Adam Goodes spares all

Adam Goodes answered questions from the media and said the missed opportunity will drive the players next year…

What is the mood after losing to the Bulldogs by five points?
We are going to reflect and see the missed opportunity. To be 30 points up against a top four side in the second quarter, and for them to put two goals on us in two minutes, our structures broke down and it deflated us at half time and for them, they were going to come out in the second half and challenge us and they did and we didn’t really respond in that third quarter and that was really disappointing.

I thought we were in a very good position in that second quarter to go into half time 30 points up and have a lot of momentum but they are a good side and they challenged us and we really didn’t respond.

What did Roosy say in the rooms after the game?

The main point was that it was a missed opportunity. We lost by five points to a top four side and we were one kick away from getting to a preliminary final against St Kilda next weekend.

That is the harsh reality of it. We’ve got to deal with that. It has to burn for six months until, for me anyway, I play the next game of footy. Roosy and Kirky are not going to be involved in that. For the rest of us, it is going to burn because finals footy is a tough business and you have to be on your guard. You have to win every single contest to contribute to winning a game of footy and we’re all going to look back on the contests that we lost on the weekend and how they impacted on us losing by a goal.

You’ve said a few times it has felt like 2003. Does it feel that success you had after 2003 is on the way?

I hope so, I really do. Looking back on the year and the games we lost and how we went in the finals, I’d like to think we’re a top four side. I’m not going to make predictions on where we’re going to be next year but as a group we should be confident we’re a good team, we’ve got some really good players and there’s something to really look forward to, but at the end of day we missed a real opportunity to play a preliminary final against St Kilda.

It was a real chance wasn’t it? You weren’t punching above your weight?
No, not at all. We were 30 points up. 52 to 22 in the second quarter and playing great football and you slip two goals in two minutes to a good side and they take the momentum into half time.

You go in a bit head down and thinking what happened in that two minutes and come out after half time and they lift, you don’t rise and they take the lead and before you know it the challenge is right in front of you. You miss a couple of easy goals and before you know it, the game is over and you look back on those individual incidents.

To lose by a kick is the worst thing. I’d rather lose by 10 goals than lose by a kick after being up by 30 points.

Finals are what you play for. We’ve been on the end of the worst defeats, losing a grand final by one point but I thought we had the game in control in that first half.

We are all going to reflect back on this game and think how did we lose that? But we played against good opposition, they are going to challenge us and they did and in a way they deserved to win the game.

Is it sad that Kirky and Roosy don’t get the farewell they really wanted?

It is so sad. Some will think the last game at the SCG was their send off. I will look back at that and it was a great day for us, we really did send them off at the SCG very well but we didn’t give the effort this Saturday night that we should have for four quarters and if we had, I’ve got no doubt we would have got over the line..that is the harsh reality and that is what finals footy is about. If you don’t come out and play 120 minutes of quality football, you will lose.

It was a surreal feeling after the game. I remember sitting next to Kirky and asking him, what does it feel like mate? That’s it. And he said it was just so surreal.

I feel in a way we are going to play footy next week. I know that we are not, but that is just the way we are programmed. There is always next week but there isn’t for us and that is something I have a long time to think about.

I have to back up in eight weeks time for pre-season. There will be a lot of burning from that loss against the Bulldogs, and for a lot of our players that will be the motivation for next pre-season and going into next year.

A lot of players, myself included, will reflect on those instances in the game where we could have had an impact and could have helped us win the game.

How was Daniel Bradshaw after the game – he missed a couple of chances he would normally get?

I think Braddy played a fantastic game. To come in and have seven scoring shots, he’s been out of the team for so long and created such a great contest for us up forward. It was a fantastic effort. We would have loved him to kick seven goals straight but you can’t expect that in a final. We just wanted him to come in and create a contest and I thought he played a good role for us at full forward.

Once the disappointment is gone, do you think you’ll look back on this as a remarkable season?

I hope so. You look back and question injuries to key players and there were blokes who really stepped up this year. But the reality of it is that we were one kick away from making a preliminary final against St Kilda.

No matter what team we put on the paddock, our game plan holds up in finals footy and we should be proud of that, but we should also have won that game of footy. I have no doubt about that, we should have won.

Now that Kirky is gone, do you feel a responsibility to maintain the culture?

Definitely, it is my role to help drive that culture and what we started eight years ago under Roosy. I will be looking forward to getting back in eight weeks.

I’m disappointed I’m not involved in the next two weeks of footy because that is what you play for but I’ll be back on the first day of pre-season, driving our culture, driving the boys.

The game of footy we play at the Swans, it holds up. We know it does, if we all chip in and put in, we can win as many games as we want to win.

Will much change under John ‘Horse’ Longmire?

Horse will have his different techniques but the core values of the football club, the behaviours will be the same. The game plan might change a little bit but the core values will still be there and that is what drives us at the football club.