Josh Carr says his side will need to be at its best to claim victory over the Bulldogs. Image: Matt Sampson.<\/p>\n
Port Adelaide senior coach Josh Carr\u00a0is looking forward to another Friday night fixture at Adelaide Oval, saying his team will\u00a0need to be at its best to get a result against the Bulldogs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Speaking with the media at Adelaide Oval on Thursday, Carr spoke on how\u00a0his team defence is shaping up,\u00a0what he expects from the Bulldogs and how captain Connor\u00a0Rozee\u2019s\u00a0hamstring rehab is tracking.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Carr on\u00a0selection\u00a0
\u201cObviously, there’s always discussion about opposition and what’s best for opposition and\u00a0to\u00a0make the right changes to adapt. And\u00a0we’ve had some great discussion around that, and what you know the best team balance looks like.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n
Carr on playing a Friday night game\u00a0
\u201cWe love it. We love the opportunity to be playing on a Friday night, the extra little bit of pressure of everyone watching and critiquing your game, and it’s an opportunity to understand what playing under pressure looks like. It’s obviously only pressure that you create with yourself externally, but to feel like you’re playing in bigger games is an opportunity we can’t underestimate.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Carr on using Todd Marshall in various positions\u00a0
\u201cI\u00a0definitely don’t\u00a0mind doing that. Preference is to keep him settled for sure. Last week with\u00a0Tex (Taylor Waler)\u00a0going down, we just felt the balance of the team probably struggled to find a match up right for him, so that’s why we swung him forward in that second\u00a0or\u00a0third quarter.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Carr on the final minute of the Showdown\u00a0
\u201cIt was great that we got that opportunity to play in a game like that. And obviously we’ve\u00a0had a few\u00a0close ones this year.\u00a0We haven’t really had to protect a lead in that\u00a0situation\u00a0so\u00a0we obviously reviewed\u00a0that pretty strongly\u00a0and\u00a0we\u00a0didn’t get a few things right.\u00a0So\u00a0we’ve spoken about it,\u00a0we\u2019ve\u00a0worked on it.\u00a0We feel like we’re in a better position.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Carr on scenario training\u00a0
\u201cWe’ve spent time on it, but I’d say we’ve invested more time into\u00a0other areas of our game.\u00a0So\u00a0it was nice to get in that situation, get a reminder\u00a0that\u00a0you’ve got to\u00a0get your detail right.\u00a0But at the same time, it was just a great learning experience for\u00a0a number of\u00a0players you know. For Bez (Joe Berry)\u00a0to get that opportunity in the last minute to have a shot on goal and kick a goal and then on the other side of it, the\u00a0centre\u00a0bounce,\u00a0we\u00a0didn’t get that right.\u00a0So\u00a0it was nice to get some feedback, work on it, go away and be better for the next time we’re in that situation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Carr on team defence\u00a0
\u201cIt\u2019s a work in progress. It\u2019s not perfect, we’re still chipping away at it and trying to get\u00a0better. And\u00a0it’s not\u00a0all of\u00a0our game, but it definitely keeps us in a game. And it’s\u00a0definitely a\u00a0great foundation to start from.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt looked a little bit different for us last week.\u00a0We\u00a0had 60 inside 50s against us, which hasn’t happened a lot this year.\u00a0So\u00a0the pleasing part out of last weekend wasn’t probably around the team defence, it was probably around the defenders, about the way they stood up under pressure, and\u00a0that\u00a0works hand in hand.\u00a0And\u00a0it’s always nice to have a defence that defends\u00a0really well, but more so a team that can help out. We’ve probably been consistent\u00a0in\u00a0that area over the year, whereas\u00a0last weekend, we probably let ourselves down a little bit with the inside 50s against.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carr on Marcus\u00a0Bontempelli\u2019s\u00a0impact\u00a0
\u201cIt sounds like he’ll play. We prepare for him to play, and if he doesn’t, it’s\u00a0definitely a\u00a0bonus.\u00a0don’t think you can stop him. We’ve tried a few things on him over the years, with the tag and no tag, and we’ve had some success in both. And\u00a0then we’ve also not had success with him getting off the chain.\u00a0So\u00a0we know what sort of player is, even when he’s not getting the ball, he’s an influence on his teammates. And we’re aware of that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Carr on the Western Bulldogs\u00a0
\u201cThey move the footy (well). They’ve got some guys that can use the footy in their back half. Bailey Dale’s elite with his ball use. They’re quite aggressive from the D 50. So it’s an opportunity for us to get our team D right, but on the other side of that, we\u2019ve got to make sure we use the footy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you don’t get\u00a0(your balance)\u00a0right, they’ll find you out. We saw that in the start of the game last week versus\u00a0Freo. Their\u00a0ability to use their hands, I think\u00a0their\u00a0first goal came off\u00a0a\u00a0chain of about 10\u00a0or\u00a012 handballs\u00a0and\u00a0a shot on goal.\u00a0So\u00a0if you\u2019re\u00a0just a half a second off, they’ll make you pay.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Port Adelaide will face the Bulldogs for the first time in 2026. Image: Matt Sampson.<\/p>\n
Carr on Zak Butters\u00a0
\u201cHe’s captain of our footy club right now in-game.\u00a0So\u00a0he’s an integral part of the leadership and the way we go about our footy, and his energy, the way he leads the group, is so important to the way that we’re playing. And he’s been super.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand the landscape and what AFL footy looks like. We’ve got\u00a0our\u00a0hand up for\u00a0a number of\u00a0players to bring them home and be back in South Australia.\u00a0So\u00a0I get it. As I’ve said in the past, it’s about us creating an environment that everyone wants to be at. Now, if they don’t, I want it to be hard for\u00a0them\u00a0to leave.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Carr on Connor\u00a0Rozee\u2019s\u00a0recovery\u00a0
\u201cThat\u00a0was his first run\u00a0(today), and he felt great. He’s, I’d say, on time. We\u2019ve\u00a0still got a fair bit of time to get through before he’s going to be ready. But it’s quite positive. He’s had some great energy around the group in the last couple of weeks, and his leadership hasn’t gone unnoticed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Carr on\u00a0Jordon Sweet\u00a0
\u201cHe’s had a good season. I think he’s starting to understand what his game looks like. Can get a little bit carried away with his kicking sometimes, but the aggression that he plays with, he\u2019s\u00a0starting to understand his strengths and bringing that to the group. And his development over the last three years has been enormous.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Carr has praised Jordon Sweet’s development since coming across to Alberton in 2024. Image: Matt Sampson.<\/p>\n
Carr on playing two rucks\u00a0
\u201cIt\u2019s\u00a0been great. At the start of the year, I didn’t think about playing two rucks, and\u00a0you fall into it sometimes, and happy to go with it. It’s been working for\u00a0us, and\u00a0given us a good look forward\u00a0of\u00a0the footy, and given us a contest when we need it. But at the same time,\u00a0being\u00a0able to change the CBs\u00a0up when it hasn’t been working for us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Carr on Jack Whitlock\u00a0
\u201cHe’s been huge this year,\u00a0he\u2019s a\u00a0second-year player,\u00a0and\u00a0a lot has fallen on his shoulders as a key position player at this level. He\u00a0just seems to find improvement week to week and\u00a0keeps\u00a0getting better. And he’s always open to growth and learning. And\u00a0it\u00a0was nice to see him get rewarded for his year\u00a0(with a Rising Star nomination), and he just shows glimpses each week that he’s going to be a good player for us for a long time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe works hard at his game. I guess he never feels like he owns it. He just goes, I\u2019ve got to\u00a0get better all the time. And\u00a0looking for little improvement. And\u00a0it’s\u00a0credit to Reeva\u00a0(Darren Reeves)\u00a0and Mitch\u00a0Clisby, the two forwards\u00a0coaches\u00a0working on his game and giving him confidence.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Carr on Corey Durdin\u00a0
\u201cThere\u2019s\u00a0a lot of trust with\u00a0Durds, and what he brings to our team\u00a0around his role.\u00a0Sometimes\u00a0he\u00a0might not get a lot of the footy, but he brings defensive pressure, he brings some leadership in amongst our group, and he brings calmness amongst the group.\u00a0So\u00a0you feel like his game has grown and getting better and\u00a0I\u2019d love him\u00a0to be rewarded with a bit more footy and but that’s not the be all\u00a0and\u00a0end all for him, we know what he brings, and he definitely plays\u00a0his role well and brings great energy\u00a0within the\u00a0group.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Josh Carr says his side will need to be at its best to claim victory over the Bulldogs.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6456,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[395,603],"class_list":{"0":"post-6455","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-adelaide","8":"tag-adelaide","9":"tag-text"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6455","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6455"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6455\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}