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Senior coach Luke Beveridge addressed the big talking points on Thursday at VU Whitten Oval.
Ryan Gardner…
They’re always romantic stories, when guys persevere and get another chance. As he’s been talking publicly, he’s capable at both ends of the ground and we’ve used him there during the VFL season this year. Obviously he’s been schooled a little bit at Geelong so the combination of what he’s learnt there and what he’s got here will prepare him for both ends. I’d rather not declare where he’ll start – but he obviously won’t be in the ruck.
Reviewing the North loss…
Probably just some inconsistencies… (there’s) small margins in the game. Whether it’s a missed tackle here or a missed opportunity with an open teammate, not strong enough in the air at different times, and they all add up. There were some encouraging periods where we had some momentum and some productivity and showed how there can be some excitement in our game, but it’s just the inconsistency in our output… There’s things we know we’re capable of doing better, and we’ve just got to do them for longer in the game.
Mitch Wallis…
He’s just got some stress down there in the lower limb that’s just popped up… the good thing is it’s not the side that he broke (in 2016), if that happened obviously that would be a major concern. At the moment we’ll be conservative an make sure we can reintroduce him at the back end of the year.
Tory Dickson…
He’s under consideration this week and he’ll come to Perth with us. He may be in the 22.
‘FRUSTRATED’ DOGS LOOKING TO TURN TIDE: BONTEMPELLI
Team selection…
‘Croze’ will miss, ‘Wally’ will miss so we’ll have at least two (changes), and obviously Ryan’s going to play – we’ve declared that one. There may be one or two other changes.
Speculation about trying to recruit Isaac Smith or Jack Martin…
Out of respect for our players and opposition players at other club, between now and when we get to trade at the end of the year, I won’t be talking about individuals. My focus is firmly on winning games week-to-week, and we’re more than capable with our current group.
Dale Morris…
He’ll be back with us soon after the bye. He trained on Tuesday and did most of the ball work. Every time he jumps a hurdle like that we’re all surprised. He had some Cybex testing and he came through with flying colours, so it’s really promising. We’ll definitely bring him back through Footscray like he did last time and get his match fitness and his form up, and then we’ll consider him to come back into the senior team.
GARDNER GOES FROM DRAFTEE TO DEBUTANT
The challenge of the west…
It’s a huge challenge. The good thing for us is we gave a better account of ourselves against Fremantle, albeit not finishing the game off well enough. We were right in it for three quarters. Previous to that, playing at that new ground we hadn’t played so well… We understand how strong West Coast are, but we’ll be chipping away at some of their vulnerabilities. If we’re strong through out 22, we’ll be right in their with a chance.
West Coast’s vulnerabilities?
They haven’t got many, have they? But they have been beaten three times, so you look at that and the reasons why. Why Port Adelaide beat them in Perth, and why Brisbane did early in the year when West Coast were just starting to get themselves going. No team’s infallible, and at our best as we’ve shown, we’re not a bad team.
