THE CLUB won more games this year than last year and also finished higher on the ladder, but there's a general consensus that you under-performed. How did you see the season?
At the start of the year we certainly wanted to win more games than last year. We wanted to win enough to get in the finals, but obviously we didn't so we're disappointed.

There were some positives. I thought quite a few of our younger players played better and the fact that we got some more games into them will be important for us in the future.

We saw Hamish Hartlett play really well and it was disappointing that he was never nominated for a NAB Rising Star. He showed enough to suggest he's going to be a really important player for us going forward and Travis Boak emerged.

Robbie Gray was a lot better and more resilient with his fitness. Jacob Surjan, Troy Chaplin and Alipate Carlile all moved along, so there's an exciting young group coming through.

Do you think the players got caught up in the hype over the summer? There was a lot of talk about the list being top-eight/top-four material and the players were bigger and stronger than ever before.
The players were definitely fitter and stronger – the numbers don't lie.
We don't get caught up in any hype from the outside. We just go about our business. Everyone was pretty keen to rebound from last year [2008].

It sounds like an excuse, but if four or five or your best players are injured for a fair chunk of the year it's difficult to dismiss in terms of the team's performance.

I'm sure if Shaun had played half of the games he'd missed we would've won two more games and made the finals. I'm not saying we would've been top four, but we only missed the eight by a game-and-a-half.

The facts are we lost to Melbourne, we lost to Fremantle, we lost to West Coast and we lost twice to North Melbourne and all those teams finished below us.

We didn't play well enough and we had too many big blow-out games where we weren't in the race. We need to address that.

You've already said that your first pick at the NAB AFL Draft, number eight, is up for trade. What would like to secure with that pick?
We just need the best player we can get. Some clubs are well positioned with their lists and where they stand, so they might like to get another good, quality kid come through.

Do you see any holes in the current team?
What's happened with Brendon Lade, Peter Burgoyne and Toby Thurstans all retiring is that we've got a very, very young list now.

We could almost pick our best 25 and 22 of those players would still be here in five years, so there's going to be a real newness about the group and the ability to move along together is a great thing for a club to have.

When we first started [in the AFL] there was a freshness about the team and I think that's how it will seem come round one next year.

Last year you had the draft picks but not the money to secure a big name recruit. Can the club afford to pay 100 per cent of the total player payments this year?
I wouldn't think so. The club's in a very difficult position and we have to work our way through it with the help of the SANFL and the AFL. If the right person is available I'm sure we'll do whatever we can to entice them.

You mentioned three players – Lade, Burgoyne and Thurstans – who have already retired. Without knowing what's going to happen in the exchange period, how many more changes do you forecast to the current list?
I would think there would be at least three…or more.

The club has turned over 50 per cent of its playing list over the past three years. Did you envisage having to make at least another six changes this year?
The retirement of our older players was always going to come this year or next year and we've still Warren Tredrea and Josh Carr on the list. The rest of the players are judged on a case-by-case basis, but the fact is we have to make hard decisions to get better. It won't satisfy anyone if we go in with the same list next year.

In July, the club revealed the existence of a five-year-plan. How do you feel the club is positioned to achieve what was set out in that plan?
It's an interesting one and it's difficult to discuss publicly, but five-year plans are based around not only getting a result but also the resources that support the plan.

We started the plan a couple of years back with all good intentions, but the underlying foundations have since been found to be a little shaky and that can impact on the end result.

We're discussing that at the moment – to see how far we've varied from the initial foundations we had in place. We put the plan in place in 2006 and a year later we were in the grand final, so these plans are certainly not limiting factors to what you can achieve.

Josh Carr was a big talking point at this time last year. How have you seen his return to the club?
Josh is just a wonderful person. He's a great team person and he's been fantastic support to the leadership program and, in particular, Dom Cassisi.

Unfortunately, Josh hurt himself right at the end of pre-season and probably didn't get going again, but over the pre-season he was just outstanding. I thought it was going to be a great year for him, but it didn't work out as hoped.

The recruitment of Josh was gravy on top of the meat, if you like, because he didn't cost us anything. We didn't have to give away draft picks or anything like that, which is not typical with a player of his standing.

How do you see Chad Cornes' future? He signed a new two-year deal with the club during the year, but has really struggled to get his body right over the past 12-18 months.
It's really frustrating for Chad. How well he goes from now on will certainly be a reflection of what his body can deliver, but he won't die wondering. He continually hurts himself and wants to play.

He has a real gladiator-type approach to his footy and he's really passionate. He wants to do the right thing and sometimes it's misdirected, but we'd rather have a person that plays with passion than a person that doesn't.

I think settling him in the backline based on his body is probably the best thing for his long-term future.

The ruck will continue to be a talking point given Lade's retirement and the lack of an heir-apparent. Jackson Trengove was drafted more as a defender, but could he play in the ruck after what we've seen from the likes of Paddy Ryder this year?
Jackson's big enough, Matt Lobbe is, Jon Giles is and Jarrad Redden is. There are quite a few guys that are the right size and it'll be up to them to grab their opportunities.

The club didn't put any expectations on Trengove this year because of a serious hamstring/knee injury. What are you expecting from him next year?
Jackson delivered way more than we expected this year and we were thrilled with the way our doctors and fitness staff worked with him. When he first came to the club he couldn't lift his toe and he would actually come up to me, wave his foot around and say 'look, I can do that now'.

Who knows what he can become. He'll be treated basically as a first-year player next year, but if he plays between 5-10 AFL games for us that will be outstanding.

Are you surprised that Shaun Burgoyne hasn't re-signed with the club yet?
No. What I've learned over the years is that it doesn't matter if you're the best or the worst player on the list, if you have an extended time out of the game, you lose your self-esteem. You lose your position in the club and start to question where you belong, who your friends are and who's supporting you because everyone else has to get on with the next week.

You walk past and ask an injured player and ask 'how are you going?' but it's a difficult time for them. I'm sure we could do it better and I'm sure no one does it perfectly in terms of meeting the needs of an injured player.

We have welfare people, psychologists and fitness coaches to help, but managing those players for an extended period of time is a challenge for anyone. Shaun has come off all that.

Plus, his brother has retired, he's been here for a long time, he's just had an operation on his knee and his wife recently gave birth again, so we're very happy for Shaun to take a bit of time. He knows how much we need him. We love him and, hopefully, he decides to stay.

There have been several names, including Kane Cornes, Justin Westhoff, Danyle Pearce and Brett Ebert, mentioned as possible trade bait. Can you confirm the club's position on these players?
We have a list of players [we'd be willing to trade] but not all of those names mentioned in the media are correct. There are a few untouchables. Certainly a few of our high draft picks and good quality players will be here for the long term.

The club has held talks with former North Melbourne coach Dean Laidley. We've heard talk of Laidley taking over as a match-day coach, but what are your real plans for him?
We'd like to think that Dean might get into a role of innovation and strategy and he's certainly qualified. Dean's also interested in mentoring and both of those things would be fantastic for the other coaches, the players and me.

Dean has a different point of view. We coached against each other in the preliminary final in 2007. We came from completely different styles and backgrounds, but both reached the same point.

Dean has done some great stuff, which he can offer to us and also challenge us in what we do and how we do it. Speaking to the other coaches, they're excited to think that Dean might come here.

It's a big decision for anyone to go interstate. Dean has a wife and three kids and they all have to be satisfied. It's a big challenge, but hopefully we can meet it.

Would any senior coach in the league relinquish full match-day rights to an assistant coach on a permanent basis?
[Laughs] I'm not sure where the suggestion of match-day coach came from. Dean would certainly have a role on match day and a significant role, but the other coaches have a significant role as well.

Has the club given Matt Primus and Jason Cripps a deadline to make their decisions as to whether they'll remain at the club next year?
We'd like to know sooner rather than later. We're busily reviewing the players, the game style, what happened this year and all our processes. That will go on all next week and they're into that. When we're clear of that I'm sure we'll have an answer.

Your own future was secured earlier this year when you agreed to the terms of a new two-year-deal. How did you feel when the concept of a succession plan was talked about just weeks after you'd signed with the club?
It probably caused more angst to the average punter than it did to me. I was very much at the forefront of the idea of having someone – whether it be a current assistant coach or someone coming in – to develop into a person that if I got hit by a bus might be able to take over.

I saw Matty [Primus] the other day getting a bus driver's hat, so I better watch out when I'm crossing the road.

I don't think you should be anxious about the people around you as long as they're here in the right spirit, they support you and are really working to get the result…what happens after that takes care of itself.

So you're happy to work alongside someone over the next two years with the knowledge they will replace you at the end of your tenure?
Sure, but the club's not going down that [succession plan] path anymore. Initially, we agreed to it when it was a Nathan Buckley, James Hird or Damien Hardwick, or those sorts of people. Now, the others [potential senior coaches] will work their way through and at the end of the two years the club will decide what's going on and that will be okay.

Who's your tip for the flag?
I'll be politically correct and say it should be the team that finished top, so St Kilda.