CARLTON 3.3.21 4.6.30 4.8.32 6.9.45
GOALS - Collingwood: Grundy 2, Blair 2, Moore, Pendlebury, Greenwood, Aish
BEST - Collingwood: Pendlebury, Grundy, Reid, Goldsack, Sidebottom, Moore
INJURIES - Collingwood: Nil
REPORTS - Collingwood: Nil
OFFICIAL CROWD - 56,157 at the MCG
1. A Carlton tradition continues
What better way for a third-generation Silvagni to continue the family legacy than against Collingwood at the MCG? Eighteen-year-old Jack's debut was keenly anticipated by all Bluebaggers and the son of Stephen, the AFL's Team of the Century fullback, and grandson of Carlton legend Serge showed some nice signs. There was a huge roar when the youngster, fittingly wearing long sleeves, got an early chest mark and set up Jed Lamb for the opening goal. Blues fans were in raptures again soon after when Silvagni took a superb contested mark, although he missed the set shot, and whipped themselves into a frenzy every time he went near the ball. Silvagni should've had his first goal in the final term when he marked 15m out on a slight angle, but he passed to Bryce Gibbs – who missed from directly in front – much to everyone's disappointment. On the whole, there was a lot to like as he finished with 15 touches and six marks on his first step into the big time. 2. Did Cloke do enough? Nathan Buckley faced headaches at the selection table with the return of Darcy Moore squeezing out the unlucky Jesse White, while the Pies coach kept faith in Travis Cloke and Mason Cox as the tall timber in attack. The call to bring Moore straight back into the senior side after four weeks out with a fractured collarbone paid off, as the impressive youngster sparked the Pies with an early goal. Cloke got on his bike and presented all night, however his cause wasn't helped by the Pies' overuse and butchery of the ball, and he probably did enough to hold his spot despite going goalless with just two behinds from 13 touches and nine marks. |
3. Famous rivalry fails to deliver Flagging interest in the time-honoured Carlton and Collingwood rivalry has been a much-discussed topic in recent times, and Saturday night's 253rd encounter between the arch-enemies was hardly one for the time capsule. Ultimately, it was the type of contest to be expected from 13th and 14th on the ladder, although Magpies fans went home happy to get one back on the Blues after a 15-point defeat in round seven. These contests always offer bragging rights, but until both sides' decidedly average offerings improve, it's hardly compelling watching for the neutral footy fan. 4. Loyal Blue notches the double ton It was a little bit lost amongst the fanfare surrounding Jack Silvagni's debut, but loyal Carlton star Andrew Walker reached the 200-game milestone against the Pies, a significant effort given his injury trouble over the years. Walker, the 2003 draft's 2nd pick who was a beacon of hope through some tough times at Carlton in his early days, also became the first Indigenous man to reach the landmark at the Blues. It wasn't the 30-year-old's (12 disposals) greatest night out but he was no lone soldier for Carlton in that regard. 5. Knee fears for Byrne A disappointing night for the Blues ended on an awful note when improving Irish defender Ciaran Byrne went down with fears of a dreaded ruptured anterior cruciate ligament. The 21-year-old was in tears as he was taken from the ground on the mobile stretcher, having twisted his right leg as he landed awkwardly after a clearing kick from the backline. If confirmed as an ACL, it will be a shattering blow for the County Louth product, who was playing his 11th game this year and growing in stature with every outing. |
| THE MEDIA | |
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It wasn't always easy to watch and there's still plenty for Collingwood to work on, but Nathan Buckley was a satisfied coach after the Magpies squared the ledger against arch-rival Carlton on Saturday night. The Pies outlasted the Blues in a low-scoring affair with few highlights and plenty of errors, coming out on top by two goals and earning the redemption Buckley hoped for after a shock 15-point loss to the Blues in round seven. "(You're) always (satisfied) when you beat a side like Carlton, especially with the fact they got the points early in the year," Buckley said post-match. "We're happy with the four points and we put them in the back pocket and there's plenty of areas to improve on for next week." The Pies' defeat to the Blues in round seven played a part in derailing their season and although Collingwood hasn't recovered enough to be in finals contention, Buckley felt his side was building momentum coming off a strong win over Fremantle last round. "Winning hides some ills and losing can hide some growth," he said. "There's been growth for us probably since round eight going up to Brisbane, after the loss to Carlton in round seven, even though we put in a couple of poor performances against Port and Melbourne before the bye we feel like we've been playing more consistent football. "We're still a long way from where we want to be, but you can't do any better than getting the wins when you get the opportunities, so we've got a big challenge going up to GWS next week." If the Pies are to be any hope of challenging the plucky and free-scoring Giants on their home fortress at Spotless Stadium, then Buckley's men will need to significantly sharpen up their ball use going into attack. Time and time again both sides butchered the ball on Saturday night, with the Magpies' eight goals enough to secure their sixth win. Returning young gun Darcy Moore (one goal) was clearly the most dangerous Collingwood forward, although Travis Cloke justified his spot in the side pushing up to the wings and taking nine marks, although he only returned 0.2 on the scoreboard. "It was good to see Darcy come back in, Coxy's (Mason Cox) been doing his job pretty well – he was a bit quiet tonight – and I thought Clokey's follow-up from last week was pretty strong," Buckley said. "We just need to make more from our opportunities when we go forward. "Kicking eight goals, you'd like to do better than that, and we just butchered some opportunities coming forward, in particular through our attacking (side of midfield). "We would've had very few that would've been absolutely satisfied with the way they played, but we were able to grind it out and that's the real positive." Buckley praised his staunch defence for limiting the Blues to just six goals despite Carlton winning the inside 50 count 44-41, with Ben Reid and Ben Sinclair rock-solid and providing plenty of rebound. Developing ruckman Brodie Grundy (17 disposals, two goals) also impressed, bouncing back to have the better of Matthew Kreuzer after having his colours lowered in round seven. "He's just tipped over 50 games a couple of weeks ago, and in the same game against Kreuzer earlier in the year he was outpointed aerially and in the ruck as well," Buckley said. "Kreuzer took a couple of contested marks in the first quarter and it was looking much the same as round seven. "But I thought Brodie was able to stand up and was really strong in that facet of his game. "We know he's a ball hunter and when the ball hits ground level he's an extra midfielder for us, the way he plays, but his ruck craft is developing. "We think he's starting to understand himself and the game that he's playing a little bit more and he's in a good vein of form at the moment." When the history of the game's most storied rivalry is recorded in the annals, little room will be roped off for the details of this encounter. In short, a second straight win for Collingwood will ease pressure on coach Nathan Buckley, and likely shift the spotlight from the Holden Centre to nearby Punt Road. Carlton's season is already a success, but this showing was perhaps their most infuriating of the year. And the Blues' night was worsened by a last-quarter knee injury to exciting Irishman Ciaran Byrne, who was carted off the ground with an anguished look on his face. At the risk of indulging in tortured political cliches, this match shaped as too close to call. Neither side was a realistic chance to make the eight, consigned to a life below the line. Still there was plenty of interest in the lead-up, primarily because of three father-son selections. Travis Cloke, the incumbent Pies' centre-half forward had kept his place, as the Magpies erred on the side of height. Darcy Moore was brought straight back in after being cleared to return from a broken collarbone. And Jack Silvagni, who had lived much of his 18 and ½ years in the public glare, was called upon to try to shore up the Carlton forward line. It wasn't quite Jack Watts-level intimidation, but Silvagni was ruffled up by opponent Tyson Goldsack in the moments preceding the first bounce. But it was Moore, who had made his own debut a year ago to the weekend, whose early miss was the first score of the game. Eight minutes later he rose above No. 1 draft pick Jacob Weitering to mark and then goal, staking his claim as the pick of a rather underwhelming bunch of key forwards on the ground. Not that it took long for Silvagni to make an impact. The teenager's first kick was a neat pass to Jed Lamb, who sunk the game's first goal from the pocket. It wasn't Silvagni's only first-quarter involvement either. A Jeremy Howe turnover resulted in the youngster marking 25 metres out, bringing Blues folk both in the stands and in the media box to their feet. Alas, he couldn't convert, and from the ensuing kick-in the Pies raced to the City End, where Scott Pendlebury snapped sublimely, with his 10th disposal in 20 minutes. Collingwood had the lion's share of uncontested ball in the first half, but were frustratingly incapable of making it count. Cloke was playing higher, and grew into the game, but looked nowhere near the force of previous years, while Mason Cox couldn't muster a disposal before the long break. By half time their advantage had crept only to five points. The scrap continued after the rivals emerged from the rooms. Neither side scored until Jarryd Blair steered home from a set shot from 45 metres at the nine-minute mark. Slowly but surely though, Collingwood began to get reward for their superiority. Cox's struggles were more than balanced out by the excellence of ruckman Brodie Grundy, who played a masterful hand around the ground, single-handedly beating Carlton big men Matthew Kreuzer and Andrew Phillips. Grundy's second stretched the margin to 17, and the game threatened to open up. To the Blues' credit, they showed plenty of fight, but the Pies' defence - led well by Howe and Ben Reid - rarely looked too troubled. Carlton were only three goals down at the last change, but had kicked just four for the night to that point. The final term mirrored the third. Remarkably it took even longer for a score this time, and again it was Blair who goaled to end the rut at the 16-minute mark. A match devoid of highlights looked like it would at least get a late Silvagni goal when he marked 15 metres out minutes later. But he inexplicably squared the ball to Bryce Gibbs - who missed. It was that sort of night. |
COLLINGWOOD has avenged its round seven loss to Carlton and spoiled the debut of royal Blue Jack Silvagni, winning a scrappy clash at the MCG by 12 points on Saturday night. After its season was sent into a tailspin by the Blues two months ago, Collingwood finally got a chance to square up and it hit the old enemy where it hurts, winning 8.9 (57) to 6.9 (45). Silvagni was the drawcard on Saturday night, and a crowd of 56,157 rolled through the gates to see son of Stephen and grandson of Sergio in his long-sleeved No.2 jumper. And in a year that has quickly become one of development for the Magpies, making sure Carlton didn't celebrate the occasion with a win was probably more significant than the four points they banked. Further souring the loss for the Blues was what appeared to be a serious knee injury to defender Ciaran Byrne, who landed awkwardly in a contest in the fourth quarter and was taken from the ground on a stretcher. It was clearly a clash between 13th and 14th, and neither side did anything to suggest they will have a rapid spike in form in the last eight weeks of the season, with the combined score the lowest between these sides since 1966. Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury brought class to an ugly match, finishing with 34 possessions (14 contested), eight clearances and a goal in a clear best-on-ground performance. Defenders Ben Reid and Tyson Goldsack, who combined for eight intercept marks, were also excellent in repelling the Blues' forward entries, while ruckman Brodie Grundy (17 possessions and two goals) took the points against Matthew Kreuzer. The concerns for coach Nathan Buckley remain the forward line, with Darcy Moore, Travis Cloke and Mason Cox combining for one goal, which was kicked by Moore in the opening 10 minutes. Despite his team's shortcomings, Buckley said he was satisfied with the win. "Always when you beat a side like Carlton, especially with the fact they got the points early in the year," the coach said. "We're happy with the four points and we put them in the back pocket and there's plenty of areas to improve on for next week." The Blues, who kicked the final two goals to trim the margin, will remember the occasion for the significance of Silvagni's debut. There was high anticipation whenever the classy teenager went near the ball, and it reached fever pitch when he marked 15m from goal with less than 10 minutes to play. After a night of missed opportunities, he chose to pass backwards to Bryce Gibbs and will have to wait another week to kick his first senior goal, finishing an eye-catching debut with 15 possessions and a team high seven score involvements. Veteran defender Kade Simpson was his team's best player, with 28 possessions and four rebound 50s, while Gibbs fought through a hard tag from Levi Greenwood to win 22 possessions and kick two goals. "We're a team that is learning to play the Carlton way for longer, and that's what we need to do in all phases," coach Brendon Bolton said. "If you don't do it for longer than the opposition you get hurt and we did today. "We're trying to grow, we're trying to develop … every week is a real challenge." COLLINGWOOD coach Nathan Buckley says Saturday night's win over Carlton has continued the Pies' gradual upward trend over the past two months. "There has been growth for us probably since Round 8 - going up to Brisbane after the loss to Carlton in Round 7, we feel like we have … been playing more consistent football," Buckley said. "We are still a long way from where we want to be but you can't do any better than get the wins when you get the opportunity." Collingwood will aim for a third-straight win against Greater Western Sydney at Spotless Stadium on Saturday after holding off a wasteful Carlton by 12 points. But Buckley said it was far from a complete performance. "We would have had very few (players) that would have been absolutely satisfied with the way they played but they were able to grind it out and that's the real positive," Buckley said. Buckley said spearhead Travis Cloke was "pretty strong" in the victory as he looks to hold his spot alongside big man Mason Cox for a third-straight week. Cloke took nine marks but finished with two behinds. "We are still looking at what our best (forward) mix is," Buckley said. "The fact that we have had a lot of changes week to week has made it more difficult for us to find our best mix is. "Coxy has been doing his job pretty well, was a bit quiet tonight and I thought Clokey's follow-up from last week was pretty strong. "We just need to make more from our opportunities when we go forward." The coach said the forwards must look to improve their conversion in the attacking half after some costly misses helped keep the Blues within arms reach for most of the night. "Kicking eight goals, you would like to do better than that," he said. "We just butchered some opportunities coming forward, in particular through our attacking mid, not so much the last kick, as it was last week. "But just being able to get into position for really solid entries and we just didn't do that well enough." But he was pleased with the defensive performance, led by Ben Reid and Ben Sinclair. Collingwood midfielder Adam Treloar was blanketed by Ed Curnow last night and will face his former side GWS Giants for the first time on Saturday since crossing last year. "Some of his Ads' burst out of stoppage was still pretty damaging, so, he didn't lower his colours too much," he said. MEDICAL ROOM Collingwood: No injuries for the Magpies, who would have been pleased to see young forward Darcy Moore escape unscathed after four games out with a collarbone injury. NEXT UP Collingwood takes on one of the toughest road trips in the AFL and faces Greater Western Sydney at Spotless Stadium on Saturday. The Magpies are yet to lose to the Giants in four matches, but that appears at great risk now. NEXT FIVE GWS Giants, Adelaide Crows, North Melbourne, West Coast Eagles, Richmond "We just need to make more from our opportunities when we go forward. Kicking eight goals, you'd like to do better than that, and we just butchered some opportunities coming forward, in particular through our attacking (side of midfield). We would've had very few that would've been absolutely satisfied with the way they played, but we were able to grind it out and that's the real positive." |
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