GEELONG 1.1.7 3.3.21 6.6.42 9.8.62
SCORERS - Collingwood: Fasolo (3.2), Elliott (2.0), Moore (2.0), Sidebottom (2.0), White (2.0), Adams (1.1), Swan (1.1), Varcoe (1.1), Greenwood (1.0), Grundy (1.0), Maynard (1.0)
BEST - Collingwood: Greenwood, Pendlebury, De Goey, Adams, Crisp, Moore, Grundy
INJURIES - Collingwood: Travis Cloke (hamstring soreness) replaced in selected side by Jesse White, Dane Swan (right knee), Ben Sinclair (broken hand)
SUBSTITUTES - Collingwood: Dane Swan replaced by Jonathon Marsh at half time
REPORTS: Nil
OFFICIAL CROWD: 40,582 at the MCG
| 1. Menzel stands tall After 1450 days and four knee reconstructions, Geelong's Daniel Menzel played just the 22nd senior game of his career on Friday night, and he was brilliant. It didn't take long for Menzel to show his class, kicking a behind at the five-minute mark after taking a leaping mark. When he kicked a goal at the 12-minute mark of the opening quarter, he was mobbed by his ecstatic teammates, and coach Chris Scott celebrated in the box. The moment was a triumph for player and club after such a long and arduous road. Better was to come; in the final quarter, Menzel took a contender for mark of the year by plucking a screamer on top of Tom Langdon. His long kicking off one step and ability to tease the football in traffic is still a delight to watch. Menzel finished with a career-best 20 disposals and four goals to be the Cats' best. On a dark night for Geelong, few of his teammates followed his inspirational lead. 2. No Cloke, no worries Collingwood spearhead Travis Cloke suffered hamstring tightness in the warm-up and was a late withdrawal, replaced by Jesse White. But what many thought would be negative for Collingwood turned into a positive, as the Magpies banged on seven goals to one in the first quarter to match their tally for the entire game a week earlier against Richmond. They appeared less predictable and had nine individual goalkickers in the first half, dominating in the air with 72 uncontested marks to 36, and using the ball much better than Geelong. Suddenly, within a half, Nathan Buckley's statement that the Magpies were better placed now than at the same time last season was much easier to defend. By the end of the game, Collingwood had kicked straight, defended well and had 11 individual goalkickers. 3. Cats out of lives Geelong has spluttered for most of the season after losing three of its first four games, but the final nail went into the Cats' coffin in the first half against Collingwood, and they will miss the finals for the first time since 2006. Missing Mitch Duncan and Josh Caddy was always going to be a problem, but their midfield was obliterated in the first half, with the Magpies recording 28 inside 50s to 16 and winning the centre clearances eight to three. Champion veterans James Kelly and Corey Enright had ordinary nights, but they were hardly alone. But Friday night's meek surrender means any lingering doubts that the Cats needed to move into the next era with a new list were dispelled once and for all. |
4. Stepping back, stepping up Collingwood skipper Scott Pendlebury was criticised after last Saturday's loss to Richmond, when he admitted it was strange to play without a finals spot on the line for the first time in his career. Regardless, Pies coach Nathan Buckley recognised an opportunity to give his captain a challenge on Friday night and started him off half-back, where he controlled the game in the first quarter and set the Magpies on their winning path. In that quarter, Pendlebury had 11 disposals, but 10 of them were uncontested, and he found a teammate with all 10 of them. He ended the game with 33 disposals at 90 per cent efficiency. 5. Top Cats fall flat There has been a lot of focus on the performances of the Cats' crew of 30-somethings this season, but the reality is that, for a variety of reasons, Joel Selwood, Harry Taylor and Tom Hawkins have had their least consistent seasons for a long time. On Friday night, Selwood was battered from pillar to post by Levi Greenwood, again without much protection from the umpires off the ball. He has been dragged down, and needs midfield support next season. Taylor has not played the general role down back, seeming lost at times and struggling to take his normal quota of marks. Hawkins has had a tough year, but played nowhere near his best and failed to fire often enough for the Cats to challenge. The class and character of the trio is unquestioned, and they will be expected to bounce back hard in 2016. They (Collingwood) appeared less predictable and had nine individual goalkickers in the first half, dominating in the air with 72 uncontested marks to 36, and using the ball much better than Geelong. Suddenly, within a half, Nathan Buckley's statement that the Magpies were better placed now than at the same time last season was much easier to defend. By the end of the game, Collingwood had kicked straight, defended well and had 11 individual goalkickers. |
| THE MEDIA | |
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COLLINGWOOD was playing for "pride and respect" on Friday night and did what was needed to atone for what coach Nathan Buckley said was the worst quarter of football played under him. Despite facing a Geelong team playing to keep its finals hopes alive, it was the Magpies who were more desperate and committed at the MCG, returning to the team-first principles Buckley has tried to instill and winning by 48 points. In the aftermath of a result that will provide a springboard for 2016, Buckley praised his players for responding after turning into "22 individuals" in a nightmare fourth quarter against Richmond last Saturday. "We spoke about pride and respect," the coach said after the easy win over the Cats. "In this day and age in footy, you can get jumped on pretty quickly, and that was as poor a quarter as I've seen us play in my time as senior coach. "The players to a man have given great effort, so we didn't want to put in a performance like that or lower our colours to that extent [again] … that was pretty much the discussion in the review. "So to see the players take ownership of the performance and of the preparation and then to execute was really good sign." Friday night's win saw the Magpies lead from start to finish, building a 50-point lead at the main break and fighting off two minor challenges from the Cats in the second half. A feature of the performance was the Magpies' instinct to help each other both when they had the ball and when they were defending. "We want to continue to be a side that plays for each other," Buckley said. "It was back to what we've expected and back to what we've seen for the majority of the year. "That was probably one of the closer performances to four quarters that we've seen from us all year. "That was an encouraging aspect of the game." There were encouraging signs right through the Collingwood midfield on Friday night, most notably the run-with job of Levi Greenwood on Geelong star Joel Selwood. Greenwood missed the first 10 matches this season with a leg injury but, after returning through the VFL, has played the last six matches and shown he will be a key cog in 2016. "There's no guarantees in footy, but Levi's a mature player," Buckley said. "He's a contested ball animal. He hunts the ball, he hunts the man and he's really disciplined. "We've got a glimpse the last couple of weeks of what we recruited and the character of a bloke who gives himself absolutely to the team cause. "His last eight quarters have been very impressive." Buckley said the Magpies were unlikely to risk Dane Swan in round 23 after he suffered a medial tweak, while Ben Sinclair's season was ended by a broken hand. Travis Cloke was a late withdrawal on Friday night after the final warm-up with tightness behind his knee but Buckley said the key forward had not suffered a fresh injury. "He should be right, but we'll see when the dust settles," Buckley said. "We had a fresh, fit player there in Jesse (White), so we made that call late." MAYBE it was the dawn of one era, and the end of another. Before Friday night’s match began, Collingwood was written off for a second-straight season as a disappointing also-ran and Geelong was out to extend its magnificent run to nine-straight finals campaigns. But by the time the plucky Pies iced this 48-point upset victory at the MCG, it felt like the wheel had turned for both clubs in the most significant fashion. Then again, at least the Cats had Daniel Menzel, who after four devastating knee reconstructions produced the kind of Cindarella comeback he desperately deserved. The clever forward would have invoked goose bumps in lounge rooms nation-wide, bagging four goals from 20 disposals in his first AFL game since 2011. But the Collingwood story was big in a different way and every aspect of the club was under fierce pressure this week, after perhaps their most embarrassing loss in Buckley’s coaching career last round, surrendering to Richmond in a rampant last term. But the work-rate, discipline and skill execution the Magpies produced to overwhelm the Cats in a ferocious first quarter, showed the kids that make up the bulk of this side not only have some ticker, but also play desperately for the coach. And they did it without spearhead Travis Cloke, who went down with a hamstring injury in the warm-up, allowing the Collingwood forward line to finally find some much-needed balance. Dane Swan’s night also finished with a knee injury in the second term, likely ending his season. It was billed as a night to reclaim lost respect for Collingwood and it started with an unexpected tactical move from Buckley. For the first time in his glittering career, captain Scott Pendlebury played as a permanent defender. Throughout the first 30 minutes, the skipper made a far greater statement than anything that can be read into his “last week meant nothing in terms of finals” comments. Pendlebury used the ball with the ice-cold class that has been missing from the Collingwood backline. He had 11 touches at 100 per cent efficiency at the first change to provide the backbone of their seven-goal first-term blitz. The game seemed over, then. The Pies butchered the ball last week, failing to kick even one goal from 20 inside-50s in the second term. But on Friday night they turned the tables from the get-go, showing so much more composure with three majors from their first five entries forward. Jesse White stepped up in Cloke’s absence, Darcy Moore was fearless in the aerial contests in his first season and Levi Greenwood helped curtail Cats’ skipper Joel Selwood. Encouragingly, the Magpies next generation engine room was brilliantly led by Taylor Adams and Jordan De Goey, who had 22 stoppage wins between them. They are hard-nosed competitors who took charge of the clinches in Pendlebury’s onball absence. Brodie Grundy also excelled in the air and on the ground against a makeshift Geelong ruck setup. For Geelong, this was perhaps a clean break on an incredible premiership era. The warning signs were there for the Cats during a draw with St Kilda last week and while they went into last night still trying to pull off an unlikely finals berth, the reality is the Cats will undergo major transformation over the next two months. It was always going to be hard to farewell the club’s champion veterans but a deplorable first half will give the Cats’ front office more reason to chase the signatures of Crows’ Patrick Dangerfield, Blue Lachie Henderson and Eagle Scott Selwood even harder. Midfielder James Kelly, a triple-premiership stalwart, looked tired and frustrated with seven clangers at half time, with the Pies already up by 50 points. Tom Hawkins and Harry Taylor, the two premiership cornerstones of the forward and back lines, had had no influence on the contest when the heat was on. And skipper Selwood was battered at every turn by Greenwood. The two scrapped and fought throughout the whole night. The Magpies dominated the clearance battle 41-21, even with Pendlebury mostly out of the centre square. Geelong needs Dangerfield and his brother, Scott, to provide the Cats’ inspirational leader some onball support, or face risk having Selwood’s career cut short by the weekly physical punishment he receives. Otherwise, Collingwood showed far greater intent. The Pies outworked the Cats on the spread with 72-36 uncontested marks and 32-17 tackles at the main break. The beautiful silver lining for Geelong was, of course, Menzel. Before he went down with the first of his four knee reconstructions there were some who thought he could be a top-10 player in the competition and you had to agree as he showed the cleanest of hands and an acute goal radar bagging the Cats’ first two majors of the night. When he ran onto his third goal in the goal square it cut Collingwood’s lead to 38 points and gave the Cats their first taste of momentum for the night, but it was short-lived. |
Geelong's golden era came to a close on Friday night, with the Cats locked out of finals for the first time since 2006 following their 48-point loss to Collingwood at the MCG. After 21 finals, four Grand Finals and three premierships in the past nine years, it was painfully obvious that one of the greatest teams of the modern era has achieved all it will, eventually losing 17.8 (110) to 9.8 (62). The shining light on a dark night was the remarkable return of young Cat Daniel Menzel after four knee reconstructions, with the 23-year-old booting four goals and taking one of the marks of the year to remind the competition of his quality. But a fresh chapter in his career could mark the departure of triple-premiership stars like James Kelly, Steve Johnson and Andrew Mackie, who all had horror moments on Friday night with their team's season on the line. The Cats' veterans were shown up by a younger, quicker Collingwood team set on redemption after being described as "22 individuals" by coach Nathan Buckley last week. The Magpies' response to that stinging critique came immediately, building a first-quarter blitz on relentless tackling pressure, led by Jordan De Goey and Levi Greenwood, who tagged Geelong captain Joel Selwood. And while the young Magpies did the grunt work, captain Scott Pendlebury was left by Geelong to work off the back of stoppages, racking up 10 damaging possessions in the first quarter. The change of role for Pendlebury (33 possessions) was a masterstroke from Buckley, and as a result the Magpies kicked seven of the first eight goals to lead by 36 points at quarter-time, extending that to 50 at the main break. Geelong challenged briefly in the third quarter and again in the fourth, but each time Collingwood responded by controlling the ball and taking the pace out of the game. The result sealed the top eight – and took the sting out of a round 23 match-up between Adelaide and the Cats – with the Crows and North Melbourne locked in for September action with two games each to play. De Goey was outstanding for the Magpies, winning 25 possessions and 10 clearances, sidestepping the Geelong midfielders to put an exclamation point on his impressive debut season. Greenwood, meanwhile, tagged Selwood relentlessly all night and kept the champion Cat to 19 possessions. The former Kangaroo ran forward when he could and finished with 21 touches and one goal. Brownlow Medallist Dane Swan played his role in the first half but was substituted out at half time with a knee injury, potentially ending his season as the Magpies look to 2016. The Cats can now do that also, with optimism that Menzel will be a vital part of their future following his amazing return. After waiting 1450 days to play his 22nd game, Menzel attacked the ball and won his first possession inside the first 20 seconds, taking a big contested mark on the lead minutes later. He was mobbed by teammates halfway through the first quarter when he converted on the run with his right foot from 50 metres. His second on his right was equally classy and decisive. The late withdrawal of Collingwood powerhouse Travis Cloke, and a fairytale four goals and a late mark-of-the-year entry from Geelong's comeback kid Daniel Menzel, would have suggested the football gods were on the side of the Cats at the MCG on Friday night. Nothing, however, could have been further from the truth. When all was said and done, it was the Pies who had stormed to a 48-point win in front of a poor crowd of 40,582, bankrolled by a seven-goal-to-one opening term sparked by the clever decision to place skipper Scott Pendlebury in a sweeping role across half-back. The Pies' victory, just their second since round 11, had a cascading effect. Its most significant impact was denying the Cats the chance to make the finals, ending a grand era, one which had involved eight straight finals appearances since 2007, including three premierships. The defeat almost certainly will end the career of some of their distinguished servants. It also meant the current top eight sides would feature in the finals, despite there being one full round remaining. All that's still to be rubber-stamped is the final configuration. Nathan Brown of the Magpies and Steve Johnson of the Cats take a swing at each other. Had the Cats won, and the Adelaide Crows lost to the West Coast Eagles on Sunday, next week's clash between the Cats and Crows would have determined the top eight. While it was a largely bleak outing for the Cats, there was some joy, with Menzel emerging unscathed in his first match since the 2011 qualifying final against Hawthorn. Having endured four knee reconstructions since, it was somewhat fitting that he scored the Cats' opening two goals. Unfortunately for him, and the Cats, his first, a shot on the run from about 45 metres near the boundary and created through some Steven Motlop dash, came after the Magpies had the early momentum with two goals. His second came at the start of the second term when his side already trailed by six goals. Magpies cheer squad leader Joffa Corfe adds insult to injury, holding up a handbag to Cats fans. The Magpies' attack on the ball and willingness to run and help a teammate was reminiscent of the vigour which had helped them to an 8-3 record – and certainly not what was dished up in a 91-point loss to Richmond in round 21. "Every time we play there is something on the line. It was a great fightback by the boys in that first quarter," Pendlebury said. They had a 32-17 tackle count to half-time, while Pendlebury was instrumental in their domination in a stunning first term. This wasn't the typical Pendlebury working feverishly hard as an inside midfielder. Rather, coach Nathan Buckley came up with the crafty tactic of having him stationed largely across half-back where his composure and skills were used in a creative sweeping role. But that wasn't the end of it. At stoppages, Pendlebury would begin a few metres off the ball on the defensive side. Again, this meant his sore body was preserved, while allowing him to dictate terms when the ball fell his way. And it did – 11 times in the first term. Cory Gregson appeared to be his opponent, but Pendlebury found himself alone so often. Steve Johnson then finally had the job on him in the second term, and held Pendlebury to four touches. But the damage had been done, and Pendlebury reasserted himself in the second half. Cloke was hurt during the warm-ups on the ground and was replaced by the much-maligned Jesse White. But it didn't matter as the Pies had nine goal-kickers to half-time. Jack Crisp, Taylor Adams and Steele Sidebottom all provided run, Levi Greenwood infuriated Joel Selwood with his hard tagging (although they shook hands post-match), young Darcy Moore continued to show flashes, while Dane Swan, until he jarred a knee midway through the second term and was subbed off, was a handful inside the attacking 50 and up the ground. For the Cats, with so much to play for, this was a humbling experience, although fans had good reason to just be happy about Menzel's extraordinary comeback. He had a goal in each quarter, tallied a career-high in disposals and capped off a fine solo display with a high-flying grab over Tom Langdon in the final term. He has much to look forward to next year. "When I take a little bit of time, absolutely, I will be really proud of my achievement tonight but it was not the result we wanted," Menzel lamented later. At the other end of the spectrum, James Kelly, one of a handful of veterans facing an uncertain future, found the ball but too often turned it over. The Cats clearly missed the run of Josh Caddy and Mitch Duncan. There was a brief surge early in the third term but it was a dirty night for Tom Hawkins and Harry Taylor. Hawkins was goalless and did not have a mark in the first half, and things did not improve after the break. His only goal was from a free kick. The Cats now turn their attention to another challenging task – announcing whether a handful of their premiership veterans play on next year. |
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