CALDER Cannons coach Andrew Jago was firm in stating that errors made during the final quarter resulting in goals were not ones that would be met with individual blame.
Jago’s counterpart Torin Baker was proud of his team’s performance and praised defensive efforts as the Jets held on by two points.
The Jets set up their match-winning lead from back-to-back goals which capitalised on errant kicking in the Calder defensive 50m.
Calder ran out of time as it surged last to try to retake the lead.
“There were mistakes in every quarter. No way am I going to blame it on something deep in the last quarter,” Jago said.
“The players came off the ground thinking about it, and I said to them no one player wins a game, no one player loses a game.
“I won’t let them believe that an individual is responsible for a win or loss.
“Decisions under pressure are something we need to keep working at.
“I think we had the chance early in the game to open the gap more in our favour.”
Jago said his team left the game with more positives than negatives.
“We asked our backline to be a bit more aggressive this week and they were, as far as getting overlap handball, using width and generating run from behind.
“Jason Cooke has barely played for 12 months. We knew we could only get 40 per cent game time from him. Our conditioning staff have been very strict on it, so I think his time on the ground was very good.”
Jets coach Torin Baker hammered the message about winning clearances at his three-quarter time address and his midfield responded.
“Credit has to go to the midfielders; they changed the game after the first quarter.
“The players are really buying in to the pressure we need to put on the opposition.
“Nick Jones’s effort in the third quarter, where he had to go back against a 200cm player and he’s standing 175cm . . . he spoiled the ball for us to get a goal.
“It’s huge for self-belief and gives us something out on the ground. Attacks like those drive team culture.”
