DAVID Teague spoke to the media following the Round 16 win against Fremantle.

Here is what Teague had to say about the Blues.

On responding to Fremantle’s pressure:

“They showed great character. I love the passion they played with today. Freo were probably on top of us, particularly in the contest and around the clearances. They were beating us quite convincingly. I thought our defenders’ ability to hold up and be strong behind the ball was very good. As a collective, as a group, I thought they found a way to just impact – even when they were out of position. They dug deep and they impacted. It would have been nice to have taken a couple more of our opportunities in the last quarter, but I think Freo throughout the day would have had a similar feeling. They missed some opportunities throughout the game, so we’re probably lucky that we kicked straight earlier."

On resilience and growth:

“It’s probably not a growth moment, I’ve seen it before. This group has been behind plenty of games and come back with great energy and great passion. It’s probably a position where we’ve been in front and then been challenged and how we’ve handled it. It’s probably another opportunity. We’ve done it well on a couple of occasions, but at times we haven’t. We’re continually learning, there were some great learning moments out of that game as well, but as a group I thought they showed how much they really wanted it and played with that passion. That was probably missing for three weeks. We had three games where we didn’t see it, but – to the players credit, they’ve worked had and continued to train hard. I haven’t lost any belief in this group. I still believe in this group, greatly. We’ve still got a lot of work to do, but I think our defence over the last two weeks has been a lot more solid and their ability to connect from lines has really improved”

On Sam Walsh:

“He’s an elite runner and he’s one that will find ways late in game. He’s a competitor. He’s had a few guys go to him throughout the year. When he gets his run going, he finds space and he works really hard. Sam was great for us again today. We needed him to play a little bit more on the wing today, he’s probably played a little bit more in the middle and we know he’s been such a good midfielder. We needed a bit of run and he put his hand up and said ‘Yep, coach. No worries.’ I thought he played out on the wing well for us and we had Matthew Kennedy and Paddy Dow who probably had a bit more on-ball time. Walshy allowed them to do that by being selfless and playing his role on the wing.”

On Paddy Dow:  

“He’s continuing to grow. What we’ve loved is the way he’s trained. I think he’s starting to understand how to get the best out of himself on a game day from his preparation. I think the last two weeks have shown that he’s able to impact the games – we’ve known it’s there and it’s probably been a little bit of belief. He had to do it and now he’s starting to do it. I thought his power, his ability to win clearances and his ball use going away from there is something he’s worked really hard on and something that we’re starting to see the fruits of. I think the forwards’ eyes are starting to light up when he gets it, because he’s got a great ability to get out of the traffic and then balance with the kick.”

“We’d love to keep him playing in that midfield/half-forward role. It’s up to the individual. Him and Matthew Kennedy are probably two who have grabbed it of late and put their hand up. We know Walshy has been quite good, we know that Ed Curnow is also another player who has spent a bit of time at centre bounces who has gone out to allow these guys to go in there. He’s been really strong for us with his run outside as well. We’ll look to play our best mix and if they’re in for and they earn the right to play in there then. To wear the Carlton Footy jumper you have to work really hard and you have to play with a passion. I think a couple of guys have done that and worked really hard and they’ve show that they’re playing with a real belief. They’re getting a job done.”

On Cripps’ injury:

“I’m not sure how bad that is. He’s got a sore foot. We’ll go get that checked out and see exactly what that is. He was pretty confident and said that it felt ok except for kicking. If he got a knock on it at certain times it would hurt for a bit, but then after about a 100m run it would start to feel better again. He’s obviously a brave leader. I thought some of his tackles, his bodywork around the contest and even late I know he grabbed the boys in at ¾ time. I know this game meant a lot to him and he really grabbed them and jelled them. I thought the response at ¾ time, after Freo probably had the better of the game at the end of the third, was great and to see the leader grab them was something pleasing as well.”

On the impact of back-to-back wins:  

“It’s important to play the way that we want to play, that’s what I care about. I think our defence has improved over the last couple of weeks, as I mentioned earlier, I think we’re a bit more connected. Having said that, I thought our backs were super today across the board – all seven of them. It’s about playing our way, I thought our ball movement was good at times. They were dropping back in front of Harry and I thought we lowered our eyes and used some other targets. There were some pleasing aspects so, for me, it’s how we go about the game, how we play and the energy we bring. That’s what I really enjoyed today.”

On Jacob Weitering:

“He’s been super. He’s had a really great season. When he’s in a contest, I think his teammates have so much belief in him. He’s confident in those positions, whether it’s spoiling, whether it’s marking – his ability to make the right decisions at the right times is a great skill to have. He’s been outstanding, he’s hardly had his colours lowered. Next week he’ll get a great challenge again coming-up against Geelong, who obviously have some potent forwards down there. We’ll look to Jacob to get his job done again and I have no doubt that he’ll prepare well to do that."

On Tom De Koning v Sean Darcy: 

“Sean’s playing some great footy, he’s in great form. There’s some great learning. He’s probably trying to jump at D50 stoppages and Sean was trying to grab it out of the air and then he adjusted, then late in the game made a really important tackle. He’s going to learn. He’s still in the early parts of development, particularly for a ruckman. Last week he did a lot against Riley O’Brien and he came up against another quality one today in Sean Darcy, he’ll keep getting better. He’ll keep learning, he’ll keep reviewing and we have a lot of belief in him going forward.