St Kilda coach Ross Lyon has once again taken a thinly veiled swipe at reporters during his press conference on Friday morning, declaring he has "no relationship with the media."
The traditionally prickly head coach came under fire again this week for a condescending post-match press conference following the club's one-point defeat to Adelaide. While trying to defend his claim that the club had "improved" this season despite a 2-4 record after round six, Lyon went through the Saints' list of opponents, pretending to struggle to recall how many had played finals last season.
Club president Andrew Bassat was forced to defend the 59-year-old's attitude toward the press, given Saturday's incident was just the latest in a career-long history of media run-ins, including another recent press conference where Lyon claimed reporters ask "stupid questions."
When the subject was raised with Lyon on Friday, he said he didn't need to assess his "relationship" with the media. "I don't assess my relationship, I have no relationship with the media," he said. "I represent the club, and I roll up to the press conferences as they're scheduled and probably aim to answer concisely."
Then, when asked about Lance Collard, whose ban for using a homophobic slur was reduced from nine weeks to four with two suspended, Lyon refused to offer his "reflections," saying, "We acknowledge the appeals board's decision and the club's holding statement is there, and there's no real further comments from me."
This comes as the Saints prepare to face West Coast at Marvel Stadium on Sunday. Lyon said he was looking forward to coming up against Andrew McQualter, who played 89 games for St Kilda, some under Lyon. However, when asked if he would deploy a tag for Eagles' young gun Harley Reid, he said they don't focus on individual players. "It's not about individuals, it's about team defence and primarily about our football," he said. A tag proved highly successful against Reid during Sydney's mammoth 128-point victory over West Coast at Optus Stadium in round four.
