On ending the season with consecutive wins:

"Really important. I'd imagine in two years' time, we're probably sitting back and we're not necessarily referring back to this backend for the season, nor talking about it, but the choices we made through this period of time are pretty critical. We could have been that club that just gave the season away, probably had a reason too, injuries, external pressure, calls for change. And despite that, the group steadied, and the leaders acknowledged we needed to be better, and as younger players were coming in they wanted to lead the standard.

"Our leaders didn't want to rob the experience of younger players coming in and being able to get better, so we had a bit of a choice to make. The choice was to never give up and see the end of the season, and I think that's what we've seen. There's a lot to leverage off that, and that's the Club we want to continue to be known for, because ultimately we're defined by how consistent we are, and obviously we're not consistent enough yet as a footy club. Something we've got to work on, but certainly a lot we can take forward with us going into the pre-season. 

On sticking together in the off season:

"It can go either way, and it shows that despite it being unsteady and some shaky ground, we chose to stick together. There's been a lot of question marks on the players about their futures and where they're going to be, and despite that, they have stuck together. There's been a lot of question marks around my own role, people around me, and despite that, we've stuck together. I think that says a lot about a football team and a football club that you can do that and stay really present in what is happening and be determined to see out the season in the right way.

"I'm really grateful for the team that I've been a part of over this last period of time. We've got some seriously impressive individuals at this Club, and we keep talking about football clubs being built off great people, and we've got a lot of great people. We've had a shaky year, we've obviously clearly been humbled by the year, but we're going to take that information now and put it to work. We'll do that over the coming weeks, we'll talk about the specifics on what that actually looks like. But, if you just step back and zoom out for a second, we went after a few things and there was a lot to achieve out of these last four weeks."

On finishing 11th on the ladder:

"The ladder never lies, I'll always say that. The humility piece is we've got our feedback, and the feedback says were six games short (of the top eight). But that's been the season, and such is the quality of the opposition. it also talks to the high level that you need to be able to continue to show up and be. We haven't nailed all that yet, so we've obviously clearly got work to do. Despite the year, I still feel we walk away with so many things that we've come out of the year, I feel like our training environment is the best it's ever been... You want to see those consistent habits and choices that are made over those long periods of time, and we're closer to that. 

"Really pleased that we've seen the emergence of some younger players. I'm pleased that the leaders were willing to keep driving that standard and not rob them of the experience of being able to improve, and give them the support that they needed to be able to grow their own games, because its pretty tough being out there as a young player and having to try to be the difference, and that's not what we're asking them to be. We just need them to bring the energy and bring a real growth mindset to improve. As a result, the list will be in a healthier position, given the fact that we've invested a bit of time on what that depth might look like. And hopefully, it challenges some of our older players to be able to hold their positions, and that's when you're really going places as a footy team."

On consistency and execution: 

"Our consistency and execution was up and down the whole year. We had a constant narration of good first halves and poor second halves. That concentration and intensity, it was undulating, and you can't do that against good opposition, especially when you're talking about top eight sides... Many other parts of our game that we've improved from last year to this year, but we've still got to finish inside 50, and that was a constant source of frustration for us right throughout the whole season. We made a difference to the back half of the year, but it just took too long. So, we find ourselves in the position we did chasing the season and trying to chase that improvement, and it's been pretty hard... As a football club, we still haven't become that consistent home and away team that we need to be, and that's what we're going to continue to chase."

Building depth:

"(I'm) confident with what we've seen on the emergence of some players, thats why probably Harry O'Farrell going down with the ACL was a bit gut-wrenching. Two of our best young players, in Jagger and Harry, go down with ACL's, you don't see that too often.. We feel like that there's personnel that we can bring through, but we also know that we're going to have to add, it's not just going to come from growth within, we've got to find how we add and how we grow, and what are the parts that we need to go after."

On Francis Evans' recent form:

"He's just popped as a player in the second half of the year. He made a couple of little adjustments in his game, and from there, his confidence has just grown. He's got some great attributes, you've seen his finish... He's been in some great form and this game is about earning the right... We've loved his energy and what he's brought to us as a footy team in the back half of this year."

On Sam Walsh's return

"That says everything about Sam Walsh. He wasn't parking it, he wasn't putting the season to bed. People told us we shouldn't risk it, he wanted to play and that says so much about his leadership. That he wanted to see the season out and he wasn't giving up. When the news came through two weeks ago that he was playing, the lift you could see in the younger players, and even some of the older players, was pretty significant. I think we can underestimate ourselves and the influence we can have just merely by our presence sometimes."