A brave and undermanned Collingwood outfit has kept its top-four aspirations alive with an eight-point win over West Coast at the MCG on Saturday evening.
With their top-eight spot in jeopardy and two key defenders out injured, the Magpies came from behind and survived three final-term lead changes to win 17.7 (109) to 15.11 (101).
In a highly entertaining game, the Pies had to contend with the tall Eagles' forward structure without Nathan Brown and Jack Frost for most of the game.
Brown sadly re-dislocated his right shoulder in the first quarter – the one he popped in round two against the Sydney Swans – while Frost was concussed and didn't play after half time.
Brown was taken to hospital and the Pies will now need to decide if he undergoes a season-ending reconstruction.
But the performance of Alan Toovey against Jack Darling and Tyson Goldsack versus Josh Kennedy was superb, with Nick Maxwell providing excellent support in a loose role and against the resting ruckmen.
The Eagles' defence was also commendable with Travis Cloke again ineffective and well held by Eric Mackenzie, and Darren Glass and Mitch Brown also influential.
It was by no means a complete win by the Magpies with coach Nathan Buckley critical of the fact they gave up 66 inside-50s, among other things.
But he was pleased with the resilience the team has shown it can build, and the growing belief and solidarity within.
"We just ground it out," Buckley said.
"It was a great win in the end, it wasn't a pretty win and it wasn't by design - we wouldn't have planned it that way during the week.
"But we were encouraged by the fact that the players just dug deep and got it done."
Dayne Beams, in his 100th game, was important in the third quarter when the game could have been taken by the Eagles.
Beams had 10 possessions in that term alone, with captain Scott Pendlebury collecting nine.
After trailing by 14 points at half time and being smashed 154 to 94 in uncontested possessions, the Pies had just two less touches in the third.
The Eagles had been well serviced by the first-half efforts of Matt Priddis, Matt Rosa, Andrew Gaff and Brad Sheppard, but in the third, it was the black and white ball-winners that had significant influence.
After Alex Fasolo and Steele Sidebottom kicked the last goals of the term, the margin was just six points at the final change.
Fasolo, in his first game since ANZAC Day, was having a say in the forward line while Jamie Elliot saved his first goal to reclaim the lead five minutes in.
The small forward, with his head bandaged, kicked another important major later in the term.
After Pendlebury put the lead out by another goal, Dean Cox tapped to Jamie Cripps and assisted in his major before marking strongly and following up with another.
A 50m penalty from Mitch Brown that put Brodie Grundy in the goal square was deflating for the visitors in red time, and when Cloke kicked his first and only with three minutes left, the Pies were home.
West Coast coach Adam Simpson conceded the Eagles simply couldn't hold on in the final 15 minutes and didn't deserve to win it.
"We're happy that we're seeing signs of improvement," Simpson said.
"We're definitely seeing some good signs. I thought our midfield as a collective stood up for the most part of the day.
"We had 66 inside-50s, so the supply was there, we just couldn't capitalise. Their defenders were actually really good."
West Coast's Brown spent time off the field in the first half after copping an off-the-ball torso blow from Jarryd Blair.
While Blair celebrated with a goal directly after, he might not be as happy once the match review panel examines the contact.
And, Elliot Yeo finished with one goal but two less teeth than he started the game with after colliding with Jarrod Witts seconds before half time.
The roots of the teeth remain so the former Brisbane Lion will have them capped in the coming days.
Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley wants his players to take advantage of the "growing resilience" within the group after its hard-fought win over West Coast on Saturday.
The Magpies extended their dominance over the Eagles in Melbourne that stretches back to 1995 with the eight-point victory that came after losing two defenders in the first half.
There were many elements of the win that Buckley wasn't happy with – 66 inside-50s to the Eagles, first-half goals from turnovers and a third-quarter discrepancy of eight in clearances.
While Buckley said it was pleasing they just "ground it out", they had to make sure they took plenty of belief out of it heading into the second half of the season.
"In the end, the numbers are less relevant when you've got enough of a group that believes, that wants to stay in the contest and has the ticker to stay involved and to work it through," Buckley said.
"There's a growing belief and solidarity in the group. There's a resilience that's building.
"We need to take advantage of that as the season progresses.
"But at the same time you don't want to get in the habit of having to dig yourself out of big holes."
The Pies' big forwards were again quiet with Travis Cloke failing to touch the ball for 56 minutes and Jesse White 72 minutes after kicking the first goal of the game.
Buckley said Cloke was physically fine despite his lackluster form.
"He was part of a forward line that was actually pretty effective; we scored at 47 per cent, but we had 13 goal kickers to kick 17 goals," he said.
"That spread is what we are looking for, we don't really want to be relying on any one or another to have to kick a bag.
"His form is not at the level that he would expect and we would expect; he cops far too much focus.
"We have other players that need to be coming to the table (and) we will assess 'Clokey' the same way that we assess all of our players."
Former captain Nick Maxwell described the win as one of the best he'd been involved in and valued its worth to the young Pies as winning a final.
Buckley said the games of Alan Toovey and Tyson Goldsack following the loss of Nathan Brown and Jack Frost to injuries were significant while the win had "great merit" because it could have easily become a blow-out loss.
"I thought Toovey on (Jack) Darling - after being tested in that first quarter and a half was really strong, - and 'Goldy' undersized against Josh Kennedy," he said.
"Tommy Langdon stood up, Clinton Young came on and played particularly well in the second half, Marley Williams...(Alex Fasolo) lowered his colours but was able to go forward and have an impact.
"All you need is a contest, all you need is guys prepared to have a dip, and stay in the game.
"There are two ways of losing games; you can beat yourself or the opposition can beat you, and I think it was a little bit of both in the first half.
"The second half, it definitely wasn't us beating ourselves and that gave us a chance to win it."
".... the greatest Pies contributor throughout was Jamie Elliott, who
only had 17 possessions but set the example by scrapping, chasing,
tackling, handballing and doing all of the team aspects of the match
throughout.
He chipped in with two vitals goals in the final term and
came close to taking mark of the year I the opening term.
Collingwood’s
backmen were also incredibly brave throughout. The Pies had to patch
together a backline after it lost key defenders Nathan Brown
(shoulder) and Jack Frost (concussion)."
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THERE have been plenty of brave ones over the years, but this Collingwood win was right up there.
Down two men in the second half, lacking cohesion in the first half, and without significant contributions from their key forwards, the Pies somehow cobbled together a courageous eight-point win over West Coast at the MCG.
Last week the Pies fumbled and bumbled their way to a 21-point loss in Adelaide. Their ball use had been atrocious against the Crows, but the jury was out on whether the Crows were that good or the Pies just had a horribly off day.
In the opening half against West Coast, it seemed that there were legitimate questions about the Pies’ ability to cope with the ferocity the Eagles brought to the contest.
West Coast’s midfield was on top of its more vaunted opposition, initially at the centre bounces, but also in general play. The exemplar was Matt Priddis, who won his normal mountain of contested possession and chipped in with two goals.
Scott Selwood was equally impressive, countering Pies skipper Scott Pendlebury and winning mounds of possessions in his own right.
In the rooms before the match, West Coast coach Adam Simpson had sought to spur on his charges by asking for a show of hands from all of those involved in the Eagles’ previous win over Collingwood at the MCG. Reportedly only one hand went up: that of assistant coach Don Pyke, who played in that four-point win in Round 2, 1995.
The ploy seemed to work early. The first quarter began with both teams producing free-flowing football reminiscent of the mid-’90s: the lead changed five times and ten goals were kicked as the ball pinged from end to end.
The key difference between the teams early in the match was that West Coast’s disposal efficiency was at 68 per cent, while the Pies were hitting targets about half of the time.
West Coast was prepared to switch play to stretch Collingwood and counter its attempts to apply pressure through the midfield.
The match remained in the balance through the second and third quarters, and it looked as though the Eagles might run away with it.
But Collingwood dug deep, and it was the team leaders who had their hands on the shovels.
Pendlebury, who had flashed in and out of the contest in the opening half with touches of class, was enormous in the last quarter, creating scoring opportunities and producing a crucial running goal. He had 11 disposals, while midfield mates Dayne Beams (9) and Dan Swan (8) also lifted.
But the greatest Pies contributor throughout was Jamie Elliott, who only had 17 possessions but set the example by scrapping, chasing, tackling, handballing and doing all of the team aspects of the match throughout. He chipped in with two vitals goals in the final term and came close to taking mark of the year I the opening term.
Collingwood’s backmen were also incredibly brave throughout. The Pies had to patch together a backline after it lost key defenders Nathan Brown (shoulder) and Jack Frost (concussion).
Alan Toovey was superb on Jack Darling, while Tyson Goldsack — having scrapped manfully in the forward line in the first half — was sent to back to counter Josh Kennedy.
Nick Maxwell played the third-man-up to a tee, and Heritier Lumumba dropped back from his wing to constantly help run the ball out of defence.
At the other end of the ground the Pies had headaches. Travis Cloke continued his wretched run of form, managing just two disposals in the first half. Admittedly Collingwood’s delivery into the forward 50 was often haphazard, but it did not excuse the fact that he looked woefully out of touch and horribly slow.
Cloke has spoken about how his first touch impacts on his overall mindset: his first possession came seven minutes into the match, after he gathered a loose ball on his defensive 50, and was a tentative short kick to a nest of three Eagles that led to a West Coast shot on goal.
He had a game to forget --- until the 28th minute mark of the final quarter, when a scrubby Elliott snap hit him on the chest. Cloke’s first touch may have been a shocker, but his last sealed the match for Collingwood.
This game had everything. Free-flowing football. Plenty of scoring. Spectacular individual efforts. Important cameos. A touch of controversy. And importantly as far as the vocal black-and-white hordes desperate for their side to remain within striking distance of the top four were concerned, the right result.
It took a super effort from Collingwod, mind you, not only down two key defenders for the entire second half after losing Nathan Brown then Jack Frost, but up against a West Coast side which had returned to the form of its early-season football.
It took 10 changes of lead, a six-goal final term, and the cream of the Collingwood camp rising to the top when it mattered most, skipper Scott Pendlebury, Dayne Beams, Steele Sidebottom and Dane Swan all finding another gear after West Coast had crept out to a 17-point lead. It was only when Travis Cloke, hardly sighted all day, latched on to a quick kick and converted from 20 metres out with under three minutes left on the clock, that this gripping tussle was finally settled.
The Eagles had finished with 15 more inside 50s, more clearances and more contested possessions, but not the match points. Not much consolation for coach Adam Simpson and co., but purely in terms of effort, this was a better performance than even some of West Coast's previous victories.
And it was that way almost from the first bounce. The first quarter had to be one of the most entertaining played this season. Too open, perhaps, for either coach's liking, but for fans a treat, the play fast and continuous and 10 goals scored, a rarity these days.
Mind you, for the first five minutes, you would have had your money on Collingwood scoring a high percentage of those 10. That was after Jesse White had kicked the Pies' first after only 40 seconds, Tyson Goldsack the second withinm three minutes, Scott Pendlebury having had far too long to calmly pop a little chip pass up to within 20 metres of goal.
That West Coast managed to go to the first break not only in striking distance, but in front, was due in no small part to their efforts of their midfield workhorse Matt Priddis. It was he who had the Eagles first on the board from a free kick and 50 metres. Then came a great snap from Elliot Yeo, and a welcome gift from the Pies after Alex Fasolo's kick-in from a point was intercepted by Dean Cox.
Collingwood's counter punch, though was swift, Jarryd Blair goalling on the run with a lovely checkside kick, Jarrod Witts' gather below his knees and turn on to his left foot given his 209 centimetres even more impressive. Not to be outdone, former Pie Sharrod Wellingham, looking very intent on proving a point, spun out of pack and dobbed a reply, before Dayne Beams and Jamie Cripps traded goals before the siren.
The Magpies had more issues at the break, Nathan Brown, having only just returned from a shoulder injury, landing awkwardly in a marking contest and subbed out for Clinton Young. And by half-time, there were even more concerns on the scoreboard.
With Priddis on fire, Matt Rosa and Scott Selwood almost as conspicuous and Brad Sheppard cleaning up everything as a spare man in defence, the Eagles went into the long break with a 14-point lead with the last three goals of the second quarter, Josh Hill slotting one on the run, Shannon Hurn letting loose with a bomb from 55 metres and Cripps the beneficiary of hanging back off a pack for the spills and resultant open goal.
For Collingwood,Brent Macaffer was doing a great job in quietening Luke Shuey, Heritier Lumbumba was Sheppard's equivalent, and Steele Sidebottom busy as ever, but Travis Cloke had hardly had a sniff, just two disposals and a mark the sum total of his game. And for West Coast, the margin might even have been 20 points had Yeo not spilled a sitter just a couple of seconds before the half-time siren.
Again, however, the sde seemingly on the ropes was able to hit back, the Pies, in a repeat of the game's opening, booting two in quick succession before the Eagles knew what was going on, Blair booting his third after Luke Ball had pounced on the spills of an unfortunate collision between two West Coast defenders.
The Eagles had their turn when Priddis courageously camped under a high ball and Hill got his second, but the Pies had reorganised their structure with effect to cover the loss of both Brown and Frost, with Goldsack going back and Fasolo forward. It paid dividends when Fasolo snapped a ripper, and it was back to a goal the difference when Sidebottom converted some crumbs.
It was all happening, Dean Cox hitting the post, Nic Naitainui hitting his head after an amazing but fruitless leap, Andrew Gaff working hard to twice save his team from what seemed certain goals. And so it continued, the Pies in front at the final bell, the Eagles at least losing no friends. If only all football nowadays was like this. |
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