Bailey highlighted his side’s ‘one-percenters’ - such as James Frawley’s chase on Swan Lewis Jetta down the Southern Stand wing - as factors in the win. Frawley’s pressure resulted in a Jetta fumble, when the dasher looked set to break clear.
“I think our chasing from the side and behind was really important. A couple of the really quick chases that Frawley and [Jack] Watts put on - even though they didn’t result in a tackle - at least slowed Jetta down,” he said
“The long chases, the tackling and pressure around the footy - and off the footy - was really good. It was a terrific effort.
“I think all our players not only had an effective tackle, but their contested possession stuff was pretty good. It was a pretty good performance I thought.”
Despite the outstanding win, Bailey did not want to refer back to the season that ‘could have been’ had it produced similar efforts earlier this year.
“I don’t really allow myself to talk about ‘maybes’ or ‘could have beens’ or ‘should haves’,” he said.
“We’ve only won the number of games we have. If you dwell on the past, you forget about what you’re doing next week and the week after. We had our chances in those games and we didn’t take them. It is what it is.
“Today at least we played well for three quarters and [although] we didn’t win the last quarter, it’s three more quarters we won. I think our decision making was good and our blokes worked really hard for each other.”
Bailey also praised the efforts of midfielder/forward Colin Sylvia, who collected a game-high 28 disposals.
“When he came back from his first game against the Tigers [in round four, this year] he was good,” he said.
“Since he’s come back from his toe [injury], I think he has consistently been one of our better trainers as well.
“His training form has gone into the game. He was good, we had some good help around him and that always helps.”
