Senior Coach Dean Solomon addressed the media after this afternoon's 67-point loss to St Kilda.

Solomon highlighted the areas of the game that proved costly for the side and reflected on the team's current challenges.

He also discussed the development of the Club's young players and outlined the focus as the Bombers look to respond over the remainder of the season.

All the key talking points below.

Solomon on… slow start proving costly

The first quarter, we could see things that we didn't like. We tried to shift them at quarter time.

We got what we deserved in the second quarter. We reset at half time, and then we were more competitive post that, but it was too late.

As frustration builds, there's no doubt you can see we dropped off but, to St. Kilda's credit too, they're arranged, they are a great running team.

The way they're structured, the way they've gone to the draft, the way they strategically recruited runners, we knew that was going to be a challenge.

We felt we could contain the inside, the threat was on the outside, and that's what they hurt us with.

We've just got to continue to respect this game. It's a tough game.

Solomon on… improving forward entries

The first quarter, 11 of our entries, eight of them got bounced because they were shallow entries. It's not what we're after.

We want our attacking mid to find an extra mark so we can release the ball and have deeper entries. But for whatever reason, we didn't do that.

And that's what we're searching for, and that's why we started a conversation there, and we're just working through why.

Solomon on… midfield mix

I think initially we felt like we'd get an edge in the midfield and at stoppage, and we put experienced players in there.

We felt the running patterns of Sullivan Robey and Dyson Sharp at half-forward would complement what we're doing around stoppages, but also our ball use. But it didn't happen.

The positive is those guys go in, they impact straight away. So, you know what? It puts pressure on our older guys in the midfield and that's what we want.

These young guys are coming at a rapid rate. The older guys have got to fight to maintain their spot, and that's what it is to be a healthy club, heading in the right direction.

Solomon on… sticking together through adversity

It's difficult right now, but you know what, no individual's going to do this on their own. 

We've got to do it together.

We've got to solve and come up with solutions to work our way through this and slowly turn it.

There's no quick fix here. We're going to have to do the yards to turn this Club, and we know that and we're working to do that, I know it doesn't look good right now, but we're doing what we can in the short term.

Solomon on… the attitude amongst the group

I don't think they (the team) have lost hope.

They're proud individually and collectively, it's a jumper we love and a Club we love.

So, they're disappointed, they want to fight until the end. They want to finish with momentum.

It's very tough now, we know that and we understand that, but we won't fracture, we'll maintain that we stick together, we win together, we lose together, and at the moment, it's a tough period of time, but we'll stick together.

Solomon on… backing players to learn

Will Setterfield started on him (Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera), he got away to a good start.

Archer Day-Wicks goes to him, great experience for him.

It's a really good learning space, so we won't shy away as a coaching group from exposing these young guys to big challenges because that's going to hold them in good stead in the future.

I think as a group, we just can't ever forget where we're currently at because when we do work through this, and we're on the other side of it, we will enjoy inflicting this to other clubs in the future. 

Solomon on… focus for the remainder of the season

I think individual roles are pretty clear, it's just adhering to the system, believing the system, trusting the system. I think that's really important.

We feel like we can grow a bit in that space. There's been a shift in the way that we've played from Brad to the way we're playing now and we knew there would be some inconsistent moments in that.

The inconsistent moments are still there and not to our liking. So, we've got to tidy that stuff up. That's on us as coaches. That's on me. It's also on the players.

Solomon on… changes in game style

(We've focussed on) the way we defend, where we defend from, the pressure we apply, we wanted it to be more corridor out, pushing, forcing opposition sides skinny.

We've got to compress the ground more, restrict the opposition and the way they rebound, but unfortunately, it's not working at the moment. We're inconsistent.

When we do do it, we do it quite well, but we're inconsistent, then we're caught in-between, and it ties into offence as well.

If we are launching the ball from high up the ground, we don't get time to squeeze the ground in behind it as well.

We try to tend to rush a bit too much. We want to move the ball quickly over the back half, but again, centre-forward we just lose a bit of composure and that hurts us defensively.

So, we have tweaked things around contest and team defence. We haven't ignored our offence, but it plays a big part in why it's been inconsistent at the moment.

Solomon on… embracing the Lions challenge

We'll review this one first, get clarity on where we're breaking down and get on the same page and really build the week up.

We've got nothing to lose. We'll go up there and play against the best, and challenge ourselves against the best, and give our young guys exposure to some of the best players in the comp.

We'll look to keep advancing forward to finish this season with momentum. But who knows, we can go up there and shake it.