PORT ADELAIDE assistant coach Brett Montgomery held a press conference on Friday before the side headed to Port Pirie for its JLT Community Series opener against Adelaide.
Montgomery talked about putting out a strong side and whether anybody not selected for the game would be in contention for Round 1 of the AFL Premiership season.
He also talked about how exciting it was to have a new start with plenty of new faces rejuvenating the group.
Here are the best bits:
Brett Montgomery on what the side wants to get out of the hit-out:
“All you’re looking for is health, form and a bit of condition at this time of year. Whilst I might have a really healthy dislike for the opposition this week, like most of our people do, it’s just not about that. It’s about making sure our players are on-song with their new set-ups, making sure they’re perfectly prepared in terms of their condition, their cohesion and synergy with their five or six new teammates is bang on and that’s the on-field stuff. Off-field, we’ve got to make sure that the new coaches gel and are all on-song as well and that we don’t get out of step.”
Brett Montgomery on new recruits Connor Rozee, Xavier Duursma and Zak Butters and what they have brought to the group:
“It’s a new look, it’s a new start for us and that’s exciting. Those young guys have been exceptional for us. They’ll bring something different, they’ll bring a new dynamic to this team. I think they play like they’ve just come out of the backyard. There’s no baggage, there’s no obstacles in their way, they just play with this unharnessed enthusiasm that I think all teams need. We want our team to play with more instinct and I think those guys that’s right in their DNA, they just play what they see. It can rub off on all of us, it can rub off on coaches, just as a reminder that these kids come in as highly talented so let them play.”
Brett Montgomery on the forecast 40-degree temperatures at game time:
“There’s enough measures in place, three-quarters of footy, lots of fans, lots of breaks, an opportunity to go inside at the breaks is probably enough, extended benches are enormous – they’ll spend as much time on the ground as they will off it at times. It’s always a concern this time of year but our guys are in great shape – it’s been a pretty hot summer here, I think we can all appreciate that.”
Brett Montgomery on whether the Power would look outside those selected for JLT1 when it comes to Round 1 of the AFL Premiership season:
“I think given fitness and health for a handful of others, we certainly wouldn’t want to rule them out. We’d like to see (Matthew) Broadbent and (Hamish) Hartlett get some minutes… obviously we’ve got (Ollie) Wines and (Charlie) Dixon that are looking for an early season start, so I think we’d be pretty cautious to say the team would come out of this squad but I think it’d be fair to say the majority will. But we certainly don’t want to put a line through anyone that’s not in this selected team.
