ICYMI here’s what Head Coach Tony Popovic had to say ahead of Member Recognition Round.
On the loss to Wellington…
“Of course, we’re disappointed with how it ended. But it was a tough match. I thought we really played our part in the game and had some good openings and we don’t lose confidence from that performance,”
“We’ve been playing really well at home recently and it’s a chance again to get three points and also an opportunity to cement at home final and we’re really focused on this game.”
On the potential of two home finals…
“We feel we’ve been building momentum since the international break in terms of performance and results and now it’s another opportunity.”
“You know, against Brisbane, we lost our last encounter, which was arguably our worst performance of the year, and we got what we deserved that day, with a defeat.”
“And now we’re at home. We’re coming towards the last couple of games of the season and with finals coming up, it’s an important match to really put forward another good performance, you know, and we know that a win would be key.”
On squad fitness…
“Look, there are some players that are always carrying some niggles throughout the year. But, I feel we’re in a good place that we don’t have players that are just training the odd session a week trying to get through to be available for the game. All the players are training well. Everyone’s getting through all the sessions, you know, and everyone’s fighting for positions.”
“Everyone wants to be playing at this time of the year. Okay, we’ve got a few boys that are away at the moment, but you know, we have a group of players here that I feel can really put on a top performance tomorrow and get an important win here at home.”
On Brisbane’s recent form…
“Maybe they haven’t got enough reward for some of the performances they’ve had. So we understand they’re a dangerous team. And as I alluded to earlier we know what happened in our last encounter, so certainly they’ll be respected by us as they should be.”
“And you know, we’ve got to really focus on our performance, what we do with and without the ball. And you know, we have an opponent that will not give us anything and will have to earn the three points. And we understand that and we expect that and we’ve got to produce the performance we’re after on and off the pitch.”
