| Collingwood v Brisbane Friday May 31 7.50pm GABBA 7mate / Fox Footy 7.30pm Weather: Min 14 Max 23 Chance of rain 60%: 1-5mm Wind: S 14kph Betting: Collingwood $1.18 Brisbane $5.00 |
It's the Brisbane Lions' only Friday night game of the season and it comes against arguably their biggest foe.
They enter the match on the back of a disappointing loss against Carlton and will be without influential ruckman Matthew Leuenberger (thumb) and possibly co-captain Jonathan Brown (suspension).
In what amounts to a 'win or forget finals' scenario for the home team, they play an opponent equally desperate after the Magpies fell horribly short against the Swans last week.
Collingwood has been in a win-loss pattern since round two and the premiers again exposed their defensive deficiencies last week. No doubt the losing coach will face some serious scrutiny but it's hard to see the depleted Lions overcoming the desperate Magpies.
THE SIX POINTS
1. The Lions and Collingwood clashed once in 2012, with the Magpies comfortable 58-point winners at the Gabba in round seven.
2. The Lions have won 11 of 16 contests at the Gabba, but the Magpies have the recent ascendancy, winning four of the past five overall.
3. Travis Cloke has struggled to fire against the Lions. The big Magpies forward has 13 goals from nine matches and been held goal-less three times.
4. Collingwood continues to struggle defensively this season conceding an average of 100 points per game. They are ranked 14th in the competition, one spot ahead of the Lions.
5. One area the Lions do have an advantage is clearances. They are ranked 11th, while Collingwood is ranked 15th.
6. Two of the competition's best running defenders will go head-to-head on Friday night. Heath Shaw is ranked seventh among defenders (55th overall) according to the Official AFL Player Ratings, while Lion Pearce Hanley is ninth (66th overall).
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