Collingwood Plays Open House

SUPERFOOTY

Collingwood v St Kilda Friday, May 3 7.50pm Etihad 7mate / Fox Footy Weather: Min 7 Max 20 Chance of rain 50%: 5-10mm Wind 22k NNW Betting: Collingwood $1.17 St Kilda $5.00

THEY are the words we never thought we'd hear - Collingwood is easy to score against.
But the reality is the Pies, the former defensive kings of the competition, are being cut open like a ripe watermelon.
Five rounds into the season, these are the numbers that should concern everyone associated with the black and white cause.
Nathan Buckley's men have conceded 186 points from turnovers in their back half. Only Melbourne and Greater Western have conceded more points from this source.
At stoppages in its defensive half, Collingwood has given up 124 points from opposition clearances -- 24 more than any other side.
On average the Pies are conceding a staggering 62 points a game from either turnovers or clearance losses in their back half, better than only the lowly Demons and Giants.
Stoppages all over the ground have become a problem. The Magpies are languishing with a minus 23 clearance differential after five games -- ranked 16th. Dayne Beams and Luke Ball can't return quickly enough.
On Anzac Day, Essendon kicked 13 of its 18 goals from turnover and clearance chains originating in the Pies' defensive half of the MCG.
Downstairs in the rooms after the final siren, stand-in captain Scott Pendlebury couldn't hide his frustration.
"We started running forward of the footy . . . they (Essendon) burned us pretty badly by playing honest football and we started cheating," Pendlebury said.
"We started getting ahead of the ball."
Next door in the coaches' press conference, Buckley alluded to his some of his players' desire to run only one way.
"It looked like workrate to me. Just around the ball, not working hard enough to get to the ball. If you isolated that last quarter and had a look at numbers around the contest . . . when the ball went Essendon's way we just didn't have enough numbers there," he said.
In raw terms, Collingwood is conceding an average of 106.4 points a game, fourth most in the competition.
The past 11 premiers have ranked in the top five for points against.
At this rate the Pies won't get near the flag come September.
Collingwood great Peter Daicos said the Pies players, familiar with playing in a successful team, were conditioned to running forward off the ball.
"And I just think that they're not using the ball as well. They are getting caught out of position and being hurt by opposition teams," Daicos said.
"It is cause for concern, but we're only five rounds in.
"They've got players to come back and if we revisit this in five weeks, there might be an about-face here."

Five Weeks In A Leaky Boat
Collingwood is conceding an average 106.4 points a game this year, the fourth most in the competition. History says that won't get the Pies anywhere near the flag.

Year	Premier	Ave. Score Against	Rank
2012	Sydney	74.0	1st
2011	Geelong	73.6	2nd
2010	Collingwood	75.4	2nd
2009	Geelong	82.5	4th
2008	Hawthorn	83.9	3rd
2007	Geelong	75.6	1st
2006	West Coast	85.2	4th
2005	Sydney	77.1	2nd
2004	Port Adelaide	82.0	4th
2003	Brisbane Lions	85.5	5th
2002	Brisbane Lions	83.8	2nd

In its back half, Collingwood has leaked 124 points from opposition clearances, 24 more points than any other side.
On average, the Pies are leaking 62 points a game from turnovers or clearance losses in their back half. Only Melbourne and GWS are conceding more.
Stoppages all over the ground are a major concern. Collingwood is minus 23 in clearance differential, ranked 16th in the league.