COLLINGWOOD 3.2.20 9.4.58 12.6.78 15.8.98
WESTERN BULLDOGS 4.2.26 9.5.59 13.6.84 16.10.106
SCORERS - Collingwood: Cloke (6.1), Elliott (4.0), Pendlebury (1.1), Swan (1.1), Adams (1.0), Ball (1.0), Thomas (1.0), Blair (0.1)
BEST - Collingwood: Elliott, Pendlebury, Cloke, Adams, Dwyer, Lumumba
INJURIES - Collingwood: Frost (left ankle), Beams (corked calf) replaced in the selected side by Broomhead
SUBSTITUTES - Collingwood: Broomhead replaced Grundy in the third quarter
REPORTS - Collingwood: Marley Williams reported for striking in the first quarter
OFFICIAL CROWD: 28,339 at Etihad Stadium
| - The crowd of 28,339 was the lowest to a game between Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs since 30,342 turned up to watch the first Robert Rose Cup in round 20, 2000. It was also Collingwood’s lowest MCG crowd to a match played at a Melbourne venue since 2005. - Debutant Tim Broomhead showed glimpses of his undoubted class once he removed the substitute’s vest. He had just three disposals but made them count, as illustrated when he took the ball with one hand at pace moments after running onto the field and delivered with perfection to Jamie Elliott. Elliott duly goaled, but it was the pace and poise of the debutant that made it all possible. - Travis Cloke’s haul of six was his best of the season to date and proves how much he enjoys playing on the Etihad Stadium deck. He has kicked 11 goals in his past two games at the ground, which follows four against St Kilda and five against the Western Bulldogs last season. After a slow start to the year, the big forward has hit his straps in recent weeks, averaging 4.3 goals in his past three games. | - You’d have to walk 1000 miles to find an enemy of Sam Dwyer. He had 28 disposals in what was easily his most prolific game since his 31 disposals against the Suns in round 17 last year. The 27-year-old led the way with his commitment and desperation, particularly when he ran back with the flight at a crucial stage late in the match. - Unfortunately the result marks the end of a 1,750 day stretch since Collingwood last lost to the Western Bulldogs. Prior to Sunday, you had to go back to the final match of the 2009 home and away season to find the last time the Sons of the West triumphed. It’s now eight years since the Magpies lost to the Dogs at a venue other than the Docklands. It was the 2006 Elimination Final – not a day Pies fans remember with any great fondness. Unfortunately the result marks the end of a 1,750 day stretch since Collingwood last lost to the Western Bulldogs. |
| 1. Underdogs go against the script This was the high-scoring, free-flowing contest – and result – that wasn't meant to be. When the Pies led three goals to nine points after 14 minutes, it appeared it would become the expected percentage-boosting win for the Pies, and perhaps even a win of the magnitude of Geelong's 96-point massacre of St Kilda down the Princes Highway. But the Dogs threw caution to the wind and it came off. With skipper Ryan Griffen shrugging off a form slump, returned forward Liam Jones playing his best game of the season and Koby Stevens a surprise packet with three first-half goals, the longshots went some way to addressing question marks over their development. 2. Magpie Marley faces a nervous wait Collingwood defender Marley Williams' report for striking with a forearm in the dying seconds of the first quarter could prove costly, given the Pies face reigning premier Hawthorn at the MCG next Saturday afternoon. Williams would appear a strong candidate for the job on Cyril Rioli, if in fact the Hawks star himself escapes a penalty from the Match Review Panel. The Williams incident sparked a fracas after the quarter-time siren. 3. The Jones boy reignites Dogs If Liam Jones always played with the intensity he brought to this contest, there would never be any doubt over his spot in the Bulldogs' line-up. It's the blueprint performance for the young key forward's career from this point forward. In his first game at AFL level since round eight (after which he served a two-match suspension and was then forced to cool his heels in the VFL), the 23-year-old played perhaps his best game for the club, kicking an equal career-best four goals, taking contested marks and, most importantly, competing fiercely and refusing to give in. He even won free kicks after chasing down speedsters Clinton Young and Heritier Lumumba. His only blemish was a miss from a regulation set shot early in the last quarter that would have extended the margin to 25 points. | 4. Cooney hamstrung At a time when the Bulldogs have been heavily criticised for their lack of outside run, they could ill-afford to lose a classy finisher of the quality of Adam Cooney, who was substituted out of the contest with a hamstring injury midway through the first term. The Brownlow medallist appears likely to be sidelined for the almost obligatory three weeks – clashes with Port Adelaide (Adelaide Oval), Melbourne (Etihad Stadium) and Geelong (Simonds Stadium). Cooney was replaced by fellow veteran Daniel Giansiracusa, who was a solid contributor, using his first 15 disposals at 100 per cent efficiency and kicking a goal. 5. Stiff Pie's lucky break Making your AFL debut is tough enough at the best of times, let alone after playing two-and-a-half quarters in the VFL the previous day, but that's how it transpired for Collingwood youngster Tim Broomhead. The 20-year-old midfielder from SANFL club Port Adelaide was a late inclusion following the withdrawal of midfield star Dayne Beams with a corked calf. It was a welcome change of luck for the 2012 draftee, whose time with the Pies has been plagued by injury and illness. Starting as the Pies' substitute, he entered the fray midway through the third term and immediately used his speed and class to set up Jamie Elliott for a crucial goal that drew the Pies to within six points. Another likely young Pie. Collingwood defender Marley Williams' report for striking with a forearm in the dying seconds of the first quarter could prove costly, given the Pies face reigning premier Hawthorn at the MCG next Saturday afternoon. |
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The under-fire Western Bulldogs have hit back at their critics with a stunning eight-point upset of Collingwood at Etihad Stadium on Sunday. The Dogs led narrowly at every change and held off the fast-finishing Pies in a courageous 16.10 (106) to 15.8 (98) triumph. The win followed a disappointing loss to the Brisbane Lions at the same venue last weekend and inflicted a savage blow to the Magpies' top-four hopes in front of 28,339 fans. Four goals from much-maligned key forward Liam Jones inspired the victory, his side's first over the Pies in eight meetings. Travis Cloke slotted six goals for the Pies – two in the heart-stopping final term - and livewire small forward Jamie Elliott added four, but it wasn't enough to prevent Collingwood slipping to 8-4. It was only the Bulldogs' second win in the past eight games – the other coming against Melbourne – and relieves some of the pressure on Brendan McCartney's men from their increasingly impatient fans. "We hung on today, we beat a really good opposition. We dealt with the game OK, we had an eight day break, they had a six and that might have told in the end," McCartney said post-match. "It was a good result for our players and our club." After a see-sawing opening half, the Dogs took a one-point lead into the long break and were never headed. The Dogs opened a game-high 20-point lead in the final term after Jarrad Grant kicked truly and Liam Jones missed a set shot at the nine-minute mark. But then Collingwood surged. Cloke booted two goals and Scott Pendlebury chimed in with one, but a brilliant set shot from near the boundary by Jason Tutt after 25 minutes sealed a famous win. The Dogs’ old heads and young guns combined brilliantly. Dogs skipper Ryan Griffen was outstanding with two goals and 27 possessions and had the better of tagger Brent Maccaffer. Midfield star Tom Liberatore (34 disposals), Luke Dahlhaus (29), Jack Macrae (28), Daniel Giansiracusa (22) and ruckman Will Minson (13 and 44 hit-outs) also led the charge. Pendlebury was typically sublime all match but couldn't will his side to victory despite gathering 30 touches, while he had good support from Taylor Adams (30) and Sam Dwyer (28). Momentum swung violently throughout the entertaining clash. Collingwood threatened to break the game after booting the opening three majors but the Bulldogs answered with four goals to lead by six points at the first change. The lead changed hands four times during the see-sawing second term, but the Dogs showed the resolve that has been missing at times this season. "You've got to give them credit, around the ball in particular," Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley said. "They nutted us in contested ball (167-159) and clearances (51-34), which is where it starts...And we've allowed 57 inside 50s, which has been a bit of a trend over the last four or five weeks. "And we had a young backline and they weren't able to stand up as they have for so much of the year to date." The win lifted the Dogs one spot on the ladder to 13th at 4-8, but was soured by a hamstring injury to Brownlow medallist Adam Cooney in the first quarter. McCartney said Cooney was likely to be sidelined for several weeks. Meanwhile, Collingwood defender Marley Williams is facing a nervous wait after he was reported for striking Nathan Hrovat on the stroke of quarter-time as a melee erupted on the half-back flank. Collingwood blew a gilt-edged opportunity to return to the top four against the Western Bulldogs and coach Nathan Buckley believes his team will have to improve significantly to bounce back against reigning premier Hawthorn on Saturday. Following the Pies' upset eight-point loss to the Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium on Sunday evening, Buckley was critical of his side's efforts in contested situations, team defence and delivery forward of centre, and praised the Bulldogs accordingly. A win would have vaulted the Pies into fourth on the AFL ladder, percentage above Geelong but they are now 8-4 and sixth, a game outside double-chance territory. "It's an elite competition – you've got to be elite if you want to win games of football. It shows that there's not much gap between any (teams) in the comp," Buckley said of the shock result. "Their better players played really well, they were daring with the ball (and) we weren't able to slow them down enough, and we paid the price for that. The game was played on the Western Bulldogs' terms. "We didn't attend to some of the areas that we needed to against the Western Bulldogs or against Hawthorn next week or against another opposition." Asked what his team needed to do to turn around their fortunes in the space of six days against the Hawks at the MCG, Buckley said simply: "Play like we have the last 11 weeks." "For the past month we've had sides that have played a little bit slower against us. The Bulldogs went really fast, we knew that was coming (but) we just didn't defend that well enough," he said. "Seventeen times we turned the ball over in our front half, which is a season low. If you want to be a good side, you prevent the opposition from moving the ball out of your forward line. "Our systems and our effort to do that weren't at the level we needed to...earn the right to control field position and get the game on our terms." The Bulldogs had nine goalscorers, including four multiple providers, while the Pies had just seven, with perhaps only Travis Cloke (six) and Jamie Elliott (four) being constant dangers. Buckley explained: "'Clokey' was dangerous...but we're not a one-man forward line. Our offense wasn't an issue for us – it was contested ball and our ability to defend." The Pies could face some selection headaches for the clash with the Hawks, with Marley Williams on report for striking and defender Jack Frost hyperextended a knee but finishing the game. The Pies are expected to regain Dayne Beams, who was a late withdrawal with a corked calf, and Tyson Goldsack (knee), while Nick Maxwell (calf) might also come into calculations. "The Bulldogs went really fast, we knew that was coming (but) we just didn't defend that well enough. Seventeen times we turned the ball over in our front half, which is a season low. "
Nathan Buckley
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MITCH Wallis’s task of minding Scott Pendlebury seemed to get a whole lot tougher at Etihad Stadium on Sunday. Collingwood quickly banged through the first three goals and Brownlow winner Adam Cooney, one of Wallis's midfield mentors, had been substituted out with a torn hamstring. But it was Pendlebury and his blinding boots which were left chasing the young Dog when Wallis steadied and goaled moments after resurgent captain Ryan Griffen opened his side’s account. And it sparked a run of 11 out of 16 goals as Brendan McCartney’s new breed of pups finally made good on president Peter Gordon’s pre-season promise of the Dogs being the ‘danger’ of 2014, snapping a five-year drought against the Magpies and beating a top-four side for the first time under the third-year coach. Liam Jones enjoyed the best of his 64 AFL games with legend Wayne Carey lauding his new-found urgency and ability to keep his feet. Jones booted 4.2 — his second after a wonderful contested mark against Jack Frost — but it was his defensive efforts which thrilled fans. The maligned forward laid a career-best six tackles, twice rewarded after inspirational chases on Clinton Young and Heritier Lumumba. Tom Liberatore stood up to ignite the first-quarter revival, boasting five clearances, four tackles and seven contested disposals by the first change. The young gun finished with a game-high 34 disposals as he enters the All-Australian conversation with his grunt work helping Griffen get off the leash with the slick midfielder towelling up star stopper Brent Macaffer before fading under the duress of a sore leg. Speedster Jason Tutt got on the end of a damaging Wallis handball to kick his first goal and coolly slotted the matchwinner as the Dogs young guns stood firm. Easton Wood affected a turnover at half-back and combined with Marcus Bontempelli who found Tutt, three components of the next generation killing off Collingwood for good. Then there was Jack Macrae, who with one of his 11 third-quarter disposals cleverly backed off a contest, had the ball fed to him and from the boundary screwed the ball to the hotspot with magnificent vision. It was met by Bontempelli, who marked unopposed and booted his first AFL goal as No. 6 and 4 draft picks from the past two years combined in a special moment to put the Dogs 13 points clear. The pair combined in the previous quarter when Macrae’s tackle on Sam Dwyer won a free kick and he found the cousin of Nick Dal Santo. Bontempelli hooked that set-shot but the Dogs’ swarm of forward pressure won the ball back from the kick out and Koby Stevens, another emerging midfielder with forward weapons, snapped the second of his three-first half goals. And for the litter of emerging litter of emerging guns, Jordan Roughead was as important as any holding the fort. The full-back kept Travis Cloke to just four second-half disposals, a dominance sparked by a chase-down tackle as the Magpies goalkicker ambled towards goal late in the second term. REAL FOOTY
The Western Bulldogs claimed their first major scalp of the season on Sunday with a Ryan Griffen-inspired eight-point win over Collingwood at Etihad Stadium.
The Bulldogs defeated a top-eight opponent for the first time this year and displayed an intensity that coach Brendan McCartney has spoken of often but has rarely been seen on a consistent basis.
The Dogs led by as much as 20 points in the final term, but two goals to Travis Cloke - who finished with six - helped slash the margin to one point with three minutes left.
But just as the Pies looked set to break the Bulldogs' hearts, they forced a turnover in the centre with Jason Tutt able to find space to mark and goal with 1 minute 21 seconds left on the clock, in a play that secured the points.
Griffen was the architect of the stunning win with 27 possessions and eight centre clearances, but he received plenty of support from Tom Liberatore (34 disposals), Jack Macrae (28) and Luke Dahlhaus (29), while Liam Jones played arguably the best game of his career to finish with four goals.
Collingwood lost Dayne Beams to a calf injury before the bounce and his absence was felt in a midfield that struggled to assert the sort of dominance expected against their young Bulldog opponents.
The Dogs were on the back foot early as the Magpies opened them up through the middle time and again, with Dane Swan and Scott Pendlebury getting plenty of the ball. Cloke got off to the start he wanted when he outmuscled Dale Morris to mark and kick Collingwood's first goal, and Jamie Elliott slipped minder Liam Picken on two occasions to kick back-to-back goals that had the Bulldogs reeling.
But just as the match looked set to follow the script, the Bulldogs found their composure to steady and hit back hard.
Griffen was the catalyst at the stoppages and came up with his side's first goal as the Pies suddenly struggled to find the ball. Mitch Wallis, who was running with Pendlebury, followed up with a goal of his own, and when Koby Stevens kicked the last major of the term the Dogs held a well-deserved one-goal lead at the first break.
The Bulldogs suffered a blow when playmaker Adam Cooney limped to the bench in the first quarter with a hamstring injury that forced him to be replaced by substitute Daniel Giansiracusa. But they continued to attack the free-flowing contest with spirit and a sense of daring that was rarely in evidence in last week's disappointing loss to the Brisbane Lions at the same venue.
Several players came together after the quarter-time siren, with Collingwood's Marley Williams reported for striking Nathan Hrovat.
Jones continued his bright start with his second goal early in the second quarter and he followed it up with a determined chase and tackle on Clinton Young that was indicative of the Dogs' intensity.
Cloke had an enthralling duel with Jordan Roughead for most of the day, but the Pies spearhead had the upper hand in the second quarter when he added three goals as Collingwood wrested back the lead.
Griffen's inspired touch around the stoppages was important for the Dogs, while Stevens added another goal after an embarrassing lapse of concentration by Tom Langdon from a kick-in.
The blistering pace of the first half showed no sign of abating in the third quarter as the Dogs continued to take it right up to the Magpies. The Bulldogs extended their one-point half-time lead through Stewart Crameri and Jones, but a brilliant end-to-end run by Swan that ended in a goal kept the Pies in striking distance.
Griffen limped to the bench to get treatment on a lower leg issue that appeared to trouble him after quarter-time, but his side held a six-point advantage going into an epic final term that ended in the Dogs' fourth win of the season.
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