Fly's presser
How special was that win?
"That was a lot of fun. That was us sort of showing that we never give up. I got no idea what the future holds for us. We can only control what we want. The stories that we write, we write our own stories. Our fans [are] unbelievable, 61,000 here turn up today. Help drag us over the line again. That's a special win".
It's the belief in this group to continue getting up for these games.
"Yeah. Funnily, we worked all on our method this week as we do every week. Reinforced a couple of things that we really needed to do late in that game. It's hard to hold leads in the AFL right now. We've experienced that in the last couple of weeks and you just never feel safe in front at the moment. As a team, we're working through what that looks like for us. We chased today, and we chased well. It's hard to hold leads. I thought Brisbane were enormous, particularly early. Daniher a real threat. We tried to curtail Lachie Neale to some degree. I think Steele [Sidebottom] did a pretty good job. They're a hard team to beat, so that makes it more special if you like".
How proud are you of Lachie Schultz to step with those two clutch goals?
"I'm really proud of him. Really proud of him. He's worked so hard on his game. He does so many things that no one sees. We show it every week, when he's holding Max Gawn out of a marking contest so someone can come over and take a mark, or off the ball he's blocking for three others so they get a running shot at goal in the stoppage. He does so much for us others. It's just nice he got some reward today. He was clutch in the last quarter, absolutely clutch".
How pleased were you with the defensive efforts late in the game? Darcy Moore went to Joe Daniher, and Jeremy Howe had an excellent game.
"It's a collective. Good pressure game puts pressure down the field. We started intercepting and marking again which has been a little bit here and there all season. Last year we were one of the best intercept marking teams. Now you see Howie starting to mark the ball again and Darcy [Moore]. It's a collective. I thought we threw a few guys around different roles at times, which can be disruptive. Josh [Daicos] has been important going to half back. His brother can play a bit. Wow, I think I'll tell my grandkids I coached Nick Daicos. That's going to be one of the great stories when I'm older. What a player".
Have you seen any better individual quarter than the second quarter that Nick Daicos produced?
"Isaac Heeney last week was pretty special. That was pretty special. It's just nice to see someone impose himself on the game. We're all on the bench, not laughing, but just going, 'Wow!'. We're all in awe. You should see some of the stuff that Nick does at training. He did something the other day he kicked the ball somehow and I didn't know how he did it, and Brayden Maynard and I are sort of laughing and [going] 'wow'. We've got front row seats to the Nick Show, and he's a remarkable player".
It was a pretty good celebration from you when Nick Daicos kicked one of those goals?
"Yeah apparently I got told that. I'm invested. I care about our group very much. Got a lot of love and support for our players and it means a lot. You saw that last week, we were disappointed. I care. I wear my heart on my sleeve so it's nice to reward others or see others achieve".
That win keeps your season alive. You have to win next week and some other results need to go your way. How do you see it playing out?
"As I said to the players, I'm not into ladder predictor(s). We can't get voodoo dolls out for other teams. We can't do anything. What, go behind the goals and put people off as they're going for set shots? There's nothing we can do. We just sit here and control what we can. We're in this position because there's 23 rounds of us getting into this position. All the lessons learnt. All the bumps and bruises. All the players out and players in. Here and there. Umpiring decisions, non-umpiring decisions. We've all had that journey, every team has and here we are. This is our story and we can only control what we can do in six days time versus Melbourne. It's just really pleasing that regardless of what happens, we play with that fighting spirit. I'm sure our supporters tonight will go home really proud to be a Collingwood supporter".
How did you see the umpiring decisions today back at the MCG?
"They're just doing the best they can. I think I'll steer away from umpires this week. Laura [Kane], I'll leave that one for you".
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