COLLINGWOOD 1.2.8 3.7.25 5.10.40 8.13.61
MELBOURNE 1.3.9 2.4.16 3.6.24 3.10.28
SCORERS - Collingwood: Beams (2.1), Cloke (2.1), Elliott (1.1), Goldsack (1.1), Macaffer (1.0), Pendlebury (1.0), Grundy (0.2), Dwyer (0.1), Lumumba (0.1), Seedsman (0.1), Swan (0.1)
BEST - Collingwood: Young, Macaffer, Pendlebury, Lumumba, Seedsman, Swan
INJURIES - Collingwood: Jesse White (finger) replaced in selected side by Brodie Grundy
SUBSTITUTES - Collingwood: Luke Ball replaced Alex Fasolo in the third quarter
REPORTS - Collingwood: Nil
OFFICIAL CROWD: 68,124 at MCG
| - It’s now 10 games since Melbourne last beat Collingwood. You have
to go all the way back to round 11, 2007, to find the last time the Dees
saluted against the Black and White. Of the last 10 games, the Magpies
have won nine, with one draw on the Queen’s Birthday in 2010. - Incredibly, Melbourne’s 3.10 (28) was its lowest score against Collingwood since the 1960 Grand Final. In fact, it was its equal lowest score since it lost to Port Adelaide at Football Park in round nine, 1997 – an occasion that marked Neil Balme’s final game as coach. - In restricting the Dees to just the 28 points for the game, it was the lowest score by any side against Collingwood during Nathan Buckley’s 59 games at the helm. You have to wind the clock back to August 2011 when Port Adelaide registered just 3.3 (21) to the Magpies’ 23.21 (159) during the peak of their powers as reigning premiers. | - Monday’s match was a slow burn. Just ask the fans who witnessed the
Magpies kick just 1.2 (8) to Melbourne’s 1.3 (9) by the time the
quarter time siren sounded. It was Collingwood’s worst opening term
against Melbourne since it kicked 1.1 (7) out at Waverley Park in round
six, 1994. On that occasion, it was the Dees who triumphed by five
points, with Gavin Brown earning two Brownlow votes for his 22
disposals. - Melbourne talked up its hopes of drawing more than 80,000 to the MCG for Monday’s annual Queen’s Birthday blockbuster. Although it fell a little short of the pre-game aim, 68,124 is still something to write home about. It was Melbourne’s biggest crowd since the Queen’s Birthday in 2011, making it the second biggest crowd to a match between the two clubs since round 20, 2007. |
| 1. The AFL's new tagging king? AFL Media last week revealed the top run-with players in the competition and Collingwood's Brent Macaffer was a key part of that list. Champion Data figures showed he had won seven of his nine direct one-on-one matchups this year. Having already put the muzzle on Trent Cotchin and Steve Johnson among others, Macaffer turned his attention to Demons young gun Dom Tyson on Queen's Birthday. Tyson had been averaging 24.2 disposals leading into the game, but Macaffer limited him to 16 on Monday. The Pies' tagger also had an offensive presence as well, collecting 19 touches to stamp himself as one of the best on the ground. 2. Beams discovers you don't Cross the old Dog Talk to anyone at Melbourne and they will tell you how important an influence Daniel Cross has been in his first year at the club. The consummate professional held Dayne Beams in check for one of the few times this season, mustering just 19 touches. The former Bulldog also set the example in his attack on the football and on the man, helping himself to 21 disposals to clearly be one of Melbourne's best players. His off-field example will continue to be a factor in Melbourne's gradual turnaround. 3. Melbourne's scoring woes For all their industry, it was was easily the Demons' worst scoring tally of the year. Three goals for the game - including one that came inside the first 20 seconds - made the club's marquee home-and-away game a dour affair. It was also the Demons' lowest score against Collingwood since 1960. They had the defensive side of the game covered, but if they are to take the next step as a team, Paul Roos' side needs to find viable attacking options. Cam Pedersen was easily Melbourne's most dangerous option but he went scoreless for the game. The Dees will look forward to hopefully having Jesse Hogan back at the back end of this season, as he continues his comeback from a back injury. |
4. The game-breakers In a game as static as we've seen all season, the line-breaking ability of Heritier Lumumba, Paul Seedsman and Clinton Young was important on Monday. With Collingwood fully prepared to flood numbers back and clog up space in defence, the three flankers became the Magpies' go-to players coming out of the backline. Seedsman's run and carry was exactly what the Magpies had been lacking at the start of the season, when he missed almost the entire first-half of the year with a hip complaint. Lumumba's ability to sidestep opponents and make something happen was an essential ingredient in the victory, and Young's precise kicking was also a deadly weapon. 5. Demons faithful turn out in numbers All week Melbourne had been talking up its hopes of a crowd in excess of 80,000. While not quite to that level, the Demons faithful certainly turned up in numbers as the MCG hosted a crowd of 68,124. They were loud, boisterous and, at times, disgruntled as the Demons eventually battled towards the final siren.
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| THE MEDIA | |
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Collingwood has battled its way back into the top four with a 33-point win over Melbourne in an error-ridden and ultra-defensive Queen's Birthday clash at the MCG. Such was the proliferation of men behind the ball and the lack of scoring, the first half resembled soccer, with the Magpies leading three goals to two at the long break. Nathan Buckley's team, which was without Steele Sidebottom (suspended), Nick Maxwell (calf) and late withdrawal Jesse White (finger), then kicked five goals to one in the second half to prevail 8.13 (61) to 3.10 (28). "It was an honest game of footy," said Buckley, who also acknowledged it was an ugly match. "We had to play four quarters of a contested brand against an opponent that were willing to do the same. You take the result and the positives that come with it." It was the Demons' lowest score against Collingwood since 1960, with Paul Roos' team tallying 121.6 disposals for each goal it scored. "I thought we worked pretty hard," Roos said. "I thought the work rate and effort was there and (it was good) to keep them to a manageable score. "But when we went forward we too often gave it back to them." In contrast, the Pies' victory improved their 2014 record to 8-3 and ensured they remain unbeaten against Melbourne since round 11, 2007 (the teams drew in 2010). Scott Pendlebury and Clinton Young led the way for the winners in the middle of the ground, while Brent Macaffer did an impressive tagging job on Dom Tyson. Macaffer limited the Demons' playmaker to four disposals in the first half and 16 for the game. Heritier Lumumba and Paul Seedsman, who both pushed back and then carried the ball through the middle of the ground, were other impressive contributors for Collingwood. Midfielder Dayne Beams, who was shadowed by tireless veteran Daniel Cross, was quiet for much of the contest but kicked two important goals. Melbourne's afternoon started in brilliant fashion, with Nathan Jones slotting the opening goal of the game after just 23 seconds. But although they controlled the ball for large parts of the game, kicking backwards and sidewards in keeping with Roos' high-possession gameplan, they found scoring almost impossible after their bright opening. Along with Cross, Nathan Jones was among the Demons' best players, as were Bernie Vince and defender Lynden Dunn, who played at full-back on Travis Cloke and held the big Magpie to two goals. The much-improved Cameron Pedersen was Melbourne's best forward. He took 11 marks and gathered 14 disposals, but was unable to register a major. The Demons, who remain 15th on the ladder with a 3-8 record, face Essendon next Sunday at the MCG. Collingwood's next game is also next Sunday, with the Magpies hosting the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium. Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley refused to point the finger at his opposite number after Monday's Queen's Birthday clash was marred by ultra-defensive tactics. But Buckley acknowledged that a game finishing with a scoreline of eight goals to three, on a fine afternoon and in a year when crowds are down, was not great for the competition. "It wasn't one that will be on Footy Flashbacks, I wouldn't have thought," he said. "Today was a contest, it was a grind. There wasn't a lot of offence. "It was an arm-wrestle, and you're going to get some good games of footy in that regard, when the scoreboard's tight and potentially when there's more riding on it. "That's going to be enough to keep the viewer interested. But today didn't reach any great heights. "But there's still learning opportunities for us as a footy team." Buckley was keen to stress that he and his fellow coaches do care about how the game looks and are not just obsessed with winning. "That's what laws of the game (committee), or Kevin Bartlett, would have you believe: that the coaches are so biased that they only care about winning," he said. "I'd like to think that we play a brand of footy, and we're working towards playing a brand of footy, that's really exciting in offence, really hard-nosed in contested ball and nearly impossible to penetrate defensively. And we're still building towards that. "I do care about the aesthetic of the game. I care about the aesthetic of our game and we continue to look for the best of it." Collingwood broke open the contest by kicking five goals to one after half-time, and Buckley was proud of the way his players stuck to their task and ran out 33-point winners. He was pleased that they didn't become overly frustrated by Melbourne's Paul Roos-inspired high-possession gameplan, which featured numerous backwards and sideways kicks. "We brought the right attitude and the right 'roll your sleeves up' mentality to do what we needed to do," Buckley said. The Magpies restricted the Demons to 35 inside-50s, and Buckley was surprised that the Dees, who finished with their lowest score against Collingwood since 1960, didn't try harder to narrow the margin late in the game. "I did have a thought that came about halfway through the last quarter, when they were starting to get to the point where they needed to score to get back into the game," Buckley explained. "And it was only one moment, and I thought, 'Gee, they're still quite methodical and measured in their entry inside 50.' "But I thought that we dealt with what we faced pretty well over the four quarters." Buckley was full of praise for the way inexperienced defenders Jack Frost and Lachie Keeffe were able to compete with Melbourne forwards Cameron Pedersen and James Frawley. "To be able to lock down on those types, as the game wore on, was an important part of us being able to defend territory and now allow any more than 35 inside-50s," he said. "The balance ended up working for us. It was going to be very hard for us to lose that game of footy, given the way that we were able to control territory and prevent inside-50s." The Pies coach said that forward Jesse White, who was a late withdrawal, was replaced by young big man Brodie Grundy for two reasons. "His finger injury wasn't insignificant," Buckley said. "And couple that with his wife having a baby during the week, and we just felt like there was enough information there that we were going to get a better effort from Brodie. "We wanted to give Jesse the opportunity to heal, for one, and to enjoy his family time. The baby came home today." "It wasn't one that will be on Footy Flashbacks, I wouldn't have thought. Today was a contest, it was a grind. There wasn't a lot of offence. It was an arm-wrestle, and you're going to get some good games of footy in that regard, when the scoreboard's tight and potentially when there's more riding on it. That's going to be enough to keep the viewer interested. But today didn't reach any great heights. But there's still learning opportunities for us as a footy team." |
THEY’D been hanging around and hanging around, hoping Collingwood would give them a break. For almost three quarters Melbourne had enjoyed more good passages than their fancied opponents but had failed dismally to convert it on the scoreboard. Despite this they’d managed to keep things tight and with a minute to go in the third quarter the margin to the Pies was a reachable 10 points. Sensing a spark was needed Melbourne coach Paul Roos executed his substitution bringing on exciting youngster Jay Kennedy-Harris for ruckman Mark Jamar. It worked - just the wrong way. In the final minute of the term, Jeremy Howe kicked a short-pass from next to the behind post to Kennedy-Harris who had run into space. It was a sound play to wind down the clock but the only problem was the kid fumbled the simple overhead mark, allowing Dane Beams to swoop in and snap an easy goal. Call it heart-breaking, game-changing, momentum-swinging - all of those fit the bill. Adding to the horror for Roos was the moment seemed to spark Beams, who’d been well held by veteran Daniel Cross. Ninety seconds into the final term he was on the receiving of a Jarryd Blair pass and went back to kick his second goal from 45m. To add further salt into the wound it was a Beams bullet pass at the 16-minute mark to Travis Cloke which ended any hope of a Melbourne comeback. The final result of 33 points doesn’t do justice to the way Melbourne had fought. But in saying that, they do have to shoulder a lot of the blame for making it a tiresome and at times boring affair. In the end it was Collingwood’s class and experience which ensured they prevailed even though a number of their stars were quiet by their lofty standards. The Demons got their match-ups right with Cross limiting Beams to eight touches in the first half while Bernie Vince had an intriguing head-to-head battle with Pies skipper Scott Pendlebury. Neville Jeta was the surprise opponent for Jamie Elliott and beat him comfortably while Lynden Dunn won most of the one-on-one battles with Cloke until the floodgates opened late. The problem for Melbourne - and it’s a pretty important facet of the game - is that they couldn’t score. Their first goal came in the opening 25 seconds courtesy of Nathan Jones, the second was via Howe with a set shot at the three-minute mark of the second quarter and then their third and final goal came through Vince at the 13-minute mark of the third quarter. In many ways it was a bizarre result given for large parts of the first half the Demons seemed to be finding space easily and getting uncontested marks at will - Cam Pedersen had seven marks at half-time - but as soon as they approached the 50m mark it broke down. This is where unheralded Pies defenders Jack Frost and Lachlan Keefe deserve credit for keeping Chris Dawes and James Frawley in check while the man who kept the Pies going early was Clinton Young. The ex-Hawk’s run from half-back was a stand-out - he finished with an equal team-high 26 touches - and in the second half he got some help with Heritier Lumumba and youngster Paul Seedsman regularly breaking the lines. Slowly but surely they gained control of the midfield thanks in part to Brent Macaffer blanketing Dom Tyson, who’d been the Dees best on-baller all season. Ironically the injection of Pies substitute Luke Ball sparked his own side and he was dominant in the final term with 10 touches. The first stage of Paul Roos reconstruction of Melbourne was to ensure they were never out of games. This he has achieved in part. The next stage is to get them into games. Roos might also prefer to build that plan against another opponent - Collingwood - as he lost his last 11 games as a coach against the Magpies. The Demons were never by the measure of the scoreboard and general play, out of the contest at the MCG. They were always in touch but neither were they ever threatening to win the game. Why? Well they kicked three goals for the game, which is a fairly clear indication of where their problems reside. The fact the Demons contained Collingwood to just eight goals on a dry Queen's Birthday explains how they have constructed a disciplined defensive structure and mindset. It also explains how 68,124 people can attend a football match and make so little noise. "It wasn't one that will be in Footy Flashbacks I wouldn't have thought,” Buckley quipped of the spectacle that was absorbing if not thrilling. The game was not dull but it was a game of grit and attrition rather than blitz. The Demons were on the board inside the first minute and Collingwood answered rapidly but any sense this would precipitate a shootout were scotched when not another goal was scored for the quarter. Five goals were kicked for the half – between the sides. Both sides pushed up so heavily to the midfield contest that they were stifled for run and carry forward. When the Magpies went forward in the first quarter they mainly found the Demon defender in front than their own forward; The Demons went too high and long onto their forwards’ heads. Jack Frost’s reach was confounding Chris Dawes' attacks on the ball in the air and Lynden Dunn was shepherding Travis Cloke into unfavourable angles to lead. “My closing speed has always been OK and I have the long arms which I have to thank mum and dad for so I have been able to get a fist in quite well,” Frost said. Jeremy Howe booted an early one in the second term and the rhythm and flow of the game was being determined by Melbourne. Collingwood worried how it would work the ball forward. Eventually Collingwood subtly wrested the ascendency, controlling more of the flow through the middle, but with a loose man behind the ball both sides found forwards difficult to isolate. “It was a low-stoppage game. and being a side that wants to control the footy, we didn't do a good enough job of preventing them from doing that,'' Buckley said. "They had 120 uncontested marks. That's not what we wanted, we could have done that better. At the same time, they only went inside-50 35 times, so we've done something right.'' Brodie Grundy stretched Melbourne’s defence for height with three marks inside 50 in the second term but after the first two set shots drifted wide and a snap went out on the full he played on from the third mark seemingly reluctant to take another shot. Five goals from Travis Cloke last week did not beget an absolute return to form. The full-forward had minimal influence early but worked his way into the game as he began working more and presenting after pressing higher up the ground and the midfielders improved their delivery. After the main break Collingwood pushed Cloke out to centre half-forward and began channelling attacks through Tyson Goldsack and, in tern, Scott Pendlebury and Dane Swan. Mixing it up structurally and getting Cloke to roam more searchingly drew him out and extended Dunn. “We were prepared to camp in behind the ball too much in that first half,” Buckley said. Melbourne had just two frees for the first half and five for the match. While there is no prescription on how many frees a side should get this was still a surprisingly low number, and Collingwood had the better rub of the green for the day. Collingwood captain Pendlebury will play few more workmanlike matches where he comes away possibly as the best player on the ground but only because there were so few others who stood out. Buckley sent tagger Brent Macaffer to Dom Tyson and he closed him down, amassed possessions himself and kicked a goal, and moved onto Nathan Jones in the last and kept him to three touches for the quarter. Daniel Cross beat Dayne Beams for most of the day but when Kennedy Harris came on the late in the third term and dropped an uncontested mark that he would rather not see the replay of, Beams was able to convert. Just after the final break Beams again was able to convert and despite a bad day he was able to contribute. Collingwood had more of the overlap run with Paul Seedsman, Heritier Lumumba and Clinton Young carrying the ball through the corridor and wings to give it more drive than Melbourne. |
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