"At half-time, if you want to look back, it was a bit similar to the grand final but this time we were able to come out and dictate play in the second half. It was disappointing to fall short but there were a lot of positives to take from it."

"We strive to be great. At the moment we're not great but we're a pretty good team. Still, the beauty of this game is that you get another chance next week, and we'll have another tough task."

"People may say well done guys, great effort, it's a credible loss against a great team. But we could have won that game. If we had played 100 per cent of the game the way we played the second half, we would have won it convincingly. But we didn't come to play the way we should have."

"We played pathetic in the first half and then came out in the second half and played how we like to play football. We play half a game of footy and get close to the best side in the country, so it's very positive, but saying that we know we've got a lot of improvement left in us."

"We won a lot of hit-outs and probably ended up with no real advantage, so it's something we'll work on. We've been the best stoppage team for the last three or four years now and that will hurt all of us in the midfield and make us strive to improve next week."

"Tredders is a recruit for us this year. Compared to last year he's moving 1000 times better, so he'll keep improving. Hopefully about mid-year we'll see the best of Wazza."

"In the second half we pretty much dominated, but missed too many shots on goal. Some of them were gimmes and we also gave a lot of free kicks away again, which was disturbing, especially around the stoppages early in the game."

"They were out on their feet, we were running over them, we had shots on goals and we should've won the game."

"A lot of the work we'd done with stoppages and hunting the ball, you couldn't see. I just encouraged them to show what they could do."

"Geelong is a bloody good side. They are going to be the measuring stick all year and we fell short, but not by much. I was encouraged by the efforts of the guys and that everyone kept at it."

"He showed that he can crash a pack and create some crumbs for the small forwards and also slot a few every now and then, kick a couple goals. Hopefully he'll have a big year."

"I thought Blakey and Westy against probably two of the best ruckmen going around in the competition really held their own well. Westy came off the ground and said he had to keep working on his strength, it was a real eye-opener for him about how strong you've got to be to be a senior ruckman."

"We tired a little bit toward the end, and Port Adelaide played very well, so we were a bit lucky to get over the line. But having said that, I thought we played well."

"They were up against two very experienced ruckmen, interstate, in a hostile environment. To get that under their belt they'll be better for it and can go on next week and be better again. They've both got a lot of character and a heap of ability."

"The opposition were never going to roll over. They're a pretty good outfit and to play them first up here and take the points you'd have to be happy."

"We would have loved to have played a better second half. We didn't, which means we've got a lot of things we can work on. We haven't seen some of our players make mistakes like that for a long while. That was a bit frustrating, but I suppose you've just got to get used to it and accept it, it is round one."

"It was a fast game early, a lot of running. Some of our guys struggled a bit with their fitness in the second half but I don't think there's anything to get worried about. The longer we play the better we'll get."