The Dogs celebrated a gritty win defeating the unbeaten Swans at Mission Whitten Oval on Saturday afternoon.
Able to regroup after the Swans took charge in the third quarter, the Dogs’ youngsters once again impressed as they charged home with the 27-point win.
Here’s what backline coach Callum Brown had to say following the game.
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On focuses heading into the game:
“We knew they were going to be a really strong team.
“Obviously 3-0, they’ve started really well.
“They had a lot of handball chains coming through the corridor that we wanted to cut off.
“So just that ability to come forward and shut down those options really early defensively were the main cues.
“Then just that angle change for us and that ability to get the ball in deep into (Emma McDonald) was a big focus.”
On adjustments after the third quarter:
“It was just the territory, basically.
“We were probably mucking around with the ball a little bit in the first three quarters, then in that last one we were sort of able to get it forward a bit more at all costs.
“Even if there was a tap-on knock, that sort of really worked for us. A bit of an adjustment to what our normal game style is.
“Overall, the girls were cleaner and they had a really high defensive focus because we also only gave them one point in that last quarter.
“The defence was just as good as offence really.”
On the defensive efforts:
“Mua has been super. Coming off a long-term injury last year and ended up playing the last few games.
“She’s become a staple to start this season. Just intercepting, she reads the game so well.
“We sort of give her a bit of a licence to read it and play as she does. For those sort of players that have that nice nuance in the way they play, you don’t want to take that natural ability to read the game.
“Just let her play as she does.
“Brit is another one who reads it well, but probably more on the offensive end. So, letting her getting involved how she sees fit to and just bringing her strengths.”
On Elle Bennetts:
“Her experience is massive.
“Her ability and want to get better, whether we’ve got a young player who wants to get better like Poustie, Naughty works just as hard now at her age.
“There has been no complacency from her in my time with her.
“Coaching her, she’s always wanted to get better and improve. It’s a big reason why she’s still playing so well.”
On Rylie Wilcox:
“It was super.
“She’s so sharp around the ball and she’s got cat-like reflexes when she’s near it.
“You just really saw that today, her ability to make something out of nothing.
“That part of her game is really exciting and she’s just such a competitor for us, which is probably not recognised as much.
“She’s just such a competitor in her role. She may be small in stature but such a big heart with the way that she plays.
“She’s massive for us.”
On Emma McDonald:
“Big Mac is super.
“I feel like sometimes, for such a young player, there can be a bit more pressure than is deserved sometimes.
“We put pressure on her in a really good way at this Club because we know her potential is and her capacity which she brings most weeks, which is very impressive.
“I think the ability for (Andrew Killingsworth), who coaches her, and Tam, to just put her in the right spot. From there, she just takes over.
“Her ability to mark the ball and be agile on ground level, she’s got both facets of the game. She’s going to be a really special player.”
On next week’s game against the Hawks:
“We played Hawks in a praccy and they got us.
“They’re a really good team and they’ve been a really good team for a few years now.
“We expect them to bring their level of competitiveness and they’re pretty fierce at the contest.
“We expect them to be a really disciplined team but we’re excited about bringing our sort of momentum in and we’ll back ourselves to put in a really good performance.”
