SYDNEY 4.4.28 5.9.39 9.10.64 10.11.71
SCORERS - Collingwood: Elliott (3.4), Cloke (2.3), Reid (2.1), Sidebottom (2.0), Thomas (2.0), O'Brien (1.1), Grundy (1.0), Pendlebury (1.0), Ball (0.2), Blair (0.1), Lynch (0.1), Macaffer (0.1)
BEST - Collingwood: Pendlebury, Swan, Elliott, Beams, Sidebottom, Thomas
INJURIES - Collingwood: Nil
SUBSTITUTES - Collingwood: Nathan Brown replaced by Sam Dwyer in the third quarter
REPORTS: Nil
OFFICIAL CROWD: 42,627 at ANZ Stadium
| 1. Swans drop to third, potentially headed to fourth The Sydney Swans could find themselves as low as fourth after Saturday night's loss to Collingwood. The result snaps a six-game winning run and drops the Swans below Geelong into third spot. The reigning premiers could be overtaken by Fremantle by the time the weekend is over, given the Dockers are strongly favoured to beat GWS in Perth on Sunday. 2. Meanwhile, Magpies keep top four prospects alive Collingwood extended its unbeaten streak to three games and improved to a 13-6 win-loss record, level with Richmond. The win also gives the Magpies hope of earning a top four finish by the time the finals roll around. Meanwhile, Collingwood must hope the annual fixture at the Olympic Stadium is set in stone given it has won nine of its 12 matches at the venue against the Swans. 3. Ted Richards reaches double century A poster boy for perseverance, Swans defender Ted Richards brought up game No.200 on Saturday night. He managed just 33 of those games in five years with Essendon before making the move to Sydney ahead of the 2006 season. He then found himself stuck in the reserves in 2010, but battled on to become an All Australian and premiership winner last year. On Saturday, he gave up 14kg to Travis Cloke, with the Collingwood spearhead kicking two goals but was otherwise well held by the milestone man. | 4. Kurt Tippett dominates for second straight week The Swans spearhead had a second big game in as many weeks, booting six against the Magpies. All were from set shots - three came from marks and three were from free kicks. Tippett also kicked a half dozen against the Western Bulldogs last week and has 27 from eight games after a delayed start to the season. The 26-year-old saw off defender Nathan Brown and also gave Lachlan Keeffe plenty of problems. 5. Dane Swan unfazed by bench start It is not too often you see one of the top 10 players in the AFL start the game on the bench, but that is where Collingwood's Dane Swan found himself at the opening bounce. Swan, who sits seventh in the Official AFL Player Ratings, did not spend long on the pine though, entering the field of battle in the fourth minute of the match. He finished the game as one of the Magpies' best players. Collingwood must hope the annual fixture at the Olympic Stadium is set in stone given it has won nine of its 12 matches at the venue against the Swans. |
| THE MEDIA | |
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Collingwood has vaulted into premiership calculations and dented the Sydney Swans' top-four hopes with an impressive 29-point victory at ANZ Stadium. The Magpies followed up last week's 79-point belting of Essendon with a 14.16 (100) to 10.11 (71) triumph over the reigning premiers in front of 42,627 fans to let the competition know they are right in the mix in 2013. Scott Pendlebury, Dayne Beams, Dane Swan and the rest of the Collingwood engine room were all on song as the visitors emphatically snapped the Swans' six-game winning streak. It leaves the Pies two competition points behind fourth-placed Fremantle, who play Greater Western Sydney on Sunday, while the Swans have slipped a place to third. "It was exactly how we wanted to play," Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley said afterwards. "It is good evidence for us as to what we are capable of, this team, this group of players right now, what we are capable of against a very good opposition." With games against the Cats in Geelong and Hawthorn (against at ANZ Stadium) in the Swans' final two matches, a top-four spot is far from assured, with the in-form Pies ready to pounce ahead of their showdown with the Hawks next week. Kurt Tippett kicked six goals in a dominant performance up front, Jarrad McVeigh and Shane Mumford battled hard and Teddy Richards shaded Travis Cloke in the defender's 200th appearance. But it was otherwise a poor day against a Collingwood outfit that refused to let the Swans play their style of game. Coach John Longmire was far from panicking, however, believing his side simply had a poor day in terms of work rate for the first time since losing to Port Adelaide back in round 13. "The aim is to go out there and play your best every week and we have probably the last 10 or 11 weeks before tonight," he said. "We played the one average game against Port Adelaide. "But we just have to try to be competitive every week. "That's where the competition is at. It's ruthless, it's relentless, you just have to keep at your best and because you've been good for 10 or 11 weeks doesn't mean you can afford to have an off one." There was no sign of what was to come when the home side started off in scintillating fashion, putting four goals on the board inside 12 minutes. The Swans were dominating all over the ground until a Cloke goal midway through the term finally stemmed the bleeding. Gradually winning more of the ball and finding space, Collingwood managed to draw within two goals at quarter-time. The Pies then carried that momentum into the second term, kicking the first four goals of the quarter to turn the game on its head. Producing some breathtaking football, capped by a coast-to-coast goal from Brodie Grundy and a booming set shot by Harry O'Brien, the Pies were on fire. A Tippett mark and goal after the siren, the Swans' first since the 12-minute mark of the opening quarter, gave Collingwood a deserved three-point lead at the main break. Tippett again put his stamp on a game of fluctuating fortunes early in the third, kicking two more goals in the first four minutes as the home side regained the lead. But Collingwood dominated the rest of the quarter, forcing the Swans to kick long down the line and preventing them from getting any space or run. A Ben Reid set shot after the siren gave the Pies a three-goal lead as they sniffed the victory they needed to really set up their season. They then ran out the game strongly to notify the competition they are right in the hunt this year. Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley has played down his side's top-four chances, despite knocking off a second finals rival in as many weeks. The Magpies gave the Sydney Swans a four-goal start at ANZ Stadium before engineering a 55-point turnaround to triumph 14.16 (100) to 10.11 (71) in front of 42,627 fans. At 13 wins and six losses, the Magpies are level with Richmond on 52 points and are likely to be a game and a half out of fourth spot at the end of the round. They face Hawthorn, West Coast and North Melbourne - all at the MCG - in the remaining three rounds. While that means Collingwood is still well in the hunt for a top-four finish, Buckley says that is not really a focus. "If you are a betting man, mathematically we are going to struggle to break into the top four," Buckley said. "But more important for us right now is to be playing consistently well towards the end of the year." The result is the club's third straight win and follows on from the victory over Essendon on home soil last week. It also gives Collingwood some great momentum heading into Friday night's blockbuster against the ladder-leading Hawthorn. "We knew that this run into the finals was going to be pretty tough for us. We've started it pretty well but clearly there is some work to do," Buckley said. The Magpies took to ANZ Stadium with the same 22 that defeated Essendon the previous week and Buckley said Saturday night's demolition of the Swans showed him what the squad was capable of. "We feel that we are just starting to settle, settle our team," Buckley said after the match. "We've still got some players that are contesting for positions outside, but this 22 have now played the last eight quarters of footy and played really solid football in that eight quarters against some pretty good opposition. "That sets a standard that we want to build on." FAR from being obsessed with an unlikely final-four finish, Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley just wants the Magpies to continue their rapid improvement of recent weeks. With five wins from its past six starts, including the scalps of Essendon and Sydney over the past two rounds, Collingwood sits six points outside the top four and will play in its eighth straight finals series. After a sluggish start when the Swans kicked the first four goals of Saturday night's game at ANZ Stadium, Collingwood's midfield overwhelmed the Swans to secure a win by 29 points. Buckley said he was more concerned about maintaining momentum against Hawthorn in Friday night's MCG match than he was about the prospects of a final-four finish. "If you're a betting man, mathematically we're going to struggle to be able to break into the top four," Buckley said. "But more important for us right now is to be playing consistently well, heading into the end of the year." Collingwood can add to its 13 wins this season in the run home, which includes its final two home-and-away games against West Coast and North Melbourne at the MCG. "We knew that this run into the finals was going to be pretty tough for us," Buckley said. "We've started it pretty well but clearly there is some work to do." The Pies took the same 22 players to Sydney that defeated the Bombers in the previous round.. "We feel that we are just starting to settle, settle our team," Buckley said. "We've still got some players that are contesting for positions outside, but this 22 have now played the last eight quarters of footy and played really solid football in that eight quarters against some pretty good opposition." 
NATHAN BUCKLEY
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The Swans' six-game winning streak, which had sent shivers through the rest of the competition, came to a grinding halt on Saturday night against a resurgent Collingwood at ANZ Stadium. The Magpies were determined to prove their big win over Essendon last round was no aberration and what better way to do it than out-contesting the Swans in front of 42,627 fans. The premiers kicked the first four goals of the game to lead by 25, but Collingwood gradually reeled them in. By quarter-time the deficit was back to two kicks and 20 minutes into the second term the Magpies hit the front for the first time. At the main break, the visitors could celebrate a courageous comeback with a lead - albeit slender following Kurt Tippett's after the siren set shot goal - of 6.6 (42) to 5.9 (39). In the third, the Magpies were outstanding, applying relentless pressure which yielded six goals to four and a three-goal three-quarter-time lead. Tellingly, by the final break Collingwood had the ascendancy in contested possessions, a sign that the Swans were being outfoxed on their smartest suit. The Magpies applied killer blows in the final term, adding a further two goals to one. Tippett dominated defender Nathan Brown to finish with six goals, while Jarrad McVeigh produced a remarkable 36 disposals and five tackles. But the famed Swans midfield was finally toppled, with Scott Pendlebury, Dayne Beams, Jamie Elliott and Dane Swan among their best. Pendlebury grabbed 35 touches and seven tackles, while Elliott kicked three goals and Travis Cloke two. Following an 11-match losing run to Collingwood, the Swans had won their previous two against the Magpies. But it had been more than 14 years since they beat Collingwood in three straight games and the resurgent Pies made sure that record stayed in tact, drowning out celebrations for Swans defender Ted Richards' 200th game and making it a night to remember for Collingwood utility Tyson Goldsack who was notching up his 100th. The pressure applied by the Swans in the opening term was furious and they held a 19-point lead, dominating the clearances and getting big numbers around the ball. Tippett intimidated Brown, who provided the big man two early free kicks for two goals, while Kieren Jack and Rhyce Shaw finished off great team efforts, before Collingwood made its move on 14 minutes. Cloke and Elliott pulled two back for the Pies and it would have been closer than two goals at the first break had others kicked straighter. Nevertheless, the resurgence continued, topped by Brodie Grundy's finish of a length-of-the-field rebound, featuring a Dane Swan burst, book-ended by goals to Steele Sidebottom and Pendlebury, which put them ahead for the first time 20 minutes into the term. Harry O'Brien's 50-metre set shot, after a midfield turnover cushioned the lead, before Tippett grabbed and goaled with the final kick of the term. It was a tough term for the Swans, who finished with 14 inside 50s for a return of 1.5. However, as happened at the start, Tippett monstered Brown and scored two early to begin the second half and put the Swans out again. Lachlan Keeffe went to Tippett, but it didn't really matter, as the Magpies had the next six inside 50s and scored three unanswered, until Jude Bolton unleashed. Overpowering pressure and intensity from the Pies, especially through Beams, Luke Ball, Swan and Pendlebury, blasted them back into the lead with a second goal each to Thomas and Cloke. Tippett did his best to stem the flow with his sixth. But Magpies players swirled around Ben Reid after he converted after the siren, following a strong contested mark against Dane Rampe. They continued the theme in the final term to score an important win for the club. PIES BACK TO BEST Pies fans can finally feel settled that last week's thrashing of Essendon was no aberration. They played with the same intensity and two-way running they showed to topple the Bombers. NICE TO HAVE BEAMS BACK Dayne Beams' form since his return from injury has been a revelation. On Saturday night he was outstanding with 32 touches. STATS INCREDIBLE The Swans don't have a player among the top 30 goalkickers in the competition, such has been their ability to spread the point-scoring. With Kurt Tippett up front now, they have no hesitation in banging it long. COLLINGWOOD completed a 29-point upset victory over Sydney on Saturday night at ANZ Stadium, the greatest sign yet that they'll be doing more than just making up the numbers in the AFL finals. The Swans were irrepressible in the early stages of the clash, booting the opening four goals as the Magpies struggled to keep up with the hosts' incredible pressure and swift ball movement. But Collingwood managed to settle. By quarter-time they trailed by only two goals, in the decisive third term they seized control of the contest with fierce pressure to beat the Swans at their own game and win 14.16 (100) to 10.11 (71). Sydney's star recruit Kurt Tippett booted six goals for the second week in a row, but the hosts relied on him too much with only four other Swans able to get on the scoreboard in Ted Richards' 200th match. The running game of Collingwood proved the difference, with Scott Pendlebury, Dane Swan, Dayne Beams and Harry O'Brien magnificent for the visitors. The victory leaves the Magpies two points adrift of fourth-placed Fremantle, who host Greater Western Sydney on Sunday. But even if Collingwood fail in their improbable pursuit of a top-four spot, come September they will draw confidence from an away win over the reigning premiers. Swan said the Magpies' midfield delivered after being challenged during the week. "We come out of the blocks pretty ordinary but we steadied up half way through that first quarter," he told Channel 7. "I think we carried on our good form from last week - it's about time we started playing some decent footy and hopefully we're playing it at the right time. "It's been well documented how good their midfield is going... the challenge was put to us mids during the week and I thought we played pretty well." The in-form Magpies next face Hawthorn on Friday night, a six-day break and the premiership favourites to be the ultimate test after impressive wins over Essendon and Sydney. The only sour note for Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley was the form of key defender Nathan Brown, with Tippett running rampant just two weeks after GWS young gun Jeremy Cameron kicked seven goals against him. Tippett did everything in his power to get the Swans over the line, with Brown substituted out of the game late in the third quarter. The 26-year-old booted two quick goals after halftime to reel in the Magpies' three-point lead at the major break, and slotted another in the dying stages of the third term to reduce their advantage to 12 points and give the Swans hope. However, Ben Reid goalled after the three-quarter time siren and the 'Pies never looked back in front of the crowd of 42, 627. The Swans midfield goalscoring almost completely dried up. Kieren Jack's first quarter goal and Josh Kennedy's in the last were the only contributions from that usually productive part of the team. Jarrad McVeigh was again outstanding in defence as he did his best to limit the damage the Magpie midfielders were causing. The co-captain won 17 contested possessions and put on five tackles. His distribution to his teammates was also at its usual high standard. Contested possessions, clearances and tackles were close throughout the match but Collingwood moved the ball with much more speed and skill and looked a completely different team to the one the Swans hammered by 47 points at the MCG in round nine. Sydney coach John Longmire rued the missed opportunity after a strong first half. "The first half we didn't capitalise on our opportunities as much as we should have and they made us pay and in the second half they just worked really hard," he said. "Our blokes have been pretty consistent and pretty good for a fair while hopefully tonight is something we can review and work out what we did right and wrong. "We just didn't work hard enough when we had the ball and when they had the ball. "That's part of the game we're usually pretty good at but we just didn't do it well. But Longmire lauded Tippett's efforts in front of the big sticks. "He's been very accurate the last two weeks he works really hard at his craft with our coaches, he's very diligent in the way he prepares." The Swans will be hoping the win doesn't re-ignite Collingwood's amazing run of victories against the red and whites. Before last year's preliminary final victory Sydney had lost 11 in a row to the Magpies including five in a row at ANZ Stadium. |
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