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Collingwood are in trouble, there’s no other way of putting it as the Magpies enter into the last 6 games of the 2013 home and away season. Last week up on the Gold Coast the Pies were expected to defeat the upstart Suns yet from early on nothing went to plan. The Magpies use of the ball was atrocious really, whether it be kicking for goal or turning the ball over in open play. Eventually, despite a comeback in the last quarter, the Suns won the game by 7 points, a defeat that left the Pies hanging on to a spot in the eight, and all but ended any slight hope of a top four or premiership for season 2013. This weekend the Pies will get what they need, a win and a percentage booster as they face off the second year Greater Western Sydney Giants. It will be a false sign of hope though for the Magpie army as playing GWS really doesn’t give you any clue as to how your team is travelling, whether they win by 80 or 150 points as some teams have done. That’s not to say that GWS are a waste of time or anything, they are in a similar position to the one the Suns were in this time last year, and we’ve all seen the way they’ve become very competitive in such s short time. The Giants senior coach Kevin Sheedy hates the Magpies with a passion and will attempt to embarrass the Pies, at least for a while on Saturday afternoon. PREVIOUS FORM Coming in to the 2013 season no one expected the Giants to climb off the bottom of the ladder, but it must be of some disappointment to those at the club that after 16 games they are still yet to notch up a win. Some of their recent performances have been better though with a narrow loss to the Western Bulldogs and a very competitive effort against the rampaging Bombers last week. The loss to the Dogs was a promising sign, but at the same time must have been heart breaking as the Giants fell just 4 points short of their first win of the season. Last Saturday the Giants also took it up to Essendon for large periods, before the Bombers ran away with a 39 point win. These are promising signs indeed for a club that wants to be a power of the AFL within 3 seasons, but they still need to win a few games this year to show they are on the right track. The loss for the Magpies against the Suns was devastating really, especially as it was starting to look like the Pies were finding form after two strong wins over Carlton and Adelaide. Collingwood started well but kicking 2 goals and 7 behinds in the first quarter really hurt their chances of winning. The Suns to their credit capitalised on these errors and built a handy lead going into the final quarter. The Pies got the margin back within a goal but never got closer as the Ablett led Suns pulled off their most famous victory. Collingwood’s form now looks pretty ordinary for a team that had premiership hopes leading into the season. COLLINGWOOD PREVIEW It’s been a frustrating season for everyone involved with Collingwood as injuries and form slumps have seen them never really reach the heights that were expected. Last week’s loss to the Suns was probably the low point of the season so far. The club has to move forward though and will do so first with a win over the Giants, but more importantly by planning for a tough three week stretch against the Bombers, Swans and Hawks following this game. To plan for that the Pies will have to manage their players this weekend, meaning that anyone with any injury complaint or slight niggle won’t play, meaning some youngsters may get their first opportunity. The two obvious inclusions are Jarryd Blair and Nathan Brown who missed the Suns loss with minor injuries and they will be welcomed back with open arms if fit and ready to play. Another player Collingwood will want to return this week is Harry O’Brien, who was in great form before an argument with senior coach Nathan Buckley saw O’Brien voluntary take a few weeks off. He is back and training with the club but may return through the VFL this weekend. Outside of those senior players, and others like Didak, Lynch, Clarke, Martin and Russell who played in the VFL last weekend, the Pies may look to youth this week against the young GWS outfit. Brodie Grundy, Ben Kennedy and Jackson Ramsay all starred in the reserves last week and any or all of the three could play against the Giants. It’s Grundy though that has created the most buzz around the place, as the 202cm giant has performed some amazing feats for a man his size over the past few weeks. Grundy is a massive part of the future of Collingwood and plenty of fans are hoping they get a glimpse of him at senior level before the year is out. The Pies are in trouble though, and it’s obvious something has to change if they are to do any damage over the coming month and once the finals roll around. The forward line is still too reliant on Cloke and Elliott and the backline is leaking goals unlike it has for the past few years, meaning that the “wonder cure” of moving Reid up forward may not be possible until the backline is strengthened significantly. Whatever changes the Pies make this week, it will surely be with one eye on next week’s game against Essendon because it will be then that these Magpies get a chance to redeem themselves for last week’s loss to the Suns. This weekend is more about getting through with no new injuries while maybe trying a few new things, or players. OPPOSITION ANALYSIS The Giants entered 2013 fully knowing, and accepting, that this would be another tough year for the expansion club after only achieving two wins in their maiden season in the AFL. But few would have thought that after 16 games (17 rounds) the Giants would still be win less in 2013. It’s not a dissimilar situation to the Gold Coast Suns in 2012 though who hadn’t won a game after 14 attempts in their second season. The Suns however went on to win 3 of their last 8 games and now have taken that one step further and notched up 6 wins already this season. The Giants will for a long time be compared to the Suns previous seasons achievements and this year they need to notch up a win or two on the run home or risk being called a problem child of the AFL. There’s little doubting the Giants have some of the best young talent on their list, and it shows on every line of their team. If the Giants have a strength at the moment it has to be their midfield. They sit 5th for centre clearances in 2013 which is a staggering statistic for a side that is so young and still in development. The problem it seems for the Giants is once those stoppages are over they are dominated in the midfield spread by just about every other team. In that midfield though GWS has some names of the future with the likes of Coniglio (injured at the moment), Shiel, Treloar, Whitfield, Adams, Hoskin-Elliott and the experienced pair of Callan Ward and Tom Scully you can see why the Giants midfield is able to be competitive most weeks, even if the scoreboard doesn’t show that. It was the main reason why they almost defeated the Bulldogs a few weeks ago and also took it up to the Bombers without Jobe Watson to dominate against them. This week the Giants midfield will face a real tough test though up against a stacked Magpies central core that even last week dominated in stages despite the poor result. In the ruck we may get the chance to see two of the young guns of the AFL go head to head with Tom Downie a chance to make his debut in the same game that Collingwood’s youngster Brodie Grundy may make his first senior appearance also. Both have been dominating at the reserves level and it would be a glimpse of the future indeed if this match up was to occur. The GWS forward line has the long term potential to be the best in the AFL, with Jeremy Cameron, Adam Tomlinson and Jonathan Patton all man mountains who play football the modern way. Of course Patton is out for the year but he should return next year and assist a forward line that may also have either/both of Lance Franklin and Tom Boyd in it, and that’s just a scary though indeed. At the moment though Cameron is the man, the one that is consistent on a week to week basis already, as shown by his season tally of 43 which has him in the Coleman medal race. After that the goals drop off significantly though with Setanta O’hAilpan the next best on 13 goals. Apart from Devon Smith who has spent some time up forward and kicked 11 goals this season, it’s clear to see that small forwards and midfield assistance is a major problem for the Giants up forward. Of course this forward line doesn’t get the opportunities that most others do but it’s return is still down on what the club would have expected, although the loss of Patton has to be a major reason for that. This week the Giants will match up with a Pies defense that has been struggling, allowing teams to score far too easily on the counter attack for most of the season. The Giants, not unlike the Suns will try and exploit this weakness to keep the game as close as possible, for as long as possible. Where over the rest of the ground the Giants lack experience when it comes to their backline this isn’t entirely so with co captain Phil Davis and ex Hawk Stephen Gilham leading a defense that has been under more pressure than maybe any team in the history of the game. Assisting them in the key position area is the young Tim Mohr who is developing into one of the best young defenders in the AFL. The Giants get belted most weeks in the inside forward 50 comparison and that places a massive amount of pressure on this defense, yet under the circumstances at times it has held up well. The three tall defenders are able assisted by youngsters such as Hampton, Darley, Bugg, Haynes, Kennedy and Corr and it’s this young depth that will build this backline into something special in times to come. This week they face a Pies forward line that is dysfunctional to say the least, it simply isn’t working and hasn’t worked to anywhere near an efficient beast so far this season. Travis Cloke, not unlike Jeremy Cameron at the other end is the stand out forward and it will be interesting to see which of the three Giants tall defenders start on Cloke on Saturday. The GWS Giants may well go through the 2013 season without a win, in fact with six rounds remaining it seems that the most they could chalk up is one win. Yet when you assess their list you can see why many good judges in the AFL are afraid of just how powerful this team will become over time. They have played 43 different players this year and there is sure to be another massive turnover of players at years’ end but if they can add some experience from other clubs they will improve remarkably next season. If you are being honest though the majority of their improvement will come from within their young playing ranks and this weekend it’s the Magpies fans turn to get a small glimpse into the future of this competition, coming only a week after seeing, and being defeated by the other future power, the Suns. The Giants won’t win this week, but it’s not all about winning for them at the moment it’s all about developing their youngsters and giving them as much exposure to AFL senior football as possible. TIP Collingwood will win this game, there is no doubt about that, so the interest then becomes how much of a nuisance can the Giants be to a Magpies outfit that needs a confidence boosting win before they head into 3 very tough games. The absence of Patton and Coniglio does make the Giants a little weaker but it has also given them the chance to expose even more youngsters to positions that they may not have played in other wise. The Magpies will rest anyone who is sore at all, with Ben Hudson an almost certain out meaning that the Magpie army might get to see the future ruck combination of Witts and Grundy together for the first time. That’s really what this game is about too, both teams still trying out new things in an effort to reach their full potential, even if that potential may not come to fruition this season. The Magpies will win, although I think the Giants will hang around and take it up to the Magpies at times during the game. PIES BY 65 POINTS. |
The Giants are yet to win a game this season, but they don’t play at the MCG very often and with Kevin Sheedy stepping down as coach at the end of the year, he’ll be keen to fire one last salvo at his old rival. Head-to-Head Collingwood: 1 Greater Western Sydney: 0 Drawn: 0 Past One Round 18 2012 Collingwood 26.18 (174) Greater Western Sydney 7.12 (54) Goals – Collingwood: Cloke 6, Swan 5, Dawes 2, Beams 2, Elliott 2, Goldsack 2, Maxwell, Mooney, Blair, Tarrant, Fasolo, Shaw, Sinclair Greater Western Sydney: Smith 3,Cameron 2, Giles, Palmer Disposals – Collingwood: Swan 37, Pendlebury 33, Beams 30, Reid 25, Young 25 Greater Western Sydney: Treloar 37, Greene 35, Scully 27, Adams 26, Bugg 26 Brownlow: 3. D.Swan (Coll), 2. T.Cloke (Coll), 1. D.Beams (Coll) At Skoda Stadium Stats and figures - The Magpies made light work of the Giants in their one and only home and away meeting in round 18 last season. Greater Western Sydney gave its more senior opposition an early shock when it kicked the first two goals of the evening through Devon Smith. But that was where the fun ended as Collingwood went on a rampage, kicking the last seven goals of the quarter to open up a 25-point lead at the first change. The Pies went on to win by 120 points with Travis Cloke (six goals) benefitting from the presence of Chris Dawes (two goals) and Chris Tarrant (one goal) alongside him in attack. Dane Swan kicked a career-high five goals and also managed to win 37 possessions along the way, while Tom Young (now at the Western Bulldogs) played his best game in the Black and White with 25 possessions. - Many will have forgotten that Collingwood was one of the two clubs to play against the Giants on their first night in the competition. Kevin Sheedy’s new team began its time in the big league with round-robin matches against Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs in the NAB Cup last February. After losing to the Bulldogs, the Giants put up a real fight against the Magpies and pushed them all the way the shortened match. Collingwood got home by three points by the virtue of debutant Jackson Paine’s freakish goal in the forward pocket late in the night. - Greater Western Sydney’s General Manager of Football Operations Graeme ‘Gubby’ Allan has a strong Collingwood connection. He was a key figure at Victoria Park during the late 1980s and early 1990s as the club’s Football Manager and was even embroiled in the famous quarter time brawl against Essendon on Grand Final Day, 1990. - Kevin Sheedy has a strong record when taking on Collingwood from the coaches box. During his 27 years at Essendon he won 34 of his 55 games against the Magpies including the 1984 Preliminary Final. - A lot can change in 12 months. Just ask the Collingwood players that took to the field against the Giants in round 18 last year. Nine of the 22 players didn’t play against Gold Coast last Saturday, five of whom are no longer at the club. What can the Magpie Army do? The Magpie Army has another chance to break an attendance record on Saturday evening. Greater Western Sydney has only ever played in front of more than 30,000 fans on two occasions and haven’t drawn a crowd larger than the 38,203 that turned up for their first match against Sydney in round one last season. Last year’s match against the Giants drew only 8,102 fans at Skoda Stadium, which was Collingwood’s lowest turnout since 1997. That will surely be eclipsed at the MCG on Saturday. SUMMARY After an unexpected loss to Gold Coast, the Magpies will be smarting as they prepare to face the winless Giants on Saturday night. Collingwood is a game clear in seventh position on the ladder, but needs a percentage-boosting win to keep pace with sixth-placed Richmond. The Pies' inconsistency has been a cause for concern for coach Nathan Buckley and the gulf between their best and worst football is far too wide heading into the finals. The Giants were much improved against an undermanned Essendon, and even led the second-placed Bombers at quarter-time. But it's hard to see them matching it with Collingwood, which will hope Travis Cloke rediscovers his goalkicking radar – and fast. LAST TIME R18, 2012, Collingwood 26.18 (174) d GWS Giants 7.12 (54) at Skoda Stadium THE SIX POINTS 1. Collingwood and Greater Western Sydney's only meeting came in round 18 last season at Skoda Stadium, with the Magpies recording a crushing 120-point win. 2. In that game, Magpies star Travis Cloke kicked six goals and Dane Swan was brilliant with 37 possessions and five goals. 3. The Giants will be searching for their first victory at the MCG, following defeats to Melbourne (twice), and to Hawthorn by 78, 162 and 41 points respectively. 4. Kevin Sheedy will be aiming for his first win at the MCG since 2007 and for his first win against Collingwood since round 19, 2006. 5. The Giants remain the most worst defensive team in 2013, conceding an average of 138 points per game. 6. Collingwood has two players in the top 10 of the Official AFL Player Ratings – Scott Pendlebury (No. 5) and Dane Swan (No. 7). Greater Western Sydney midfielder Callan Ward is the only Giant ranked inside the top 100 (No. 31). HEAD TO HEAD: Played: 1, Collingwood 1, GWS 0 LAST TIME: Collingwood 26.18 (174) defeated GWS 7.12 (54), Round 18, 2012 at Skoda Stadium WALKING WOUNDED: The Pies will be sweating on the fitness of key defender Nathan Brown, who missed their loss to Gold Coast because of groin soreness, while Jarryd Blair will also face a fitness test on his injured calf. Darren Jolly will miss again with a knee problem, as will Jack Frost (knee), while Alex Fasolo (foot), Dale Thomas (ankle) and Clinton Young (hamstring) are all listed as 'indefinite' on the Collingwood website. Defender Alan Toovey is out for the season with a knee injury. The Giants will give hard-nosed midfielder Rhys Palmer a fitness test on his injured foot, but they are certain to be without young gun Stephen Coniglio because of a hamstring strain and number one draft pick Jonathon Patton, who underwent a knee reconstruction in April. FORM: Inconsistency has dogged Collingwood throughout 2013, with their best (a 34-point win over Richmond and a stirring six-point triumph over Geelong) offset by some poor losses (a 35-point capitulation against Port Adelaide probably the worst of the lot). Their most recent effort was on a par with that Port loss, when they went down by seven points to the Gold Coast on Saturday, ensuring they will be desperate to respond against the fledgling Giants. The Giants second season in the AFL has been terrible. They haven't won a game, and although they managed to hang with Melbourne for three quarters and ran the Bulldogs pretty close, they haven't really looked like winning one either. The Giants were annihilated by Sydney to the tune of 129 points a fortnight ago, before responding to a degree in their 39-point loss to Essendon in their last game. WE THINK: Collingwood have been up and down, but no matter how low they go they can't drop the points here. The Giants don't have the cattle or the legs to go with the Pies, who should canter away with this one. Collingwood by 86 points. Injury List Collingwood Jarryd Blair (calf) – test Nathan Brown (groin soreness) – test Jack Frost (knee) – 1-2 weeks Darren Jolly (knee) – 2-3 weeks Alex Fasolo (foot) – indefinite Dale Thomas (ankle) – indefinite Clinton Young (hamstring) – indefinite Michael Hartley (shoulder) – season Alan Toovey (knee) – season Next Five Weeks Collingwood Round 19 – Essendon at the MCG Round 20 – Sydney at ANZ Stadium Round 21 – Hawthorn at the MCG Round 22 – West Coast at the MCG Round 23 – North Melbourne at the MCG |
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