On the team's Round 8 performance

"We've sort of added a lot of speed on the game. For the majority we were pretty good in that space. It was the last quarter we let ourselves down. So, we spoke about that as a playing group. We have a really good chance to make ammends on Saturday."

On Jeremy Laidler coaching the forwards

"(Jeremy) Laidler has been, in a sense, such a support. His knowledge on the attack part of the game as well. He's complimented our whole main group and coaching group. So, yeah, it's important to understand that not only one person will stand out. We're going to have a lot of people that can play their role at that time.

And they did that on the weekend. And that is only one part of our game. The first part, we've been convincingly contested all. We made amends to that in the second quarter. And then that goes sort of sentencing down with our front-half turnover match. So, yeah, it's always things you can learn on and continue to work on."

On the team's availability

"Charlie Curnow won't play. He's got an abdominal issue that we need to work through. Jai Serong's hamstring is a little bit tight. So, he's going to fall too short to train today. So, he won't be available. There's an opportunity for some players that have been playing with VFL. They've been going really well. Hopefully, they can fill the void."

On managing Brodie Grundy

"Pete will be in the squad, that's something we're going to talk through a lot after training. But Brodie's pulled up really well. For our playing group we're going full steam ahead at North Melboure. He's really keen to play. He's going to train today. Pete Ladhams as well or Hayden McLean for Charlie. We'll have a really good chat after training today.

"I think Brodie's shown in the past couple of years that...he leaves no stone unturned to keep his body going as well as he possibly can. You know, for us, it's about if a player is injured, they won't play. But we can use other methods to try and manage their loads. And every club does that across the competition. You know, for us, it's about trying to go full steam ahead of the opposition we come up against. And Brodie's a part of that."

On who could replace Brodie

"It's tough to play the level that Brodie's playing at. But what Pete's been doing at VFL level has been nothing short of exceptional. So, you know, he's been one of our most dominant players every week there. When the opportunity presents itself, whether it's to share or to do by himself, no doubt he'll be ready for it."

On Callum Mills' performance

"He's my captain. He's got a lead on the field. But I think that's the best part about having Cal back, is his ability to be able to set up on the ball, put his teammates in positions, and then to execute his role. It's great having him back. He's been doing it all year. And he's only going to get better for it with the players that he's playing around as well.

So he's played two games with Will Edward. He missed a lot of footy with Riley Bice last year. He complements our backline really well. We're not talking about our defence. It's not just about our back six, it's the way we look at the whole ground."

On the lessons from the 2024 season

"We look at past experiences. But for me, it's that we're a completely different group playing in a completely different way. Obviously we had a lot of players play a lot of footy that year. We've already had Isaacs missed a couple through a forced injury. We've got obviously this weekend. So there'll be chances. There'll be unfortunate circumstances as well. But that doesn't matter. We're there to make sure that we can consolidate the way we want to play and build a brand that's really consistent."

On Errol Gulden's rehab progress

"He's going really well. That'll be determined by a meeting with the surgeon... So that's in a few weeks' time. The ability to be able to train and do some uncontested stuff, give him the ball and allow him to kick, I think that's been really important for him because we know he's going to come back fit. But we'll give him a few weeks and then I think we'll be putting him in place to when he actually does return. But that'll be post-bye sometime."

On how other teams are defending Sydney's game plan

"I think like most teams, they tried to cover the corridor a little bit more on the weekend. So our ability to make sure that we've got multiple modes is not just corridor use. So how we try and create that, our players are aware of the different methods we need to go to.

"Now it's about trying to execute and do it face-to-face. So on the weekend, they did that. We had to take something that they gave us, which was probably a little bit wider at times but still to be able to ball up and get speed on that ball no matter what. So that's a focus we need to make sure that we can continually do. We understand that North will come with something different they've been in great form this year. So that's what we've looked at and we'll keep that.

On Luke Parker's season so far

"Yeah, he's been good. I think if you talk about toughness in an area, he certainly adds that... no matter where he plays, he'll perform really well."

On the opportunity for debutants Billy Cootee and Will Edwards

"That opportunity just presented itself... One thing we do know is that we want to reward players from underneath for the players knowing that if they're playing well at the VFL level they're a chance to play up there. And there's always circumstances that change with that. Pete obviously came down and said, well, Brodie's in before he's in, it's hard to move him down to that spot. So you've got to be as clear as you can with the players.

"But having said that, we're really happy to play some younger players because we need to look at how they can add to our team and hopefully they become very important players for us."

On Malcolm

"When he came, he understood what he wanted to do and how he wanted to play. And yeah, to his credit, I think certainly the energy gives our playing group. You talk about Paps does it in a different way, but to see the excitement that he has from, he gets when other players do something great on the football field, he's really phenomenal. So, yeah, the players love playing with him and it was good to see him take this opportunity."

On Joel Amartey contract discussions

"We're in constant dialogue with Joel about that. He loves Sydney, he loves the club, he loves the boys, he loves playing here. And now it's just about working through that next process. We want a job. He understands that. He's a really important part of our team.

And I suppose his development over the eight years he's been at the football club through injury, he's really improved as a footballer, probably last year and this year. So, it's a credit to him. And we've just got to make sure that, you know, we both sit down and get as happy as we possibly can and get it done."

On Hayden McLean

"He's been really good through the whole process of not playing as hard as it is to tell him each week that he's not, he's not going to be in the team. The thing that he's done really well is to go back to VFL and perform the way we want him to, which has been a really strong factor quite ahead of him for the second run when he has to, and compete and provide options for his teammates. So, he's done that and now that's why he gets the opportunity. Really excited to see him get back to what he knows he does well."