Q. You touched on the Subiaco factor.....
A. It is only a part of it. There is more than one way that you lose a game and more than one way that you win a game. Some aspects you have to be fair to the players that were out there - some are learning the game and some you have replaced with guys like Dean Rioli, James Hird and Damian Cupido. They are guys that have been in really good touch for us. We felt that their absence probably hurt us a little more than we thought. I know Richmond had players out but we felt we could put Fletcher on Matthew Richardson and Aaron Henneman on Brad Ottens. In the end our players out really hurt us in the mid-field and that is where Richmond won. They played very well in the mid-field - they had a lot of possessions. We have to make sure we work on that area of our game and also work on new kids coming into the team that we have to play to get better - otherwise we are kidding ourselves.
Q. Are you concerned about the form of players like Joe Misiti and Damien Peverill?
A. They haven't played well at all. We either drop them or we keep them in for one more week. They are on notice and we all are at the club. I think one club is going to be on notice each week on rotation. It is our turn this week and it was Neale Daniher's last week.
Q. What has happened to Peverill?
A. He missed a lot of summer training in fairness to him. He had a couple of injuries and he basically didn't train between October and Christmas. It has really been a bit of a problem for him and we are going to have to use him sparingly. We haven't been able to use him as sparingly as much as we would have liked and build his fitness up over a period of time. A lot of players realise when they don't have that pre Christmas training they really don't form a base - particularly when you are playing in the mid-field. Losing Ramanauskas has hurt us as well.
Q. When will we see Ramanauskas again?
A. Probably another 2-3 weeks. He is back training tonight which is fantastic. He is starting to get some movement in his body.
Q. Are you looking to drop players or persevere?
A. I would still like to keep one or two in and maybe drop one or two.
Q. Are you a chance to get any of your injured players back?
A. We could get Cupido and Fletcher back.
Q. How much does the loss of Hird so early in the match affect the team balance?
A. Of course it does hurt - the awkwardness in the match is that you play 22 on 21. In the end it hurts you because he is a quality player.
Q. Have you got players that have done enough in the reserves to warrant coming up and pushing others out?
A. Not enough to be quite honest. I went and watched the game yesterday at Coburg and there is probably two to four players we could bring in that could add to the team with regard to being good honest citizens. There is no one there to walk in and take over and play a fantastic game yet. Our most experienced guy is probably Cory McGrath who has been a bit unlucky not to be in the side. Also Rob Forster-Knight, Darren Walsh, Jobe Watson and Ted Richards. We probably have four or five players we might consider.
Q. What about James Davies?
A. Yes we might consider him as well. He played okay yesterday. We are trying to make these guys earn their spot rather than walking into an Essendon guernsey and thank their lucky stars because we have about eight or nine players out. They have to earn it and then if you get that chance, they have to make sure they earn it in the game they get.
Q. Were you surprised how ordinary the team played considering their performance on Anzac Day?
A. Of course we were and I think every Essendon fan was. It is very hard to put a finger on it when only five good players. When you have 17 players that haven't played well generally there is a reason for that. It is not that they don't want to play - I tend to think that the two games previously (Anzac Day and Perth) took a lot out of them.
