COACH Simon Goodwin has applauded the efforts of the forward group after Saturday night’s performance against the Saints.

After facing scrutiny during the week, an unfazed Demon forward line was clinical in front of goal, with hopes to continue that form this Friday night and beyond.

Questions were asked about the form of Kysaiah Pickett and Ben Brown’s return to the side, with Goodwin also providing an update on Clayton Oliver, looking ahead to this week’s prime time clash against Brisbane.

Forward Mix

“There's been a lot of talk around our efficiency, our inside 50 connections and our ability to hit the scoreboard,” Goodwin says.

“It was a step forward…our ability to hit the scoreboard, be efficient, and ultimately win the game on the back of that is something that was really pleasing.

“That's something that we're going to continue to look at and get better at, whether that be our type of entry, our personnel, or our ability with the type of entries that we have.

“We'll continue to place Christian where we think the game needs. That could be in the forward half of the ground, it could be around the ball at times.

“The core essence of our game in terms of the way we defend and the way we win contests is still really strong.”

Kozzy Pickett's Form

“Obviously on the weekend he was a little bit quieter with a lot of attention…” Goodwin says.

“Our responsibility as a coaching group is to make sure that we maximize the strengths of our team and our personnel.

“So we'll continue to look at ways to get ‘Kozzy’ involved in the game and give him more opportunity in certain areas… He's a really important player to us.

“He's working incredibly hard, and if you work hard in this game, you train well, the game pays you back.”

Oliver Injury

“It's a really difficult hamstring in terms of the fact that it's a muscle that is really close to the tendon, with some tendon involvement.” Goodwin stated.

“We have an amazing medical team and high performance team that have managed our list incredibly well for three or four years now.

“We're really confident with the program, it just needs more time. We just need to manage in the right way.”

Ben Brown Return To The Team

“We were happy with how Browny played. It wasn't just he had three shots on goal, he generated another one, he got a free kick, he got a play on.” Goodwin says

“It's not only that, it's his leadership. It's the ability to run good patterns and work with great synergy within the forward line group.

“Between both Ben and Jake Melksham together, with that experience, they made the forward line function just that little bit better.”

This Week Against Brisbane

“There's no doubt they're a terrific stoppage team and we saw that in Round 2 they dominated us at center bounce.” Goodwin says.

“That's an area of the game we've got to get right.

“We've had some great games against them.

“We're looking forward to [playing] in front of our supporters who make a difference for us when they come out in numbers… which we expect Friday night.”