Assessing the Crows:

“They were outstanding last week, so we have no illusions about the challenge. They’ve got a really strong midfield group, their run seems to be back from defence, with Smith and Laird and now Gibbs back there. That’ll be a challenge, and we know their firepower in front of the ball – Eddie’s in reasonable shape – so we’re looking forward to it.

“We know that they’re going to be a really hard team to beat, but we’re really confident that if our guys can turn up and give really strong effort and perform strongly, we’re going to be a chance.”

Dealing with expectations:

“I don’t think the players would be affected by (the expectations); their friends and family would certainly be talking about the fact that the team’s won four and lost one and playing good strong footy, but internally, we just focus on how can we improve, and what’s giving us the opportunity to win games of footy.”

Jarryn Geary's injury:

“He’ll be a while, Gears. We all know that he’s been in hospital and had surgery and is still there. He was in better spirits (yesterday), he’s been sewn up now and that’s a really important step. It’s going the way that the surgeons and the doctors would hope, he’ll be out in probably two or three days; we won’t see him running for a few weeks, because the wound needs to heal, but then it’s just a matter of time in terms of how he responds.

“Because it ended up being such a big wound, that obviously takes time. We’re talking about one of the more mentally tough people that I’ve ever been exposed to in my time in footy, which has been a while now, so (his mental recovery) won’t take long.

“He’s quite angry about it and frustrated that he’s not able to lead his team. He’s been driving Seb Ross – who will captain the team – and the other leaders mad, in terms of what the week needs to look like and keeping the blokes grounded, and all that sort of stuff that you’d expect, so he’s still been busy, but he’s got to get himself right.”

Daniel McKenzie's importance:

“We rate McKenzie really highly. He has a lot of Jarryn’s attributes, he doesn’t quite have the leadership at this stage, but he’s going to need to communicate strongly. It means that Savage and Webster in terms of communicating and organising are probably going to have to step up a little bit, but that’s a great opportunity for those blokes.”

How to keep the focus:

“I’m really confident that the players have got an understanding of what works for us, that’s really clear, that if we can get contribution from 22 players – and that’s been very consistent this year – and we commit to playing our role for the team … they’ve got a lot of belief, belief in their endurance and their physical capability … then we can be competitive against anyone, that’s where we focus.”

Billy Slater's influence:

“Billy’s going well, he’ll be at the game on the weekend, he’ll have a chat to the boys as a mentor before the game and spend a bit of time in the box. He’s incredibly enthusiastic, he does a lot of work with our leaders and he does a fair bit of work on our identity. He did an identity session with the group this week on how we think we’re going, and whilst there’s a lot going on, there are some opportunities to improve. He’s an incredibly challenging person, but he’s having a really positive influence on the group.”

Assistant coaches' impact:

“They’ve had a real influence, there’s no doubt about that. Ratten’s a very experienced person, Lade’s a really experienced person, Playfair – who was already here – has been in the game for a long time, so it’s just allowed me to probably lift my eyes a little bit, and not get as involved as I have been in the past in the nitty gritty strategically, so that’s been really helpful. They’re very energetic, enthusiastic people.”

Jake Carlisle's road to recovery:

“Jake’s going well. It looks like he’s turned a corner … it was looking like back-end of the year, that’s been revisited and there is a chance as long as while he progresses, he doesn’t have hiccups, that could be earlier in the second half of the year, so that’s really pleasing.

Paddy McCartin's pathway:

“Paddy’s spending a little bit more time at the club, which is a positive. He’s slowly getting there but he’s still symptomatic, so he can’t do any work out there, nor spend too much time even with the specialists until those symptoms clear.”

Richo's two cents on booing:

“Here’s what I like in our game: I love it when players whack away and are really hard on each other physically for 120 minutes, and then when the siren blows, they turn around and shake hands. And I reckon that should be the same with fans … I reckon once the game’s finished and someone wins an award, I think it shows a lack of class, so I agree with what ‘Bucks’ had to say.