Q. It must be pleasing, because Alessio cops a lot of criticism and tonight in such a big game, he has played one of the best games of his career.
A. We thought him and Mark McVeigh stood up for us. McVeigh is a kid that would probably like to play well in Sydney. He is a boy from Gosford and his family would have been here tonight. We felt that in his game he stood up and did things that a young in-experienced player that hasn't played 50-games - when some of our mid-fielders were shut down, we were looking for Mark McVeigh to give us a lift and he did. It was a great credit to him.
Q. That is three in a row now without Hird and Lloyd - is that a good thing for the whole side?
A. We have to develop players in the team - I like to keep playing as many young blokes in the side and give them the experience. So we will keep doing that for most of the year until the other players get back - it is pretty handy to have six wins though.
Q. Paul Salmon is doing alright for an old bloke....
A. It depends what you call old. Maybe there are other players out there that are 35-years of age that could still be playing AFL football. We had Kieran Perkins talk to us last night and it was really pleasing to hear, that most of the team looked at him and thought he is 28-years of age and not swimming. That was the major thing that stood out in our mind - why do Olympic games athletes and people in other sports at times drop off at 28, 29, when they can still be superstars.I know Salmon is a different case because he is a ruckman - but there is not many ruckman out there at the moment. We have a lot of work to do in our team at the moment.
Q. Does it make it more satisfying to get through a game like that when Jason Johnson - who has been so good for you - was held?
A. No doubt about that. I personally think the Swans did a very good blanketing job. Their gang tackling was terrific and I think they pressurised every kind of disposal in the mid-field and I think that we will have to work at that. Big games are very good for us because it was really like finals pressure out there, even though the names weren't great. I think from that point of view, it was a very important game for us to get these sort of hard-hitting, tense, body on body, crunch and there was no clean positions really that often from a pack.
Q. Have you spoken to Dean Rioli about the incident in the third quarter - how costly do you think that was?
A. It was costly for us but I can't make any comment. I will talk to him about being an intelligent player in regards to not getting sucked into what happens to you.
Q. Did it disappoint you the way it happened with Rioli - two 50m penalties were given away and it seemed to turn the game at that time?
A. If something happened to Dean and you feel like you want to defend yourself - all I said was they can punch you right in the face and break your nose - just don't hit back. You get even later on - that is my advice. I played that way and I will coach that way. It might not even be the same day.
Q. How much later on?
A. What is time?
Q. What did you think of Stadium Australia as a venue?
A. The venue is terrific. We loved to see the Stadium packed. The one thing the Swans did this evening is they made a very, very competitive game of it. There is just something out of Essendon-Sydney games that is very exciting - they are always very competitive and they have always lifted against Essendon. Personally I think we were very fortunate to get out of the game with a win.
Q. What did you think of the venue as a spectacle - was it difficult venue for AFL?
A. I hope there will be more games played here - I don't have a problems with games played at Stadium Australia in regards to the ground. When you are out on the ground and playing, you wouldn't know if it was the MCG or Stadium Australia - that is the way we looked at the game. We got 54,000 in the first game here and rugby has been here for over 100 years - I think you have to be pretty happy with that crowd.
Q. What about for the development of the code?
A. It is so important in the west of Sydney where rugby league is a pretty powerful sort of game in this area. I was in the army here back in 1969 and 1970 and I got to know a far bit about this area. So to come out and get 54,000, in probably what most people in Sydney would have thought was a dreary day - I am pretty pleased.
Q. Do you have any feelings that the win today was getting one back for 1996?
A. I look at those sorts of games and put them in the past. Probably from the point of view from Rodney Eade, it was great to see the players play that desperately for the way he would be feeling at the moment with some of the things that have been written and the shadow that is looming over him. I have been in that position before and I hope that he gets to coach the whole year out.
Q. It would have helped if Sydney had kicked a bit straighter - they kicked a lot of behinds.
A. Well we have done that too - sometimes it is the pressure of the game. We missed a lot of standing shots earlier in the game that gave them a little bit of confidence. We probably should have had another five goals from 35m shots - so we were disappointed with our goal kicking early. Fair enough - a very important part of the game is finishing off. I think the Swans had a red-hot crack and good luck to them. They are really going to worry a lot of sides this year.
Q. Do you believe a few people should get off Rodney Eade's back?
A. I would just let him coach. He is half a game out before going into this game. I have been there before and I know what it is like. You should back your coach and let him focus on the job he is doing and then you readjust it when the time is right. I do not believe in coaches getting cut in the middle of the year - I just think it is wrong. It was always wrong that Malcolm Blight got cut. The day we form a coaches association to protect our coaches, the better we will all be. It is very hard to find good coaches.
Q. Do you think this match will take a bit of heat of him in the short-term?
A. Well I hope so. Lets be honest, we think we are a better side than Sydney on our performances and our experiences and our experiences in finals and probably you would have to say in blockbusters. They have come out and played their top-level performance - a remarkable achievement. Probably in the end it should have gone their way. There are criticism that they are not a young list or a well balanced list but you couldn't get much more out of them in that sort of performance.
Q. Did any of the players complain about the playing surface?
A. No. If you can't play on these sorts of grounds when you have seen some of the grounds that I have seen some of the champions of our game play on - these grounds are sensational! I just think this ground is only going to get better like Colonial. You never hear or read about any criticism of the ground at Colonial because they have got it right.
Q. Do you think the Stadium added to the finals atmosphere?
A. Sometimes when you are locked up in a box you don't get the sound effects - but at the end of the game you could hear the noise - it was unbelievable.
