Preview Round 3: Collingwood v Geelong

SPORTAL

Collingwood v Geelong Saturday April 5, 7.40pm MCG Fox Footy / 7mate 7.30pm Weather: Min 14 Max 20 Chance of rain 70%: 1-5mm Wind: SSE 22kph Betting: Collingwood $2.30 Geelong $1.63

Why watch?
It is the Kennett Curse in reverse for Geelong, as they have not beaten Collingwood since their 2011 grand final triumph over the Pies. Nathan Buckley's side bounced back to winning form on Saturday, but were woeful in round one and still have plenty to prove despite crawling past a flat Sydney. This is the Cats' first game in Melbourne this season, and they will want to show their fans just why they should be excited for the remainder of the season. It is the Pies' first visit to the MCG in 2014, and they must string together wins to shake the inconsistency tag.

Match notes

• Taylor Hunt will miss, after accepting a one-match ban for rough play against Brisbane midfielder Daniel Rich.
• Corey Enright is in doubt after picking up an ankle injury against the Lions. Potential replacements include Jared Rivers (a late omission on Sunday), Jackson Thurlow and Jackson Sheringham.
• Goals wise, Travis Varcoe's favourite team to play against is Collingwood, kicking 15 in 10 games.
• Joel Selwood is tied with GWS midfielder Callan Ward for the most contested possessions (37) through two rounds.
• With expansion teams excluded, Heretier Lumumba - statistically - performs better against only Sydney, than he does against the Cats. He averages over 16 disposals and two tackles against Geelong, and was brilliant last week against the Swans, collecting 28 touches and nine marks.
• Travis Cloke has kicked just four goals across his past three matches against the Cats.
  

Say what?
"You can see Nathan (Buckley) has them well drilled and it's all about contested footy and that's the number one principle now in AFL footy, you've got to win that to win games," Geelong ruckman Hamish McIntosh told geelongcats.com.au. "We need to bring that into our game and it's something we've done really well in the first two weeks and it's something we're going to have to do Saturday night in a big game against a big club to hopefully break that streak."

Last 5 games (includes 2013 season)
Collingwood
W 62 West Coast
L 11 North Melbourne
L 24 Port Adelaide
L 70 Fremantle
W 20 Sydney
Geelong
L 15 Fremantle
W 16 Port Adelaide
L 5 Hawthorn
W 38 Adelaide
W 25 Brisbane Lions

Last 5 between clubs
Pies-Pies-Pies-Cats-Cats

Fantasy factoid
Scott Pendlebury's output in the opening two games of the season has been stellar. Against the Swans, he had 33 disposals, 10 tackles and a goal.

Cold hard fact
Geelong haven't beaten Collingwood since the 2011 grand final.

Final Word
Geelong has shown more than Collingwood in its first two games to suggest it can go 3-0. The Pies, though, clearly match-up well against Chris Scott's side, and they will make Geelong earn it with plenty of pressure on the ball carrier. The loss of Enright will be of particular concern to last year's preliminary finalists. Whoever performs better in the midfield battle between Selwood/Johnson/Kelly and Pendlebury/Beams/Swan obviously puts themselves into a winning position. Expect Swan to be ready to bounce back also, after an uncharacteristic performance in Sydney. But Geelong has the better of the defences - especially after the Pies lost Nathan Brown to injury - and should still prevail, albeit in a close one.

Cats by six points.