It was a successful trip to Sydney for the Dogs over the weekend, as they recorded a 43-point win over the GIANTS in their official pre-season practice match.

Describing it as a game of two halves, Head Coach Tam Hyett was pleased with her team’s ability to reset after the main break and correct their mistakes to finish strongly.

Here’s what she had to say following the win.

On her initial reaction to the game:

“I think it was a game of two halves.

“We probably weren’t overly happy with our first half, especially how we were playing defensively.

“We pride ourselves on our defensive actions and contest - we were probably a little bit down there.

“That was the pleasing thing. We came out and turned that around in the second half.

“Then we started to finish off our work.”

On the defensive efforts in the second half:

“We’re on a little bit of a smaller ground, it’s basically taking away their space.

“Fourth phase and closing gaps, which then puts delay on the ball and then we get our intercept players involved a little more.

“That helped. Then just the pressure the forwards were putting on.

“We had some really good numbers in that forward 50 for retention, which is something that we’ve been working on as well.”

On Elaine Grigg and her development:

“She’s really maturing.

“We’ve known her as a really high-pressure player, but now she’s adding some polish by finishing off her work.

“Just her work rate, her ability to play four quarters.

“She’s coming into her third season now, so she’s set up a really good foundation.”

On Emma McDonald’s work across the pre-season:

“She’s been great and she’s put in a mountain of work.

“She played 100% game time today, so we asked a fair bit of her.

“She just presents and she’s really quick off the mark.

“Physically, she’s strong, but she’s also got that speed off the mark.

“I’m really happy and, if we can isolate her down forward, it goes a long way towards team success.”

On Ellie Blackburn’s role and the midfield depth:

“Similar to last year, she’ll play time mid and forward.

“Both parts of her game really complement each other. We know that she’s really good at contest but, also, she’s good with ball in hand.

“We think that we have some real depth now through our midfield with Mikala Cann coming in, Sarah Poustie has really developed, and we’ve got a fair amount of players who can roll through there.

“You want to keep your talent on the park as long as possible and the depth of our midfield allows us to have Ellie spend some time forward.”

On VFLW performance and the list heading into Round 1:

“It was good.

“Again, we had a mix of youth and experience.

“The best part was they all competed really well and that’s the thing, we’re in a good position where we have a healthy list, so competition is rife.

“When you’re coming into Round 1, it is really important that you have people who are actually on the training track elevating each other because there are spots that they want to take.

“Touch wood, we’re still healthy. Things are tracking in the right direction.”