Asked re Brander on wing: I thought he had some really good moments and some moments that weren't quite so good. That's a work in progress, he's three games into his career - but we really like some of the things he does. We'll have to see how we go regarding round one and review his game but he's taken a step forward this pre-season.
- Asked re Tom Barrass going forward: That was about JK going off. He's pretty keen to have a sniff forward every now and then. He looked quite lively up forward but the forward line in the last quarter won't be that of round one. We were managing some players and had some others out. It's an option for future use to remember though.
- Simmo congratulates the Purple's on winning the flag for this season: "Well look, winning round two of the pre-season warmup games is a massive mountain to climb and every Fremantle supporter has the right to be entirely jubilant. It's not at all pathetic."*
- Asked re Vardy's game: I thought he competed but I've not seen the replay yet. I thought the mids got beaten in the last quarter and that leaves a bitter taste - we need to look at it. All of our numbers looked okay and most of the guys contributed well, but we lost the plot there for ten minutes.
- Asked why JK went off as early as he did: Managing minutes. He's right to go.
- Asked re Darling return: He could have played today if it was round one. We've got a scratch match on Friday and he'll play in that. Oscar might play some minutes. Ah Chee had food poisoning last night but was due to play. Gov will play a full game after slightly more than a half today.
- Asked re Bailey Williams: He had a slight hamstring and might be available. Not quite full complement but nobody ever is. We all have a bit of work to do.
- Asked re Bailey for round one: See how he goes. Not sure how bad it is. He's still definitely a chance.
- Asked re Kelly and integration: I feel pretty good about today and some positives to take out of it. Every side has good midfielders - the talk abut TK is probably above what we need it to be (his performance). He's a good player and complements us but we need to get it done as a group. Stages today where we lowered our colours.
- Asked re round one selections: A few questions remain. Some players like Darling will come in. Second ruck up for grabs as well. We're still looking at a few things. Every club is doing the same thing there.

* May not have happened.

 

[Carbine Chaos]

- We like to win and we're disappointed [note: Simmo doesn't actually sound disappointed]

Media is such a crock of shit. Headline this morning re: Simmo's presser included the words 'fumes' and 'shock'.

 

[bombard]

Media is such a crock of shit. Headline this morning re: Simmo's presser included the words 'fumes' and 'shock'.

They're confusing Simmo with about 25% of the WCE BF board.

 

[ziad]

Media is in the hysteria business - Ignore them and research your own facts.