GOLD COAST 5.4.34 10.9.69 12.11.83 14.13.97
Goals - Collingwood: Cloke 6, White 3, Clarke, Sidebottom, Young, Swan, Pendlebury, Maxwell, Kennedy
BEST - Collingwood: Cloke, Young, Pendlebury, Beams, Swan
INJURIES - Collingwood: TBA
OFFICIAL CROWD: 4,830 at Metricon Stadium
| THE MEDIA | |
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Travis Cloke has inspired a remarkable second-half turnaround as Collingwood defeated Gold Coast by 14 points in a practice match at Metricon Stadium on Sunday. Cloke kicked all six of his goals after half-time as the Magpies reversed a 41-point deficit to win 16.15 (111) to 14.13 (97). The Collingwood spearhead was goalless in the first half, but monstered Sun Steven May after the break, kicking four in the third quarter and another two in the fourth. Fellow tall forward Jesse White was also influential, kicking three goals in the second half, including two early in the last to put his team in front. Charlie Dixon kicked four goals for the home team, but the Suns appeared to run out of legs on a hot Gold Coast afternoon. The Suns were rampant through the middle of the ground in the first two quarters, with Michael Rischitelli (17 disposals) and Dion Prestia (16) leading the way in a team without skipper Gary Ablett (corked calf). After the pair was rested in the second half, things fell apart for the Suns as the star-studded Collingwood midfield sprung to life. Captain Scott Pendlebury (26 disposals), Dayne Beams (24) and Dane Swan (23) led from the front, but it was spearhead Cloke who swung the momentum with his four goals in the third. The Magpies have been on the Gold Coast since Tuesday afternoon for a training camp, and looked like they were still on holidays during the first half. They were terribly fumbly, with Swan dropping a simple chest mark and Steele Sidebottom having his kick-in from a behind smothered and booted back over his head for a goal by Brandon Matera. Fremantle coach Ross Lyon was an interested onlooker, watching the game alongside his assistant Peter Sumich. The Dockers play Collingwood in the opening game of the season on March 14, followed by the Suns in round two. Two Halves Despite the thrilling finish to Sunday's practice match at Metricon Stadium, Nathan Buckley was only taking notice of the first half between Gold Coast and Collingwood. The Suns led by 41 points at half-time, but inspired by six goals from Travis Cloke after the break, the Magpies stormed home to win 16.15 (111) to 14.13 (97). Despite the end result, Buckley said the Magpies simply didn't turn up to play in the first half, but showed what they could really do after the break when their intensity lifted. While Buckley was pleased Collingwood turned things around, he said his team still had much work left ahead of its round one match against Fremantle on March 14. "The win is irrelevant to be honest," the coach said after the match. "The question we need to answer is how do you play so poorly at the beginning, when that (superior) effort is clearly there at the end? "There's no relief, there's just further evidence and ammunition that we need to go back and explore why we started like that, because if we get more of the second half effort for four quarters, we'll be pretty hard to beat. “We didn’t show our brand of footy in the first half, but we saw more of it in the second.” The key to the shock turnaround was Cloke’s form in front of goal. He rammed home six goals in the second half to change the course of the game, giving the young Suns defenders the run around in the process. “Clokey was excellent,” said Buckley. “He’s put a power of work into his pre-season. It was a strong display of leadership from him.” Win, lose or draw, all Collingwood eyes were going to be trained on Alan Toovey who was playing his first game since rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament against Essendon 311 days earlier. He managed 10 disposals and three tackles from his customary position at half back. “Toovey played 70 minutes of football and didn’t have any issue with the contest or intensity of the game,” Buckley told reporters. Cool Heads A half time directive from coach Nathan Buckley to focus on the basics of good football was the key factor behind the Magpies’ come-from-behind win over Gold Coast, according to Rodney Eade. Collingwood’s Director of Football said Buckley managed to reversed his side’s negative momentum after an error-riddled first half at Metricon Stadium. “They just beat us in every facet of the game, at the stoppages and with their work rate, and we made a lot of basic errors as well. We didn’t kick well for goal,” Eade told collingwoodfc.com.au. “At half time, things got realigned and Nathan spoke about getting the basics right with our effort, tackling, contested ball and all those sorts of things. “To their credit, the guys responded. Their work rate really lifted in hot conditions and the team ran the game out exceptionally well, kicking 13 goals to four after half time.” The win was registered off the back of strong performances from usual suspects Travis Cloke (six goals), Scott Pendlebury (26 possessions), Dayne Beams (25) and Dane Swan (23), but there were efforts of several other players that didn’t go unnoticed. “Our midfield was beaten early but in the second half they really responded when they were needed. “Pendles played really well, as did Beams and Swan, Clokey kicked six and played well, Elliott, Taylor Adams has now had a couple of good games, Maxy was pleasing and probably the younger players like Tom Langdon and Ben Sinclair were pleasing down back.” The win caps off Collingwood’s five-day training camp on the Gold Coast and means the players will return to the Westpac Centre riding a wave of positive momentum. “I think it worked well to get away together for a few good sessions and meetings but still have enough down time for the players to relax away from the normal environment,” Eade explained. “It was a good time to have it. It was the first time we’ve ever done something like that this close to the season. It was really positive and rounded off our preparation really well. “The players will need a few days for their recovery after playing in such trying conditions but with a 12-day break before round one we should be right and ready (for round one against Fremantle on Friday 14 March).” The Magpies won’t be resting any time soon, though, with their Season Launch and jumper presentation scheduled for Monday evening at the Crown Palladium. |
Out on the wide open spaces of Metricon Stadium on a steamy Sunday afternoon, it seemed like some of the widest gaps were between the 18 Collingwood footballers running around and their designated Gold Coast opponents. It looked, for all intents and purposes, the definition of a practice match. Bruise-free footy, you might say. So how seriously to take the contest? Magpie fans, in particular, will want to know. With a close to full-strength squad – including 11 premiership players and practically their entire starting midfield of Dane Swan, Scott Pendlebury, Luke Ball, Dayne Beams, Brent Macaffer and recruit Taylor Adams – the Pies were toast by half time. Toasted, mind you, by a Suns side missing captain Gary Ablett (the result, apparently, of a cooking accident at home, where he burnt the top of his hand) and key back Rory Thompson. This was the third competitive hit-out for Collingwood this year, and for that first half, they looked uncompetitive, even listless. It's getting a bit late to say they're just rusty. The Magpies' embarrassment had nothing to do with the youthfulness, and one-time easybeat status of their opponents. These Suns are rising fast. They looked hungrier, quicker, more skilful, and they've clearly spent a lot of time in the gym. Jaeger O'Meara, in his second year, already looks like a midfielder in his prime. The scary thing is, like most of his teammates, he's most likely a long way from his peak. Ditto players like David Swallow, now playing a battering-ram role in the midfield; Charlie Dixon, who was commanding up forward; and a significantly beefed-up Brandon Matera. These players – along with a rejuvenated Michael Rischitelli and the gutsy Danny Stanley – tore Collingwood to shreds in the first half, establishing a 41-point lead at half-time. And the Pies were a fumbling, incoherent mess, particularly in their delivery up forward (a familiar complaint). So what to make of that second half? The most obvious change was Travis Cloke, who found his radar and kicked six second-half goals after completely working over opponent Steven May. But someone had to get the ball to him first, and it started coming in faster and more cleanly than the Suns' defenders could handle. Clinton Young, after a year dogged by hamstring issues, was a shining light for Collingwood, and the longer the match wore on, the more the influence of prime movers Swan and Pendlebury grew. But it should be noted, too, that Rischitelli and the dynamic Dion Prestia had come off, as did O'Meara in the last quarter. Perhaps the most telling clue to what to make of this topsy-turvy game was the demeanour of the teams' respective coaches after it. Nathan Buckley was glum, all his attention focused on that dreadful first half and his team's struggle for consistency, both within and between games. The Suns' Guy McKenna, by contrast, could barely contain his excitement. Of course, he has good reason to talk up his troops to the public ahead of the season. But like Buckley, all his attention was on that first half. It was, he declared, the best half of football he'd seen his team ever play. A win, at this time of year, was of no object and no concern to either men. And that tells you more about the formline of these two teams heading into season 2014 than the scoreboard possibly can. They dominated the Pies in the contests, won a tidal wave of footy out of the centre of the ground and looked dangerous in front of goal. Coach Guy McKenna described it as the best half of footy his side had played and their ball handling was as clean as it has ever been, but that did not take into account how listless Collingwood looked. For the first half they were ordinary but then their big-name midfielders Scott Pendlebury, Dane Swan and Dayne Beams started to get their hands on the ball and pump it long to man mountain Travis Cloke, who booted six second-half goals to steer the Pies to a 16.15 (111) to 14.13 (97) victory in front of 4830 at Metricon Stadium. McKenna preferred to focus on the opening half in which his side took a 41-point lead into the main break — a margin that could have been greater but for some poor conversion. They had close to 50 more first-half possessions and had a 12-3 centre clearance advantage. It was the kind of football people have been waiting to see from this talent laden side but to suggest their new high water mark came in a scratch match probably does an injustice to sterling first-half efforts against Geelong and Hawthorn, both on the road, last year. “There may have been parts of last year where I saw us play better, but only for five or six minutes of real clean contested footy,” McKenna said. “That was probably the best half of footy I have seen us play since the club has been formed, so that was really exciting.” The Suns have been a handy contested footy side that considers their ability to win the ball at stoppages a strength — what stood out yesterday was the speed in which their midfielders spread from congestion. It suggests they will hurt a lot of sides with their pace this season if they continue to get first hands on the ball. The change of momentum coincided with the removal of Dion Prestia and Michael Rischitelli from the game at half-time. At the time they were the two leading possession winners on the ground, had combined for nine clearances and Rischitelli had booted two goals. With Gary Ablett absent with a burn on his hand, courtesy of a cooking accident at home, and Jaeger O’Meara, who had won a massive nine clearances sitting on the pine for the final quarter, the Pies controlled the midfield in the final term. Buckley was pleased with his side’s endeavour to fight their way back into the game but said the opening half was unacceptable. “When you give the opposition a look in and the intensity is not there, you see what you get,” Buckley said. “If we get more of the second half, we are pretty hard to beat but if we give that first half effort, we were pretty ordinary.” “Clokey was excellent. He’s put a power of work into his pre-season. It was a strong display of leadership from him.”
Nathan Buckley
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