WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: POOL B - CHINA VS AUSTRALIA

March 11, 2023

Dave Nilsson

Tokyo Dome

Team Australia

Pregame Press Conference

DAVE NILSSON: Every game is an important game. I'm excited again to have a chance to go on an international stage and show what Team Australia are capable of, and we are very excited about this opportunity to play against China.

Q. The win against Korea has, in a way, given you guys the ability to set your own future. How do you keep the team focused on the task directly ahead of them?

DAVE NILSSON: Well, when we came in here before we played Korea, the task was before us, so nothing's really changed. Nothing changes on a daily basis with this group. We had our preparation before we came in and part of that preparation was physical training but also mental training and understands there's a lot of different levels to the battle, a lot of different levels to the qualification and we have prepared for this and confident we are going to have a good performance.

Q. You've got a really powerful lineup. What's it like to have a team that there's no lead that the opposition has that is safe?

DAVE NILSSON: Well, every team in this tournament and every individual in this tournament is very capable. It doesn't matter what team you're representing and I fully trust the guys, and they played really well the other day as we saw.

So I never really reflect on the talent. I have absolute belief in their abilities and regardless what happens, I know that they can battle through any adversity, and we saw it the other day. We'll just continue to move forward and build on what we've had so far.

Q. (No translation.)

DAVE NILSSON: That's a very good question. I wish you would have come to Fuchu and watched but it was all about getting everyone prepared for the battle, developing resilience and just doing a lot of hard work, so we are very comfortable playing in the morning games in Japan, getting our body clocks correct, and you know, just making sure that every part of our preparation was taken care of, and I think we achieved that, and now we just need to keep moving forward.

Also, can I say, Mayor (Norio) Takano know in Fuchu City is very accommodating, and we have a very good relationship with Fuchu City. They definitely have helped us prepare for this battle.

Q. How has Kyle Glogoski fit into this national team since joining the program and why was he your selection for today's game?

DAVE NILSSON: Yeah, Kyle is just one of the guys. He fits right in. He's one of the younger guys who is still learning a lot but we were able to take him up to Sapporo late November last year and that really helped him feel comfortable in this environment and I'm very confident in his ability. You know, I picked him today. I think this is the right time. I think his workload has been prepared for today. He works out really well. I'm just hoping he's going to have a great performance.

Thank you very much, see you tomorrow.