What is your favourite finals memory?
Josh Thomas: Being a Brisbane Lions fan growing up, winning three premierships in a row. I actually went to the 2003 one when we won the third against Collingwood ironically. That was pretty special.
Heath Shaw: The 2010 Grand Final followed by winning in Perth against West Coast in the Semi-Final (in 2007).
Scott Pendlebury: The Grand Final and the West Coast extra-time game were my favourites.
Lachlan Keeffe: You can’t go past the Granny win. I didn’t play in it but I was there but just the excitement of the boys on the ground after the game – not just the boys but the staff and everyone involved. I also remember the Semi-Final where Jack Anthony kicked that goal with about 20 seconds to go to win us the game. I think we were 20 points down at half time and I remember Dicky kicking a few goals. That was a pretty exciting match. I don’t really fist pump too often during games but I was up and about at that one.
Brodie Grundy: When I first started playing footy, I remember Luke Ball snapping a goal to get Collingwood into the Grand Final (against Hawthorn in 2011).
Who is Collingwood’s best big game performer?
Josh Thomas: I think Scott Pendlebury. He loves the big stage and seems to sort of get himself up for it and kick crucial goals at crucial times.
Heath Shaw: You’d say Pendles. He’s right up there. Maybe Brodie Grundy might announce himself this year?
Scott Pendlebury: I think a guy that will announce himself as a big time player is Joshy Thomas. I think his game will stack up in finals.
Lachlan Keeffe: I think we’ve seen in the short time that he’s been out there that Brodie Grundy, for a 19 year old, is mature in so many different ways. He’s keeping Darren Jolly out of the team and he’s a two-time premiership player. He’s only 19 so he’s just going to get bigger and better and he’s one bloke that’s not going to get overawed. He’ll step up in finals.
Brodie Grundy: Dids is a good big stage player. He injects so much energy into the team and the crowd gets around him. It certainly lifts us up.
What is the biggest change in the way the team is set up for this year’s finals series compared with 2012?
Josh Thomas: I wasn’t really a part of last year but we had a bit of a meeting this morning and Bucks said that he thinks we’re better set and we’ve got better momentum going and we’ve actually got a better depth of players to choose from so I think we’re in better shape than last year despite the fact that we’re not in the top four.
Heath Shaw: New faces, a new game plan and obviously trying to win a premiership from sixth.
Scott Pendlebury: I think it’s just another year with Bucks and the game plan’s a bit more cemented. I think our last month of footy’s been really good.
Lachlan Keeffe: You never want to use an excuse but injuries were massive for us last year. I feel like we’ve got the depth and a weight in numbers type set up and going into the finals, I feel like even though we finished top four last year, I think that both me and the team as well feel like we’re in a better position than we were last year. Obviously it’s not ideal – if you finish top four and win you’re in home finals the whole way so we may have to go interstate if we win at some stage. That’s not ideal but I reckon we’re definitely in a better spot than last year.
Brodie Grundy: We’ve done the work with the Leading Teams stuff. I reckon our attitude and perception towards giving and receiving feedback has been great. Our ability to be open-minded to different concepts and not taking things personally has also been really good in comparison to when I was in Utah when were just starting to work on it and develop the scheme for the season.
How will you approach the six-day break?
Josh Thomas: It’s probably just a bit shorter and sharper on the track with the main session and then you’re going to recover more. You’re just trying to focus on getting yourself right.
Heath Shaw: It’s just rest and recovery. Get through the week and ready to peak come Saturday.
Scott Pendlebury: For me it’s just sticking to what’s worked in the past and trust the fitness guys. We’ll be ready to go.
Lachlan Keeffe: I think sometimes with the recovery and rehab nowadays, six day breaks aren’t the end of the world because the time and effort that you put in to get ready for that week. Last week was good because we were coming off two six-day and one seven day break and I reckon a lot of boys needed that nine day break but I like the six day break because you’ve got the one main session and then you’ve got the captain’s run so it’s short, sharp and pretty intense.
Brodie Grundy: I just go about my thing day-by-day, really. I’ll just top up with recovery, do more of that, do a bit of Pilates and do a fair bit of work on vision and talking to coaches about this week.
What is the one thing that sticks in your mind from the last game against Port Adelaide?
Josh Thomas: When we played them at AAMI Stadium they surprised me with just how good they were and how hard they run. They were good at the contested ball as well. I’d never played them before. I’d seen a bit of them but they really surprised me with how well they played.
Heath Shaw: I think it was very open. For a defender I felt their forward line was very open. I don’t like them played like that – I want them to be slowed down with long bombs in. It’s going to be a tough game, fast footy and hopefully we can get over the line.
Scott Pendlebury: I think it shows that if we’re off tackle wise, most sides will get through us and Port were able to do that.
Lachlan Keeffe: I just remember how they went about it. I’m sure most people have been pretty surprised with the way Port have gone this year. Our tackling and pressure was something that we pride ourselves on and they were on top of us during that game. It wasn’t just the first tackle, it was weight in numbers, second, third, fourth efforts and that kind of stuff. We said after the game that they were harder for longer and we relented which goes against our values. That was one thing, I guess, that we’d like to turn around.
Brodie Grundy: It was in Adelaide so I was thinking about my mates back home. One of my best mates is a Port Adelaide supporter and I actually messaged him on Saturday night and I was like ‘bad luck about the loss (to Carlton)’, he got so angry so I was just thinking how he would be getting stuck into me. Hopefully we get up this week and get one back on him!
Sum up your thoughts ahead of Saturday night’s game in one word:
Josh Thomas: Excited.
Heath Shaw: Excited.
Scott Pendlebury: Excited.
Lachlan Keeffe: Excited.
Brodie Grundy: …epic.
