A TOUGH Anzac Day clash in Tasmania saw Carlton stand up in a hostile environment, holding off the Devils in front of a packed crowd.
After the match, VFL Senior Coach Damian Truslove praised the group’s composure and maturity, saying it was a performance the group could be proud of given the pressure and atmosphere they faced.
Here is what he had to say.
On the win on the road in Tassie:
“I’m so proud of the boys. We’ve been in really good form, but to put it together tonight in a hostile environment with 14,500 people who were here… they came at us hard in the third quarter, but we steadied and showed a lot of maturity. It’s an excellent win.”
On Jack Ison’s third-quarter impact:
“It was huge, it just swung the momentum our way.
“He’s such a talented player and when he’s up and about he is so hard to stop, so that was massive for the game.”
On what pleased him most over four quarters:
“The way we controlled the ball and played the style of footy we wanted to play, we didn’t want to play into their hands and play quick footy all the time.
“We controlled it really well, changed angles and got a lot of uncontested marks when we needed it – our pressure and fight around the contest was excellent.”
On individual standouts:
“There was a fair few - I think everyone had their time. Our captain [on Saturday night], Blake Acres was really important at times.
“Hewett and Chesser in the midfield, Flynn Riley in the ruck was outstanding all night. It’s hard to individualise because we had so many performers.
“In the backline, Boyd was really good and Billy Wilson was clearly best on the ground tonight off half-back.”
On the performances of the team’s key defenders:
“[Matt Duffy’s] contest work has improved out of sight, his spoiling, his bodywork it’s really improving.
“Then you add Jack Sammartino who is undersized who played a really important role tonight and Dane Harvey another VFL boy who played on a big monster down there, he did a fantastic job.”
On looking ahead to St Kilda:
“It’s a big game against St Kilda next Saturday so we will get the boys back tomorrow, straight into recovery and review and then we will move onto St Kilda which is our next game.
“We love playing [at IKON Park]. We are excited to go back there and if we maintain the pressure and they style of footy we’re playing, we will be pretty hard to beat.”
