Pre Season Game 2
Collingwood v North Melbourne
Saturday March 5, 4:40pm Robertson Oval Wagga Wagga Fox Footy 4:30pm Weather: Min 20 Max 38 Chance of rain 40%: < 1mm Wind: WSW 9kph Betting: Collingwood $1.67 North Melbourne $2.15 |
Collingwood Preview
Collingwood fielded a relatively weak team versus Geelong last week and were given little hope of victory by most. An 11 goal third term stunned the football world and showed just how much potential this young Magpies list has. The likes of De Goey, Fasolo, Crisp, Sinclair and captain for the night Steele Sidebottom had stellar performances as the Pies held off the fast finishing Cats to win by 8 points. The most impressive aspect of the win was the movement of the ball by the young Pies. Well known as a team that moves the ball slowly along the boundary, this Collingwood team showed skill, pace and accuracy by foot, especially during that amazing third term. Considering the players the Magpies had out, it really was an impressive performance to start their pre season campaign.
The Magpies played that game last week without a few of their absolute stars, and this week they will include some big names in their squad. Captain Scott Pendlebury, key forwards Travis Cloke and Darcy Moore, young defender Tom Langdon and promising youngster Tom Phillips should be among the inclusions for the match against the Roos. Cloke and Moore especially may provide one of the more dangerous double forward pairings in the AFL for the next few seasons. Moore, coming into his second season, has actually grown in the off season and now stands over 200cms tall. Cloke will be looking to bounce back after an injury riddled season saw his worst goal return in 6 years.
Many thought this week would see the unveiling of the Magpies prize recruit Adam Treloar at senior level. Nathan Buckley and his staff have instead decided to play Treloar in a VFL practice match on Sunday at the Pies headquarters. That may disappoint a few in Wagga Wagga but all seems on track for the elite midfielder to be a vital member of the Pies round 1 team.
Collingwood will field a stronger team this weekend but there will still be a plethora of young talent on show. It will prove a good hitout for those that are named and the new look Magpies game plan will be put to the test once more.
North Melbourne Preview
The two previous seasons of the North Melbourne football club have been extraordinary . Since the AFL changed to it's current finals series formula in 2000 only a few teams had ever made the preliminary final from outside the top 4. Yet the Kangaroos have managed to do so for the past two seasons. North have been a remarkable finals team the past two seasons winning four finals to get to those preliminary finals. They go into season 2016 with the most experienced list in the game (most games played on average) and that can only mean they are at their absolute prime right now.
North Melbourne didn't make too many big changes to their list in the off season, trading mainly for draft picks. One big trade involved Ryan Bastinac going to Brisbane and the Roos picking up the very exciting Jed Anderson from Hawthorn. Anderson, a little like Wells, will add pace and skill to a North side that lacked that last season. North didn't lose too many important players to retirement either with Nathan Grima maybe the biggest loss in terms of best 22.
The Kangaroos started their 2016 pre season with a game against St Kilda in Wangaratta. They sent a fairly strong team up for the game and it showed as they came away with a 44 point win. The standouts in their first hitout of the new year were Drew Petrie (4 goals), Mason Wood (4 goals), Jarrad Waite (3 goals), Lindsay Thomas (3 goals) and Luke McDonald (18 possessions). It was an impressive start to the NAB challenge for the Roos and sets them up well going into their second game.
For this second game, coach Brad Scott has suggested that there will be a lot of changes as the Roos look to give everyone a few games before the proper season starts. The likes of Harvey, Cunnington, Waite and Firrito may be rested but there are a few big names that seem certain to return. The league's number 1 ruckman, Todd Goldstein didn't play in NAB 1 and will be looking forward to getting some game time in. The likes of Hansen, Wells, Black, Mullet, Gibson and Durdin may also be given a run this weekend.
Daniel Wells is an interesting story in himself. Wells has only managed 12 games in the past 2 seasons (only 2 in 2015) and a little like Collingwood's Ben Reid is a player who would make a hue difference if he could stay fit. North ranked 14th for time inside offensive 50 last year but their conversion rate was near the top, and Wells is a player who could greatly increase the amount of times the ball goes inside, and stays inside their attacking zone.
The Roos are likely to field a weaker team versus the Magpies this weekend in Wangaratta but even with a few outs they will still be very competitive.
Tip
The NAB Challenge is too unpredictable to make a confident tip so once again I'll leave you with a statistical comparison chart.
CATEGORY
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COLLINGWOOD
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NORTH MELBOURNE
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Score from defensive 50
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18th – 12.7%
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1st – 21.2%
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Score from centre bounce
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1st – 15.8%
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8th – 12.2%
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Shot at goal accuracy
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5th – 52.0%
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2nd – 53.3%
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Defensive 1 on 1 win (against)
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2nd – 24.4%
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15th – 31.8%
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Scores per inside 50
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8th – 46.3%
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3rd – 49.4%
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Points from kick ins
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18th – 2.1
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3rd – 5.6
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Score from attacking midfield
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4th – 33.3%
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16th – 27.3%
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All contested possessions
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5th +4.5
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6th +3.2
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Centre bounce clearances
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17th -2.6
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4th +1.2
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