Preview Round 7: Collingwood v Carlton

SPORTAL

Collingwood v Carlton Friday May 2, 7.50pm MCG Fox Footy / 7mate 7.30pm Weather: Min 11 Max 14 Chance of rain 90%: 10-20mm Wind: NNW 21kph Betting: Collingwood $1.26 Carlton $3.90

Why watch?
You shouldn't need any encouragement to tune into this one. Two of the greatest rivals locking horns in front of over 80,000 at the G will be a great sight. Not to mention there is also the Mick Malthouse factor and the Dale Thomas factor. Both interesting subplots to what is guaranteed to be a cracking clash.

Match notes

• Mystery surrounds the fitness of Collingwood defender Alex Fasolo. Having been subbed out during the Anzac Day win over Essendon, coach Nathan Buckley described his problem as a toe issue. Yet, on the Pies official injury list it's listed as mid foot pain. The big question remains whether that's indicative of Fasolo having hurt his navicular bone once again after missing all last season with the problem.
• Collingwood have a wealth of riches in the reserves to choose from should they need them. Kyle Martin has been in superb form in the VFL while Nathan Brown is playing in the twos as well. Marley Williams may also be a strong contender to replace Fasolo as Collingwood's primary rebounding defender. Martin and Williams could be strong candidates to come into the side this week for Fasolo and Clinton Young who took some heavy knocks during Anzac Day last week.
• Check out the quote below as to Mick Malthouse's thoughts regarding the media attention on Dale Thomas facing Collingwood for the first time. Yet Malthouse will know most of this attention was started by the pesky Nathan Buckley, who subtly put the pressure on Thomas during his Wednesday pre-match press conference. "There's no doubt that if you're in Dale's shoes, it's a marquee event," Buckley told reporters.  "I can't speak for him, but he'd be keen to play well."
• Carlton will be looking to make it three wins on the trot after impressive efforts against the western Bulldogs and West Coast last weekend. Down two men, the Blues hung tough in the last quarter against the Dogs to pull off their first win of the season, while they showed true grit to come from behind and overcome a 24-point deficit in the last 10 minutes against the Eagles.
• Skipper Marc Murphy has imposed himself on both these wins, while even ruckman Robbie Warnock played a part in last week's fantastic comeback.
• This match was originally intended as a crossover with the Star Wars May the Fourth Be With You promotion, where the three original Star Wars movies are being shown in a marathon on this day. The original promotional material involved the famous t-shirt of Mick Malthouse saying to Nathan Buckley, 'I am Your Father'. But Mick's not renowned for his sense of humour and this idea was scotched.

Quote of the week
"Do you think that's going to worry me or him or anyone else? No," Malthouse said about Dale Thomas' first match against his former club. "The sideshow will be Dale Thomas. Absolute sideshow. They go to watch Collingwood and Carlton play each other. You guys want to make it an issue and that's your job. No one could deny your role. But don't try to make it that it's our number one fundamental issue because it's far from that."

Key injuries
Carlton
Tom Bell (Fractured finger) - 2 weeks
Andrew Carrazzo (Back spasms) - Test
Ed Curnow (Fractured fibula) 5 weeks
David Ellard (Calf) - Test
Chris Judd (Hamstring) - 4 weeks
Matthew Kreuzer (Foot) - 9-11 weeks
Chris Yarran (Hamstring) - Test
Collingwood
Nathan Brown (Shoulder) - Test
Alex Fasolo (Mid-foot pain) - Test
Quinten Lynch (Leg) - 6-8 weeks
Ben Reid (Calf) - 1 week
Matthew Scharenberg (Feet) Indefinite
Ben Sinclair (Hamstring) - 1-2 weeks
Marley Williams (Ankle) – Test
Clinton Young (Corked Calf) - Test

Last five games
Carlton
L 12 Richmond
L 81 Essendon
L 23 Melbourne
W 28 Western Bulldogs
W 3 West Coast
Collingwood
W 20 Sydney
L 11 Geelong
W 38 Richmond
W 35 North Melbourne
W 23 Essendon

Last five between clubs
Coll, Coll, Carl, Carl, Coll

Cold hard fact
Collingwood have won seven of their last nine clashes against Carlton, with both those losses coming in 2012.

Final word
It may not quite be the blockbuster it once was between these teams but there's still plenty on the line here. Collingwod are looking to consolidate their good start to the campaign while the Blues are desperately trying to make up lost ground after losing their first four matches. Having overcome a slow start of their own on Anzac Day, Collingwood produced the goods in an emphatic win over Essendon, one that saw plenty of structural changes as the Pies dealt with injuries during that game. With Swan a more-than handy forward as Travis Cloke continues to struggle, the Magpies look to have their bases covered. Carlton, though, are still coming off two good wins but will find the going much tougher against Collingwood. The Blues have the power and ability to produce runs of goals and the Magpies have shown they're vulnerable to a run on, but it's Collingwood by 22 points in this one.