| Round 9 COLLINGWOOD v GEELONG Time, Place, TV: Saturday May 21, 1:45pm MCG 7mate/Fox Footy 1:30pm Weather: Min 9 Max 20 Chance of rain 5%: <1mm Wind: N 24kph Betting: Collingwood $4.85 Geelong $1.18 |
After such a tumultuous week following the loss to Carlton, the Magpies bounced back in terrific fashion in rough eight with a thumping victory over the Brisbane Lions. Although the pressure valve may have been released slightly, there are still big questions about the credentials of this Collingwood side considering Brisbane was terribly underwhelming last week.
The burning question from that game is whether the Magpies were good, or the Lions were just bad. In the end, the Magpies would have been very happy with the 78-point win and played some really good football. Irrespective of the calibre of the opposition, the system finally looked like it was working, and the defensive structures were really solid.
Collingwood needs to carry this form into this round if it is any hope of matching the red hot Cats.
Geelong solidified second spot on the ladder with a terrific victory against Adelaide. Although the game remained close, the Cats continued their impressive last quarter form to run away with the game by a comfortable 26 points.
The game was hyped up due to the return of Patrick Dangerfield to Adelaide Oval, but credit must be given to Geelong for the professional way it handled the build up. The Cats were switched on from the first siren and outplayed the Crows in most areas. Having lost only one game so far this season, the Cats now share premiership favouritism and seem to have all bases covered in their line-up.
The only criticism for both sides last week was inaccuracy in front of goal. Geelong should have blown Adelaide away in the first quarter but kicked a wayward three goals and eight behinds. It kept Adelaide in the game longer than it should have. The Cats finished the game with 20 behinds. On the other hand, Collingwood's wayward first quarter in front of goals was also a concern, booting four goals and nine behinds. The Magpies finished the game with 23 behinds.
Neither side was punished for their inaccuracy, but it is an area that will need to be cleaned up.
Collingwood has moved up into twelfth spot on the ladder, and a victory will ensure it remains in the hunt for finals. With the Western Bulldogs to face next week, the Magpies need to cause an upset this round if they are any hope of salvaging the season. Geelong is the in-form side in the competition, and finding weaknesses is difficult. It is going to take a huge effort, but the Magpies need to carry the momentum from last week into this game.
Recent History
Collingwood and Geelong have had some great battles recently, but the Magpies have won four of the past six clashes. The Magpies also had a good win over Geelong in the NAB Challenge series.
When these sides last met in round 22 last season, Collingwood caused a huge boilover, beating the Cats by 48 points and ending all chances for Geelong to make the finals. Taylor Adams led the way with 36 disposals and polled the three Brownlow votes, while Scott Pendlebury polled two votes after moving to half back and picking up 32 disposals. The one vote went to Jack Crisp who had 31 disposals and seven tackles. The shining light for Geelong was Daniel Menzel who booted four goals in his long-awaited return from injury.
At the Selection Table
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Jarryd Blair farms out a handball during Collingwood's win over Geelong during the NAB Challenge.
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He has been cleared of any significant damage and should be right to play, which is important considering he booted four goals last week. A number of players also face fitness tests, most notably Ben Reid who should return from a shoulder injury. The Cats have a very tall side, so Reid's return is crucial, particularly because Nathan Brown is unlikely to return from his hamstring injury.
Marley Williams and Tyson Goldsack should pass fitness tests, but are likely to return through the VFL. Intrigue still remains over when Travis Cloke will return to the senior side. He was a strong presence in last week's VFL win, but failed to register a goal from his 19 disposals. Considering the attack of Darcy Moore, Jesse White and Cox has been performing ok, it is more than likely Cloke will need to continue to bide his time at VFL level.
Geelong also will likely have a quiet week at selection, with the only real injury concern coming out of last week being a concussion received by Tom Lonergan. The Cats will be sweating on his fitness given the talls Collingwood has up forward to contend with. In other injury news, Nakia Cockatoo will miss two months with a knee injury, and Mitch Clark remains around one month away. Jake Kolodjashnij will miss a fortnight with a hand injury, as will Lincoln McCarthy who had a further injury setback at training.
At VFL level, Billie Smedts was really good last week and continues to push his case for selection, as do Josh Cowan and Jordan Murdoch. If Tom Lonergan misses through concussion, it could be an opportunity for first year player Ryan Gardner to come into the side given he did a good job on Travis Cloke in the VFL last week.
Focus on Collingwood
For the first time in a long time, Collingwood dominated all the major statistical areas on the field. Importantly, the midfield stood up, which is encouraging since the Lions have a pretty strong midfield of their own. The Magpies smashed the Lions in contested possession by 48 and clearances by 24. The Magpies also had 11 more centre clearances and 32 more inside 50s. These are some very lopsided numbers and do indicate that Brisbane was well off its game. That said, the Magpies have been losing all these statistical areas all season, so the turnaround was astonishing and I didn't see it coming.
The most pleasing area for me though was the tight structure Collingwood kept from kick-ins. With 23 behinds for the match, the Magpies had plenty of practice in this area. Collingwood has conceded so many goals this year from kick-ins so it was important to get this area right to maintain ascendency. I don't feel the Cats are overly quick out of defence, so Collingwood really needs to put focus on retaining the ball inside its attacking 50 this week.
Player Focus – Collingwood
Taylor Adams – Adams moved into a half back role on ANZAC Day, but unfortunately injured his knee in that match so we didn't see him for the next two weeks. He returned to the side last week and dominated across half back again with 33 disposals. This means he has had 69 disposals in his last two matches playing as a half back flanker. He looks really comfortable in this role and the most pleasing part has been how good his kicking has developed. It shows a lot of confidence in Adams improved foot skills that Buckley would turn to him for this role, as a half back flanker must be a good kick in modern football. With Collingwood's best six defenders all injured at the moment, Taylor Adams has gone back and added some leadership in this area of the field.
Jesse White – White has been really impressive since returning to the side in the past fortnight. He has played as a defender most of the year in the VFL, but has been brought back into the side as a forward. Although he will never be a typical contested marking big man, he has been a really strong presence up forward and kicked three goals last week. With Cox and Moore adding support, White is enjoying the freedom of playing as the third tall forward, which is realistically the role he was always recruited to play. He has shown many glimpses throughout his career, but consistency has always been the issue. He needs to make this opportunity count.
Adam Treloar – The Magpies paid a very big price for Treloar, including this year's first round draft pick. There has been debate about whether Collingwood overpaid for the services of Treloar, but his early season form has more than justified the price tag. He was best on ground last week with 36 disposals and three goals, and is averaging 31 disposals this season. His kicking has been a bit off, but in general he has been really damaging. He just gets himself to every contest and has the breakaway speed to really impact, which is something the Collingwood midfield has lacked. He will likely start attracting a tag as the season goes on, which will only serve to free up Pendlebury and Sidebottom.
Focus on Geelong
Clearly the Cats off-season recruiting was terrific. Patrick Dangerfield was obviously the key signing, but the additions of Zac Smith and Lachie Henderson have been really important as well. But despite this, it is hard to ignore the Dangerfield factor.
He has gelled immediately with his new teammates and is averaging 30 disposals a match. Importantly though, Joel Selwood, Cam Guthrie and Mitch Duncan are also in career best form, which is undoubtedly due to the attention now been focused on Dangerfield. The Cats were also a fairly average contested footy team in 2015, but have now really improved in that area, as well as ranking very highly for clearances. Geelong now possesses, in my opinion, the most dangerous midfield in the competition. It has class, but also big bodies that are built for finals football. The recruitment of Zac Smith has paid very early dividends, as his ruck work is complimenting the midfield beautifully.
The strength of the midfield is complimented by the powerful forward line. Geelong is also the number one ranked side in the competition for marks inside 50. It means that the Cats are getting reward for the midfield dominance. It is a tall yet flexible forward line, with the likes of Rhys Stanley and Zac Smith rotating between ruck and forward. The talls are also well complimented by dangerous smalls such as Menzel, McCarthy and Steven Motlop.
Player Focus – Geelong
Steven Motlop – After a very slow start to the year, Motlop has hit top gear. His last two weeks have been particularly impressive, having kicked four goals in each of these matches and winning a lot of the ball. He also kicked three goals and had 26 disposals against Gold Coast three weeks ago. He is perhaps the most dangerous small forward going around right now, and looms as a game breaker this week.
Lachie Henderson – Geelong's defence was stretched last week when Tom Lonergan went down, and it meant Henderson had the responsibility of moving onto the likes of Taylor Walker and Josh Jenkins. Henderson has had a really solid start to the season, but his role last week was perhaps his most important so far, and he really stood up. He looks really settled in the Geelong defence, and is a prototype modern defender given his ability to take intercept marks. He suits the Geelong model perfectly.
Cam Guthrie – For all the talk about Dangerfield and Selwood, it was Guthrie last week who led the Geelong midfield as Dangerfield and Selwood were not at their absolute best. Guthrie had 36 disposals and 10 tackles, and was able to break the game open. He has developed a really strong body, and is really hard to bring down. Initially, Guthrie was thought more of a defensive midfielder or back pocket, but the shackles have been unleashed this year and he is playing career best football.
The Wrap Up
Geelong will undoubtedly head into this game as overwhelming favourites. Although Collingwood had a good win last week, the Cats have only lost one of their opening eight games, and have beaten some good opponents along the way as well.
The Magpies, on the other hand, have had a relatively good draw, but have only managed to win three of their opening eight games. This is the biggest test of the year so far for Collingwood, but it will be feeling confident given its good recent record against the Cats. With the injury situation slightly improving, Collingwood, for the first time this season, can get some stability back into the side and really start playing some more consistent football. Sometimes, playing the best sides brings the best out of a team, and that may well be the case this week.
Although on paper this could be a one-sided affair, I think the Magpies will really lift this week and will relish testing themselves against the in-form side of the competition. It should be an absolute beauty. Don't rule out the upset.
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