Port Adelaide Connor Rozee said he wants nothing more than to respond following a heavy loss to the Western Bulldogs on Saturday.  

Ahead of the team review on Monday morning, Rozee said he expected the group to address some issues and move on quickly, in preparation for Saturday night’s blockbuster against Adelaide. 

The skipper spoke to Adelaide media alongside Adelaide captain Jordan Dawson to review the weekend’s game, how he leads after a loss, and how the group is approaching Showdown LVII. 

Rozee on Saturday’s game against the Bulldogs 
“Yeah, we haven't had our team review yet, but clearly a pretty disappointing day. I feel like the first half, they played the conditions a fair bit better than us and outworked us in the second half. So yeah, like I said, we'll have to have a talk about exactly what happened, but I'm sure we'll try and move on pretty quickly to this week. 

“Without watching the game back yet, it's hard to point to anything specific. I think over the last three weeks we've probably got back to some of that better football. So it's a little bit disappointing to take a bit of a backwards step, but it's very long season and fortunately, we've got a long way to go. So yeah, pretty excited to get out this week and respond.” 

Rozee on reviewing the loss 
“I don't know if it's anything specific. We've always been a team that when we're behind, we'd rather have a crack at trying to win and at least give ourselves a chance at trying to win, and if that means losing by a bit more than then that sometimes happens. But, yeah, clearly things didn't go the way we would have liked on the weekend. So, yeah, there's a fair few things that we'll need to really hone in on. 

“Bulldogs are a really good side, and they were better in pretty much every facet of the game in the second half. And I'm going to sound like a broken record, but I don't know if it's anything specific yet, we need to sit down and go through exactly what happened. But yeah, like you said, we've played some good games of football this year, so hopefully we can get back to that this week.” 

Rozee on the Showdown this week 
“Yeah, I think Showdowns, no matter what time of year they are, or what's happened previously, you always look forward to them. It's a couple of the games that you really look forward to at the start of the year. And I think the past has shown that form probably doesn't matter too much. Both teams are pretty excited just to get out there and play. I think we will be pretty keen to respond as a club, no matter if that was a Showdown this week or any other club. So yeah, again, we'll be pretty excited to get out there and get into it, but we'll have to do our review first.” 

Rozee on the build up to past Showdowns 
“Yeah, I'll probably leave the theatre to the external people. I think clearly there's a great rivalry that has been for a lot of years now, when you know those games feel like finals in some sort of sense, the pressure goes up a little bit. But yeah, I love playing in them, and I know the Crows do as well. So yeah, just excited to get out there.” 

Rozee on interest in Zak Butters from other clubs 
“Yes, there's no surprise. He's clearly one of the best players in the competition. And you know, that's where the industry is at, at the moment. You know players, and not only him, there'd be 50 to 100 players that are talking to different clubs around the competition. And it’s just part of the process these days. And you know, even if you're 99% sure that you're going to stay, lots of players just seek out their options just to see what's out there. So you know he's still got a year and a half left on his contract, and I know he loves our group a lot. So yeah, I'll leave that up to him.” 

Rozee on keeping the group together after a loss 
“In terms of media, I think for me personally, I try and stay away from (consuming) it. I don't think it helps anyone's mental state that much reading stuff about them, whether it's positive or negative. So I think as a club, the most important thing for us is we listen to everyone inside the football club. We keep it internal. We've shown in the past that, you know, when we have a bad loss, we're able to respond, and I think that's because we stay tight as a group and listen to what Kenny says and what we need to do the following week. So that'll be the same approach this week.” 

Rozee on his leadership after a loss 
“I think it definitely comes with just being in the role a little bit longer and being a bit more comfortable to sort of share my opinion, and lead the boys, I guess. And, again, you never want to lose bad games, but it's a part of the industry. You see some of the best teams in the competition lose badly throughout the year. And it's not about that singular game, it's about the season as a whole. And I feel like my leadership's come a fair way by copping some criticism here and there, and taking that on board and trying to help me become a better person overall.” 

Rozee on his midfield time on the weekend 
“I'll leave that up to Kenny to be honest. It's something we can obviously go to, because I've played there in the past, but we've got a really strong midfield group, and I feel like I've been enjoying half back and enjoying being able to help the boys back there to, I guess, take that next step. The weekend wasn't what we would have liked. But, yeah, it's something that we can clearly go to during games.”