On his 100th game in light of last week's result

"I'm honoured to have played my 100th game for this club. You're right, it's probably slightly tainted, just with a bit of disappointment still lingering from the season overall, and probably last week's result as well.

"But still, I think it's a massive achievement, one I'm extremely proud of. I have lots of family and friends at the game... But yeah, I'm super proud, and although not the circumstances I'd want, it still probably doesn't take away from how much of a special achievement it is for me and my family."

On his grandad watching 

"Oh, mate, I can't wait. Honestly, when I found out, my mum told me I couldn't believe it. He hasn't been up to Sydney in 10 years, and he wouldn't have been on a plane since probably, I reckon, 2000 or something like that. So for him to make the effort to come up here, he's 90 now, he's pretty old, so my sister's going to bring him up from Bendigo, and it's so special. I still probably can't believe it. Until he's here and I see him, I probably won't believe it."

On reflecting on his career

"Oh, I think last night I saw a video that the club put on Instagram, and it was just kind of a little collage of moments from my time at the club. It probably hit me a little bit then when you look back at all the footage and me talking after my first game and I had my Invisalign in my teeth.

"I've grown up a little bit since then. I know it's only been like five years, so it's not that long. But I had some really special moments and played with some pretty special players as well. It probably struck me a little bit last night seeing that video, how special my first five years has been."

On the squad's support

"They've gassed me up a little bit. Cox here had some really lovely words to say before our opposition preview meeting yesterday. So, you know, it means a lot to hear really nice things from him. To run out tomorrow with all my best mates, and I'm sure hopefully we'll be doing as much as we can to get the win as well to make it a little bit more special."

On how he's changed in the last five years

"I have to shave my face more than once a month now, which is a little bit different. But I think still much the same. I still love footy and I love coming into training every day and the camaraderie and that certainly hasn't worn off. The feeling I get when I wake up the morning of a game is still the same as what it was when I was probably, you know, the same age as these guys...

"It's really special to look back on, what I've been able to achieve here. And as I said, there's no other club I'd rather make memories at."

On playing Essendon this weekend

"In the AFL, you've still got to show the utmost respect to every opponent that you play and everyone who runs out onto the field to play a game of AFL deserves to be there. They're not there by accident and they've all got something special that makes them who they are. So we're giving them our full respect, rightfully so.

"And I think whether it's going to be a bit of an equaliser as well, it's going to be a bit of a slog. That generally narrows the gap between two teams as well. So we've got to come fully expecting a tough contest and for them to bring their strengths."

On the feeling amongst the group

"Coxy's probably spoken a little bit about testing and trialling a few different things. So whether that's the way we play or, you know, players playing in different positions, I think that'll probably be the two things.

"But obviously it's probably going to be a bit hard with the weather to kind of test the new style of play that we want to play. As I said before, it is a great equaliser, the weather. So I think the feeling has obviously been a fair bit of disappointment, to be honest, for the first half of the week.

"But we spoke about it as a group as, you know, we can either sit around and sulk or we can use this four-week block as an opportunity to launch into our off-season, into our pre-season and ultimately to get back to where we want to be next year as well. It's just flipping the script a little bit and using it as an opportunity to really hone in a few things and test a few things and see what works, what doesn't, and hopefully add a few strings to our bow before the season next year."

On Jesse Dattoli's debut

"He'll bring flair. He's a super classy player. I think if you have watched any of his stuff, whether he's been playing at BFL or under 18 level, he's really classy. He's just got something about him, a little bit of spunk. And, you know, you certainly love playing with players who back themselves in. I'm sure that he'll come out here and play his role for the team."

On being picked at number 32

"It didn't really bother me, to be honest. I was just super stoked to get on the list at the time. And, you know, I think similar to Jesse, I had a lot of self-belief that I belonged at this level. And I think a big thing as well is the club and the coaches and the playing staff made me feel like I belonged straight away.

"I don't know if I view it differently to other people, but I just kind of always felt like I was going to have a pretty good start to my career. And I guess it's the environment that the club have created that they instil a lot of confidence in the young players."

On Pride Game

"It's a super important thing in sport in general, and I think probably broader society, that everyone feels comfortable to be who they are and to come to a place like this and feel safe and be able to have a good time. And I'm really stoked for the club that they have this game every year.

"I'm sure for the members of the pride community, it's really important for them as well. But I know for players, it is a really important week for us to make sure that all of our fans, regardless of who they are or where they come from, you know, feel really comfortable at the footy. And I think it's going to be a bit of a gloomy day, but hopefully there's a fair bit of colour floating around. It's certainly a game that we look forward to playing in every year."