The game: Hawthorn 19.9 (123) d North Melbourne 10.9 (69) at Docklands, Rd 3, 2009 Toyota AFL Premiership Season
The stats: 11 kicks, eight handballs, six marks and five 50m rebounds
How had you prepared for this match during the week?
This week we obviously had a few incidents at the club and we tried to deal with them as fast as we could. But once you step over that line and start training again, you have to leave everything at the gate and just concentrate on footy.
With the footy stuff, we tried to go about it the same way as we have all season. Train hard and focus on our team structures.
What was your routine once you arrived at Docklands?
I probably have obsessive-compulsive disorder when it comes to pre-game rituals. But this week was the first week I’ve decided to dump them all. I just tried to relax a bit more and it felt really good. I still did the things that were required, such as watching opposition tapes, getting physio treatment and getting to the ocean on my day off. But in terms of the stupid little rituals I do week in-week out, I tried to leave them all on the bench this week.
Can you tell us what some of these ‘stupid little rituals’ were?
I used to drink 16 powerades before a game. For example, for a Sunday game I’d start drinking on the Saturday afternoon and make sure I had 16 before the big match. I always listened to the same music before a game and for every match since my debut. I have had a kick-to-kick with one of our assistant coaches every time before a match. But I scrapped it all this week. I am trying to get rid of some of these rituals that take up too much of my mind before a match.
When were you told you would be playing on Lance Franklin?
I’ve played on him the last few times so I had an inkling I would be playing on him. It just depended on where he would start. Buddy has been getting up the field a little bit this year but I knew early in the week it would be either him or Roughead.
What was the direction given by defensive coach Darren Crocker in terms of your approach to playing on Franklin?
I sat down and watched Franklin’s performances from this year with him [Crocker] to see if he was doing anything differently. As I said, I’ve played on him the last few times, and from those experiences, you know you are going to be in an absolute slog with him. It doesn’t matter as to how many tapes you watch, it’s very hard to come up with a plan to try and combat his speed, size and strength.
After playing on him in previous matches, do you have a better idea of the strengths and weaknesses of his game?
He doesn’t have too many weaknesses. It comes down to midfield pressure. I just ask our midfield to try and get that ball delivered to him a little bit higher than usual, as it gives me a chance to run and jump to the contest and effect a spoil. Buddy has me covered on the lead with his arms stretched out because he is slightly taller than me. It is the midfield pressure to get the ball delivered to him higher than usual which probably makes my job of restricting his input a little bit easier.
How does it feel when you are one-on-one with Buddy, and the ball is coming in your direction?
It’s simply hang on for dear life. Just do anything you can legally to get the ball to the ground. It’s very tough.
As you said, you have played on Buddy before. Did you try anything different this time?
It was pretty much the same. He ended up playing deep so I tried to play him the same way as I have previously. He is a super athlete. In the past few weeks, he has been playing up the ground so you just have to hang in there any way you can.
How did you rate your game from a personal perspective?
He kicked four goals and only two were from marking contests. I will take that any day of the week. He got one from a free kick and the other from Campbell Brown, who was running into an open goal and handballed it to him. In terms of goals to marks ratio, I was happy with that outcome. But I guess at the end of the day he has four goals against his name. You just can’t win sometimes.
What are your plans for tomorrow?
We’ll have a recovery session at the beach. After our recovery, we will get to the club and do our match review and then I’ll probably pop in for a massage as well. We have a seven-day break, so that’s good.
What can you and the team build upon for next Sunday’s clash against Essendon at Docklands?
We’ll have a look at the tape tomorrow and pinpoint some things to improve on. From my own perspective, I spoiled the ball well in the air. Whether I get assigned to Matthew Lloyd or any other key Bomber forward next week, it would be nice to carry through my good form from this week.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
