Sydney Swans AFLW senior coach Colin O'Riordan spoke to the media on Wednesday, speaking on the side's victory over Collingwood, the potential to secure just the second ever finals birth and the match up with West Coast this Sunday at Henson Park.
On potentially securing a finals spot this weekend
"I think we're obviously aware of what a win does for us and what it does for our season, but we approach it the same way as we do for every other week. It's reviewing our game that we did at the weekend and then previewing West Coast accordingly. Nothing changes from our end and how we go about it. It always goes back to sticking to the process and how we want to play our footy.”
On the most pleasing aspect about the win over Collingwood
"I think, to be honest, it was our contest and our pressure. I think we won both stats quite convincingly but also had the footy as well. I think to win the inside, and the outside was what we asked and what we focused on during the week, and to do that so convincingly was a real credit to the group and the way they bought into the whole week.”
On the work put into the forward line
"We wanted to get a bit more bang for our buck on inside 50. We did a lot of work on that last week. The held ball versus live ball entries and what that looks like for us entering our forward 50. I thought we did it quite well for the majority. It felt like there was more space in the forward line when we had a bit of patience. I think sometimes it's a real balance of when to get it in quick versus when to hit up. I think playing the situation is really important for that. I think the girls did that really well at the weekend and had a really good balance of when to go quick versus when to take our time and stay composed.”
On Caitlin Reid
"She's training really well. She played really well in the scrimmage games up to this. It helped us a lot and gave us a different look in our forward line, but it also, you know, it's not just a case of freeing up someone to bring someone in. Caitlin deserved her spot, so it was nice that I think she came on and played her role really well, so it was really pleasing.”
On what making finals would mean for the squad and wider program
"It’s huge. It is a big game, and we're not shying away from that fact, but again, we stick to process and what we want to do and how we want to review and preview games based on what we want to achieve. There's no doubt about it, the ramifications for the game are huge, and if you win, you play finals, and there's no point in shying away from that. I think that's a given. It would be nice to lock it in a week before the end of the season, and what we're trying to build is something pretty special. Taking it week by week has always been our mantra, but we understand the significance of the game, and that's not putting pressure on anyone. It's just the honesty, and that's the situation we're in, which is a great place to be. We're a pretty young list. We still are a young list. We've lost a lot of experience this year already, with some key position players being injured. So, to give a lot of our younger list and our younger players the opportunity to taste what it feels like and looks like would be pretty good. I think going forward, it could be nothing but a good thing, to be honest.”
On Sofia Hurley’s potential return from injury
“(Sofia) is week to week. It is such a cliche, but it's all true. She's done a little bit more strength stuff today, this morning. Hopefully, she'll progress again this week, but it really is a week to week. It was a pretty nasty injury, so, again, just trying to stay focused with Sof and not get ahead of ourselves. There's a lot of boxes to tick before she can put her hand up for selection, but we're not ruling it completely out yet.”
On Sofia Hurley’s contract extension
“It probably made my weekend when I heard about it. She's just a top-class person. She's a top-class human. She's probably one of the best leaders I've seen at a footy club. The way she's taken her role as vice-captain this year, I think, sums up the kind of person she is. She's a leader inside and outside the four walls. I think the scary thing with Sof is she probably doesn't realise how good she can be either, which is credit to her and how humble she is and goes about her footy. But top-class person, top-class player, and we're absolutely wrapped. She's going to be part of our footy club for the next couple of years.”
On Zippy Fish's contract
"I've been on record before; we love Zippy Fish at our footy club. I think I'm probably the person who can talk the most about homesickness, I would think, and it's a real thing. From a coaching perspective and from a football perspective, the way she played at the weekend clearly shows the calibre of player she is. We'll do everything we can to keep her at our footy club.”
On Chloe Molloy’s contract
"I love coaching Chloe Molloy, I think we've seen her this year, how much of a superstar she is, what she brings to our footy club, the flair she brings. It's credit to her, and I think she's probably having the season best year. There's no doubt about it. We love having Chloe in our footy club, and hopefully we can work through that in the coming months.”
