IT STARTS at the contest.

That was the overarching message from AFL Senior Coach Michael Voss ahead of tomorrow's home clash with Fremantle.

This is what he had to say.

On defensive changes:

“We’re obviously looking for continuity in that particular area. 

“What I’ve loved is the way they’ve gone about it. It’s all about next person in and they’ve been really strong in the standards they’re after. 

“They’re doing a great job of being able to do that and we expect nothing different for this week.”

On what Brodie Kemp will bring:

“He’s really big on being able to play both ends of the ground. From day dot, he has wanted us to explore that and we’ve been happy to facilitate that where it’s needed. 

“There have been times where we’ve played him forward to enhance his skillset: he’s still developing a lot of his craft, he’s still quite young. We’ve also given him some exposure down back, so he’s more than capable of being able to come in and be able to do that job for us based on what he’s been able to do this season.”

On expectations of inclusions:

“Every time we get a new person in there, it’s about winning your own battle. 

“It’s no different, what we expect from [Kemp] to what we expect from Sam Docherty and playing his role. We don’t need any heroes in the way we play. 

“We need guys that really value the important parts of the game. We’ve got to make sure we get our contested game tidy and join in on defence when we need to and play our role: we’ve all got a responsibility around that.”

On the possibility of Jack Silvagni swinging into defence:

“There may be some genuine banter between he and his dad! What we’ve tried to do is keep things pretty stable. 

“It’s a possibility if we need it and it has always been there if we needed to take it. Conversations we’ve had with Jack right throughout the season is he’s been quite prepared to play wherever he is required. 

“I’m sure he’d be happy to put his hand up if needed, but without declaring too much, we’ll try and keep things pretty stable.”

On Jacob Weitering’s return:

“Timelines haven’t changed. I know there has been a fair bit of speculation, but there are a few milestones which he needs to tick off. He’s joined in on some really basic drills. 

“This won’t be about whether he’s ready to come back and play, because he’s got a body of work that says he’ll be fine. It’s completely about the rehab from his shoulder and when that becomes strong enough, then we’ll play him.”

On addressing the territory battle:

“We have, because any week [76 inside 50s] isn’t a profile that we’d like to have. If the ball is on our back half like that, then it’ll be a very long day for all of us. 

“Somehow at the back-end of all of that [last week], we were able to fight our way through… and put ourselves in a winning position. 

“But clearly we’d like more territory on the field — we’d like an even look. It’s not about trying to dominate one particular area of the game, but having a balanced view of the way we go about it. You need all phases to be a strong football team.”

On the importance of the contest:

“If we look back at the last time we played Fremantle, their contest was far better than ours. It starts for us there. 

“You’ve heard me talk about how important that is to us and where we’re going to build our method and base from. It’s always going to be off our pressure around the ball and our contest method. 

“If we’re able to get some strong field position off the back of it, that’s a real bonus: we’ve gone to work on that.”

On the potential of a top-four scalp:

“It’s significant, but we call on the players to play the same way every week. 

“I can’t really recall a moment where I’ve said ‘this game is bigger than another’. If you project out, I’m sure you could nominate a number of games as a big one coming up. The danger is sometimes you can float into that space. 

“The reality is we have to be firmly fixed on what’s in front of us. We understand that in the back-end of the year, there are always consequences to whether you win or lose. Our challenge is staying totally present.”

On the lessons from Round 6:

“The last time we played them, they challenged us in a few areas. We’ve got to be methodical in the way we go about it. 

“The last time we played, I felt like they were able to get the contest in their favour and their midfield group was a really impressive group — but it doesn’t stop there. 

“There’s a tendency to go after one or two individuals, but any team that is going well relies on a number of players to get the job done. It’s not one particular person. We know the challenge ahead of us and we’ll need our best, to be better for longer.”

On Jack Newnes’ milestone:

“I can’t speak to the body of work that he’s been able to do over a long period of time, but 200 games means you’ve got to have an element of durability and reliability. 

“In my time here, that’s what he has provided for us. He’s had some real reliability around his role, he’s a big runner so he’s able to run the lanes that wingers are asked to run and use the ball pretty well. 

“He’s a well-liked player around our Club of high character. From my time here, he’s been really reliable and that’s all we’re asking him to do. It’s a fair reward for him to play 200 games.”