Sam Edmund | Chief Sports Reporter (26.03.26)

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Let's find out around the drama and the melodrama...

...heading towards round three.

Sam Edmund for Alex Scott and staff to sell your livestock...

...or sell your home.

Hello Jarrett and Apologies to Sando. Big big day press conferences today.

I had a big round for some big times.

Okay, let's step through these because these have just happened.

In fact, they're still happening.

Ross Lyon went first today.

It was a balanced press conference, Jarrett.

It had seriousness, it had silliness, and it had Rossisms.

But we wouldn't be true to ourselves if we didn't start with a Rossism.

So he was asked about Tony Cochran's comments with you that...

...and to quote Tony here, Jarrett, that Ross Lyon was a...

...brandlo medalist at complaining that the saints should be rebadged as the moners.

Now, Ross Lyon responded to Tony's comments along these lines.

It was a who? Who?

When it was pointed out, who's he?

When it was pointed out that in fact, we're talking about the former chairman of the Gold Coast.

Sam's Ross said, words, the effect of, oh, so he's a fan.

Well, I don't respond to comments from fans.

So when he did strain up a little bit his stress, this was not about the lines,

all the suns in isolation, but more about what...

Well, how secluded of you was a lack of equality across the comp

that all the talk this week in the words of Ross had been about the lack of talent in Essen

and that meanwhile, the top end talent was basically going north for free.

So he did pay credit to the suns to lines too.

Great, so I'm getting great players back and how much of a tester they will be.

But yeah, he didn't miss Tony Cochran on the way through today.

So I'm looking forward to that audio emerging later on.

Chris Fagen was up next.

That didn't muck around at the game.

That just went straight for it.

Did you think your comments around Senkilda would take off in the manner that they did?

Now, the premiership coach, back to back premiership coach,

chose to spend the next five minutes on told on this answer.

And what they did was there was no back and forth after it.

It just sucked the air right out of the questioning.

Essentially, he said that while he knew Senkilda would respond

and that everyone's entitled to their opinion, he certainly wasn't looking to be sane specific.

And in fact, his concerns lay with the entire competition, the money and the length of contracts

and where they're going and where and when they'll actually stop.

So he started the NBA's example, the specific ruling around things like supermax contracts

and how they're tied to players resume and what they have to do to earn those dollars.

And then he relayed that back to our understanding with the Nick Daycos as the world.

The Marcus Pond and Pellies.

They're worthy of the supermax contracts.

Maybe not, even though maybe the way he chose his wording was a little bit clumsy.

He said he no way, shape or form, was meant to be just Senkilda specific.

So that's fakes.

And then we get to the hanger and Brad's still talking.

And you can imagine the questioning that's coming his way.

We've just cut up the first couple of minutes, this press conference.

This is a general flavor of the way the essence coach chose to handle this morning.

Now I have a very optimistic, we'll look very different to the way

and what we've produced in the first two weeks.

And we've just got to understand what we're doing.

We've got a very clear strategy.

And there's short-term risk in that.

And in terms of the way that we need to coach, we need to have an attitude of just go keep teaching.

We've got to make sure our players are learning what we're trying to execute.

And as I said, we have a high level of optimism

that what we've produced in the first two weeks is nowhere near

what these groups capable of, let alone what the potential is of this group.

So we know at the last two weeks it's been very disappointing.

But we also understand we've got work to do.

But we knew that six months ago.

Are you playing on your players in a post game presser?

Are you seeing the response that you want or were you not known until after the game

or something like that?

How are you seeing the group react?

No, post game is particularly after a loss like that.

I mean you've got to think about who I'm talking to.

And the majority in a post game press conference I'm talking to the players.

But I've already spoken to the players post game.

And I'm speaking to the players first and foremost in our fans after that.

But in terms of Nate Cady and selfishness.

I spoke to Nate at half time.

I spoke to Nate post game.

I spoke to the players post game and then did a press conference.

So they are crystal clear as to what I'm talking about.

But for everyone else, and I'm always going to do this.

But for everyone else, if you make a mistake and you get the moralized by it.

And more importantly, if the rest of the team get the moralized by it.

You're being selfish because you're thinking about yourself and not the team.

So be disappointed.

But get back into the contest.

And that's part of the area of growth for us as a team.

It's really hard at the moment.

But character is revealed through adversity.

And when you can fight through those situations.

You become more resilient over time.

And so what Nate Cady did in the second half.

And we talked about this as a group.

Both at the game, post game, and in review.

Where the players voted for Cady's as their player of the week.

Not because of his four goals in the second half.

But because of his response to what he said in his own words was an embarrassing moment.

And I was harder on the team in terms of their reaction to that miss in the second half.

But Cady's, he has grown before our eyes in one week.

So where he is right now compared to where he was six months ago is chalk and cheese.

And so that is, that's the reason why players like Cady,

I could reel off a whole lot of others.

Why I'm so optimistic about this group because they made of the right stuff.

And if things are easy and you just roll along, you're playing a top four side.

And you're a young player and you think this game's easy.

You're delusional.

And you're getting a false understanding of how hard this game is.

Our players now know how hard this game is.

And they're building character and resilience because of it.

It's not fun.

But we knew there was a risk in the short term.

We understood that.

But the last two weeks haven't been anywhere near our capability, let alone our potential.

So that's Brad Scott.

That post comments are still going, Jared.

We've got a clear strategy, but there's some short term risk in that.

And as you heard there, why he addressed Nate Cady in the manner that he did post-match.

Okay.

There's a bit in all of that.

Yes, there is.

It sets the terms for round three.

Thanks Sam.

Cheers.

Good on you, Sam Edmonds.

Whether it's selling your livestock or selling your home, Alex Scott and staff today.

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