Scott on handling the five-day break

We didn't lock it in but when the fixture came out, we were obviously thoughtful about this period.

We are not fearful of the five day break at all, I am not encouraging the AFL to give us heaps of them.

But we have a pretty good record coming off the shorter breaks and again, without celebrating our high performance team too much, we think in part we have had success with the shorter breaks because there has been some thought going into how we navigate this period.

Some fresh players coming back will help, but it is very likely that we will chop one or two out with a view to the subsequent couple of weeks. 

Scott on the status of Gryan Miers and Mark Blicavs

They are good.

We need to double check that everything is okay, but the signs are good.

We put our team in tomorrow, but they will definitely be in our squad.

So we are on the road tomorrow and unless something happens between now and when the plane leaves, they will be on it. Jack Henry as well. 

Scott on whether Mullin will go to McLuggage

Possibly. We have got such a high regard for him, but it is not a reflection on Hugh at all that it is a pretty tight contest.

They have stacked so much talent over the years that, put it this way, if we decide to play a negating role on one of them, it is unlikely we will make a mistake choosing who we choose.

You could throw a blanket over them but again, I think I have said this before, it is generally an error to become too focused on any one player in the opposition.

I have had the question put to me a little bit about Oisin's role over the last couple of weeks and I repeat what I said then, that we have long stopped thinking about him as purely a negating player.

He does ask some questions of the opposition as well, which we would like to see continue to evolve. 

Scott on the ruck battle

We are still thinking about that.

We were really happy with Rhys, but we have been really happy with Mitch as well.

You might be sick of me saying this over and over again, we are a bit more horses for courses. We don't think about what our best team is in any one week, it is more a reflection of balancing a lot of different priorities.

I think I said last week that it was likely that we were a bit too conservative with Mitch Edwards, but when you win the game and come away having managed a guy like that, you sort of feel vindicated to some extent.

It is the old nice problem to have, we have got some availability and guys we will be happy to have in the team. Which way we go, we haven't quite settled on just yet. 

Scott on Toby Conway's progress

It is slow and it is frustrating. I feel similar about Toby, let's call it the last year has been really frustrating for him, but I am as bullish as ever.

That might sound overly optimistic, but we are just so committed to the player that we think he can become long term.

There is a real confidence that although his injury issues are slow at the moment, that they are surmountable. It is nice to see him out there, he is just getting little wins here and there that keep him going.

It is nice to see, but I am not sugarcoating the fact that it has been really frustrating and brutally difficult for him.

I appreciate the chance publicly just to clarify the way we feel about it, we are committed to him long term.