It was a very good performance last week against St Kilda. To kick 19 goals is always good from a forwards’ perspective, and then to also restrict their rebound and their short kicking as well was really important too. Of course Buddy Franklin’s nine goals were impressive and he was just fantastic for us against the Saints.

Even when things are going well for us on-field, with Buddy playing so well, as a coach, it was still important to think about what we needed to do next, and that was certainly the case on Saturday. The coaching staff had to think about how we could get more out of his performance and also how we could get other blokes into the game. Even when things are going well, there is no time to just sit back, because you always have to be aware of what the opposition could do and whether they would drop another player back into defence. Your mind is always going, but when you see a performance like that of Buddy’s, it was good to watch on reflection.

While Buddy was a clear standout up forward, it was also really good to see Kurt Tippett contribute with three goals against the Saints. When it comes to ‘Tippo’, he really is just building at this time of the year. We feel like he’s taken little steps each week since he returned from injury. He certainly moved better at training last week and then during the game he was involved in a few important passages of play and a few pressure acts, which were important. He also started to get his marking going and took two really good contested marks in the second half, so it was good to see that starting to come through because that’s his strength. His movement around the ground was also better and we’ll certainly be looking for him in the next two weeks to get some more touch and start impacting games even more than what he has.

We know finals are just over two weeks away, but that doesn’t mean we’re looking too far ahead. Week to week it’s a different challenge and we have a different opposition each week, and during that week, we just look at how they play and try to break that down. In the early part of the week, we review the game just gone, and then over the last couple of days we have a really good look at our opposition, who in this case is the Western Bulldogs. We don’t think too much longer-term because for us, it is just important to win this week.

The Bulldogs are a really good pressure side. Around the ball they put a lot of heat on the opposition, so that’s what we’re expecting and we no doubt have to match them in that area and try to get on top as much as we can. That heat around the ball will be really important, and then for us, it’s about our reaction both ways. If they win the ball, it’s about getting back to support our defence, and then if we win it, getting forward to put some pressure on.

Every game is a danger game and there is always a chance you could lose if the team isn’t switched on. With that in mind, we just need to make sure we’re on, and if recent history is any indication, the Bulldogs tend to get up and about for matches against us, so we’re expecting their best and we need to make sure we’re ready to go.