Gold Coast Suns ruckman Jarrod Witts has detailed his philosophy of simplicity, after coach Damien Hardwick placed his All-Australian credentials firmly on the agenda.
Speaking after their 66-point routing of rivals Brisbane on the weekend, Dimma implored the media to 'start having the conversation about how good this guy's become', referencing the consistently excellent form of the club's former skipper.
"Can I make a statement about Jarrod Witts ... I watched TV the other day that had a list of ruckmen that are in the mix, go and have a look at what our guy has done to those guys," Hardwick said.
"Start having the conversation about how good this guy has become. He's been unbelievable, so just have a deeper dive into it to see what he's actually become."
Witts, ahead of the Round 21 clash against Richmond, said he'd "take" the praise, but remained modest about his coach's assessment.
"I'll take it," Witts said, sporting a wry smile.
"There are obviously some quality guys going around the competition, I just enjoy the challenge of getting to verse (sic) those guys throughout the year. That's out of my control, and it will end where it ends," he added, of his All-Australian prospects.
"I try to keep it as simple as possible - compete hard, win hit outs, and get my guys into the game. I've got some great players at my feet and around the footy, as much as we can have them running out of stoppage and the ball in their hands, that's only gonna do good things for us.
"I love those guys, I love what they bring, I think we complement each other really well," he said of his midfield colleagues in Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson.
Anderson, now 24, inherited the solo captaincy this season, after Witts and Touk Miller stewarded the playing group for three seasons. Witts has nothing but praise for the job the Oakleigh Chargers product is doing, despite being the youngest skipper in the league.
"It's been so impressive how Noah and the leadership group have been able to run things and how smooth the transition has been. I think it's been a good decision for me to step back and let Noah take the reins, and he's doing such a good job. I'm obviously there to support him in a different capacity - I think it's working really well."
The dominant performance over the reigning premiers provided stark contrast to their disappointing showing the week prior, where the Suns were embarrassed by fellow top-four fancies Adelaide. Witts credits the coaching staff for the rapid turnaround.
"Dimma talks about losing as a gift, and you can learn a lot from it, and I think we did; we took a lot out of that Adelaide game. We played parts of that game quite well; we gave ourselves a chance. We had more inside 50s; we were getting the supply. It was just the way we were moving the ball; we weren't really challenging their defence," Witts said.
"I think you saw on the weekend, the way we were able to move the ball against Brisbane, really challenged their defence, and we were able to be a bit more potent going inside.
"It‘s a real nod to the coaches to give us a couple of simple things to take away from that game, and for us to go out and execute was really important. I think we did that quite well," he said.
Witts is due to renew hostilities with Toby Nankervis this weekend, and is relishing another opportunity to test himself against the combative Tigers skipper.
"He's been a great player for a long time. I really enjoy coming up against the best, and he's one of those. I'm looking forward to the challenge, and it's always a good battle between us."
Witts also addressed his mentoring of young tall Ethan Read, who continues to exhibit glimpses of the talent that saw him taken inside the top 10 of the 2023 draft.
"He's going really well," Witts said.
"I tell him to stick to the process; he works so hard. You can see glimpses in his game - in more and more patches, he's having a really big impact on our team, and I think that's only going to continue.
"He's hungry to get better, and that's all you want in a young fella. He's impatient; it is something that's going to take time, but I like that about him. He wants it now, and he's not stopping for anything. Wherever I can impart a little bit of wisdom on him, I'll try to, but he's going to be a great player in his own right," he finished.
The Suns host coach Damien Hardwick's former side Richmond, at People First Stadium on Saturday afternoon, aiming to frank their top four credentials.
