ONE of the Blues' most consistent performers so far this season, Dale 'Daisy' Thomas is thriving alongside fellow veteran Kade Simpson across half-back in 2018.
Following the bye weekend, the 30-year-old caught up with Carlton Media to speak about how he recharged over the short break, give his take on the first half of the season and explain why he's buoyed by what lies ahead:
What did you get up to over the bye-weekend break?
I had a really good break. I started with a haircut and a shave which is always nice. Then I just got down to the coast for a little bit. I spent some time with some friends and just relaxed. I got in the water a bit, and just took it easy. I’m really looking forward to the second half of the year.
How was the return to training on Monday?
The boys came back really eager to rip into their session. Today was really up-tempo and there were high spirits, which was really good, and as I said the rest of the group has had a really good, refreshing break and hopefully the second half of the year is really good for the whole list.
What are the key focuses heading into the second half of the season?
For the second half of the season we just really need to continue to build. We’ve had some really good patches and we’ve had some poor patches. We will be building on that consistency, and hopefully that comes and turns into some more wins. And we will focus on building the depth throughout the team. Hopefully we can do that. We’ve proved that we’re a really tight-knit group, and hopefully now that results in some wins in the second half of the year.
Dale Thomas says the Blues are a tight-knip group. (Photo: AFL Media)
What’s the focus for this Saturday’s match against Fremantle?
It’s a really big game this week against Fremantle. Obviously they have got stars all over the park so we’re going to have our work cut out for us. We’ll go in with a really strong plan and if we can execute that for as long as we can that’ll give us a chance to hopefully win the game, but we know they’re a quality opposition who are in some really good form so we’re going to have to build on our best game. I’m sure the boys will be nice and fresh and ready to rip in.
The Blues have shown some promising signs over the last couple of rounds. What has that done for the group’s confidence?
I think the couple of weeks leading into the bye – although the results didn’t go our way – the way we played and the way we were able to execute for long periods of time gives us confidence going into that back half of the year. If we can stay in games for a period of time we’ll give ourselves a chance to win them – it’s just the ability to take those chances when they appear. That will certainly be a focus going forward and hopefully for all the Blues fans and for the team we can get some more wins on the board.
Carlton will face Fremantle at Etihad Stadium from 1.45pm this Saturday afternoon. Click here to buy discounted $15 tickets, but you'll need to be quick!
