Port Adelaide assistant coach Hamish Hartlett said Tom Cochrane being given the nod this week was due to the ‘X factor’ the young forward brings in the way he plays his football. 

One of three inclusions this week for the trip west, Cochrane kicked five goals on his return to the SANFL a few weeks ago, and will be hoping to contribute on Saturday in his fourth AFL appearance. 

Hartlett spoke with the Adelaide media on Friday to discuss Tom’s development, how the group is planning for West Coast, and how the coaching group reviewed the first half of the season. 

Hartlett on Tom Cochrane’s inclusion this week 
“We feel like Tommy's got a fair bit of X factor about him. He's only played a couple of games in the SANFL since he's come back from injury, but in his first game in the SANFL, I think he had eight shots on goal, and we know that, particularly in the front half of the ground, he can really provide something different for us. We feel like Tommy has got the capacity to be a player that's going to add to us in the in the medium and long term, and so we think getting some exposure is going to be important. 

“We think he's got the capacity to sort of make stuff up out of nothing, he can kick some pretty exceptional goals out of situations that you wouldn't expect. Hoping to add a little bit more of a scoring for us in the front half of the ground, but also I think in terms of our offence and the way we need to play the game, that comes down to everyone on the field doing what they need to any given time to make sure that we give ourselves the best chance to move the ball and get the ball in our forward 50.” 

Hartlett on Cochrane staying motivated through his injuries 
“Yeah, I don't think staying motivated for footy is too difficult for Tommy Cochrane. He's just so passionate and enthusiastic about the game, and being around here, the footy club, and the people he's surrounded by. So it's obviously tough for a young player to go through setbacks with injury, and that sort of thing, but plenty of support around here. He loves coming in, getting to work, and it's great for him to get an opportunity again at the level, and we're excited for him to see what he can do.” 

Hartlett on Mead, Jones coming back in 
“We feel like Jonesy in the last five, six games that he's played, he’s been exceptional in terms of just being a real physical presence for us. He's defended exceptionally well, and he adds experience and leadership for us down back, so that's the expectation from Jonesy And Meady has really earned his chance back in the team. He's played some great footy at SANFL level, getting a lot of the footy. What Meady adds for us is a bit of flexibility in his role. We will play him through the midfield, but we know that he's capable of playing wing, half back if we need to, and also half forward. He's played all those roles in recent years, so he gives us some again some experience and some flexibility in our team.” 

Hartlett on reviewing the last game against West Coast 
“We’ve played against them a couple of times, and clearly they've gotten significantly better over the last six months. Their last five weeks of footy, in particular, I think built off the back of high pressure in around the contest, and the way they're defending as a team has been very, very impressive. So, that's what we expect, and that's what we plan for. We know they're going to bring the heat, they're going to buy in defensively, and then they've got some threats in offence too. The players are very, very aware of the brand of footy that West Coast are playing, and the quality of that brand as well at the moment. So prepare for their best and make sure that we bring our best over in the west.” 

Hartlett on planning for West Coast 
“Again we go into the game, sort of planning and preparing for some different looks, so if they start to get on top in and around the footy, then there's a couple of different levers that we can pull, no different to any other game, really, but we’ve just got to make sure we're high alert for those moments and those situations. I think the biggest takeaway from the last time we played them was when their pressure did ramp up, we didn't feel like we handled that very well. We coughed the ball up a few times and allowed them to get the game on their terms, so maintaining position of the footy, going to stoppage again, getting territory, and owning the territory battle is going to be really significant this weekend.” 

Hartlett on Jackson Mead’s year so far 
“I think Meady has been really keen just to settle himself down in a specific role, so him and Carry and the coaching staff had that conversation the beginning of the year around, I'd like to just settle myself as a midfielder, and if I've got to bide my time in the SANFL, make sure I'm playing good footy to then crack into the team that I'm happy to do that. And I think everyone's been on the same page there. To his credit, he's had a great attitude, he's been able to perform really well at SANFL level, and now he gets his chance, so he comes in full of confidence, understanding exactly what he needs to do, and that's exciting for everyone.” 

Hartlett on forwards supporting Mitch Georgiades in the forward line 
“I don't necessarily think that was an issue at the start of the year when we were playing well as a team in our offence, everyone was contributing, and those questions weren't really being asked. But I understand that in recent weeks we haven't scored as much, Mitch hasn't kicked as many goals, necessarily, and so those questions start to get raised. So, yes, it comes down to a little bit of personnel. So, Todd (Marshall) will play forward again, two weeks in a row, so get him some continuity down there, and get those guys working together, but as I mentioned earlier, our team offence and supporting Mitch comes from the other 17 guys on the field, not necessarily just one or two.” 

Hartlett on the coaches reviewing the first half of the year 
“There certainly are some new faces, new ideas. I do feel like, and I mentioned it to Dewy (Stuart Dew) the other day, that the collaboration between this coaching staff in the first six months of years been exceptional. I feel there's real growth for that to continue in the future, and we all reflected within our phases, of what we need to look to do in the back half of the year, and we're all really aligned with what that looks like. So building lots of predictability within ourselves as a coaching staff, and then filtering that through to the group is going to be our main focus for the back half of the year. The players have got some detail around what that looks like, so I'm sure we'll see a bit more of that in the last 10 to 11 games.”