COLLINGWOOD 3.1.19 6.4.40 9.7.61 13.8.86
HAWTHORN 4.3.27 7.7.49 12.10.82 17.13.115
SCORERS - Collingwood: Cloke (5.1), Elliott (2.1), Witts (2.0), Blair (1.1), Macaffer (1.1), Adams (1.0), Young (1.0), White (0.2), Swan (0.1)
BEST - Collingwood: Pendlebury, Cloke, Elliott
INJURIES - Collingwood: Tom Langdon (concussion) replaced by Tim Broomhead in the third quarter
SUBSTITUTES - Collingwood: Tim Broomhead replaced Tom Langdon in the third quarter
REPORTS - Collingwood: Nil
OFFICIAL CROWD: 74,095 at the MCG
| - Saturday’s loss makes it 1002 days since Collingwood last beat Hawthorn, back in the 2011 Preliminary Final. It continues a trying run against the brown and gold, which dates back to 2007. Since ’07, the Magpies have won just three of their 14 games against the Hawks. All three wins came in the team’s Grand Final years of 2010 and 2011. - Travis Cloke’s season continues to gain momentum. He has now kicked 18 goals in his past four games, and 11 in his past two. At times he looked like he was capable of beating the Hawks off his own boot and his sticky fingers were worth their weight in gold on a greasy afternoon. - Taylor Adams is quietly going about cementing a permanent place in Collingwood’s first choice midfield. He has collected 55 disposals in his past two games, choosing to use the ball more by hand than by foot against the Hawks. | - A 2.10pm game? How quaint! The fans gave football’s traditional time slot the seal of approval. More than 70,000 spectators filled the MCG for Saturday’s game, which was Collingwood’s first in the time slot since round four last year and only its second since 2011. - Saturday’s match was Clinton Young’s first against his old Hawthorn teammates since leaving the club after the 2012 Grand Final loss to Sydney. He certainly didn’t let himself down, either, gathering 20 disposals (15 kicks, five handballs) and taking the ball out of the backline a team-high seven times. Young’s searching run through the middle and long and perfectly directed kick into the hands of Travis Cloke right on half time will remain in the mind’s eye for some time. |
| 1. Hawks still have the wood over Pies Collingwood threw the kitchen sink at the reigning premiers, particularly in a fierce third term, but still couldn't break the Hawks' hold over them. With the 29-point win, Hawthorn has now equalled its club record winning streak of six games against the Magpies. Collingwood's last triumph was in the thrilling 2011 preliminary final, but the Pies will get another chance to end that streak when they host the Hawks on a Friday night in round 23. 2. Cloke v Lake There's few bigger challenges than trying to shut down an in-form Travis Cloke, especially when you haven't played since May. That was the task facing Norm Smith medallist Brian Lake in his first game since suffering a calf injury in round seven. Lake started well against the Pies man mountain, restricting him to marks up on the wings and no scoreboard impact until Cloke hit his straps in the second term. Cloke, who booted six goals last round, slotted three second-quarter majors to lift the Pies to within nine points at half-time. The Pies star added his fourth with a sublime rolling snap in the third term and split the middle from outside the boundary in the final term to take the honours with five majors. 3. Young ruckman steps up One of the biggest bonuses from Hawthorn's injury toll has been ruckman Jonathan Ceglar's form. The 23-year-old had just two games to his credit before this season, but has played seven this year and continues to build his case to keep recruit Ben McEvoy out of the side. Ceglar took the chocolates against Jarrod Witts on Saturday, collecting 13 touches, winning 15 hit-outs and booting a goal. Ex-Saint McEvoy booted five goals for Box Hill on Saturday, but is no certainty to force his way back in next week. |
4. Ton up for Hawks favourite Shaun Burgoyne is already loved at Hawthorn, but Hawks fans would have particularly enjoyed seeing him run out for his 100th game in the brown and gold. That's because the former Port Adelaide star's sons, Ky and Percy, are now eligible father/son selections at the the Hawks as well as the Power. Burgoyne, who has won flags at both clubs, became the 36th player in VFL/AFL history to reach the 100-game milestone at two clubs in his 257th career match. 5. Saturday afternoon timeslot remains popular It was a match that would have warmed that hearts of footy traditionalists – a Saturday afternoon blockbuster at the home of football between two of Melbourne's biggest clubs – and fans voted with their feet. A massive crowd of 74,095 turned up to watch two heavyweights in action. Although Collingwood always attracts a huge crowd at the MCG, this was a strong argument that suggests as long as the game is appealing that the Saturday afternoon timeslot remains a winner. With the 29-point win, Hawthorn has now equalled its club record winning streak of six games against the Magpies. Collingwood's last triumph was in the thrilling 2011 preliminary final, but the Pies will get another chance to end that streak when they host the Hawks on a Friday night in round 23. |
| THE MEDIA | |
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Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley says his team must learn to seize the big moments in matches as it fights to stay in touch with the top four following Saturday's loss to Hawthorn. The Magpies enjoyed periods of momentum in Saturday's blockbuster clash at the MCG, but they were overrun in a game-shaping 10-minute period late in the third quarter, conceding four unanswered goals. Having lost two straight games, Buckley's men sit in sixth place on the ladder with an 8-5 record, two games adrift of the second-placed Hawks, who showed a killer instinct when Saturday's game was on the line. "We'd worked so hard as a side to be in the game and we needed every individual to understand there's those moments in games you've got to seize," Buckley said. "Hawthorn today was the side that seized those moments and we let them go. That's the big take home for us. “We did a lot right but there's a lot more for us to learn. We think we'll face them better next time." Buckley spoke to his team about the Hawks' ability to gain momentum and push the ball forward when they were in control of the game.He chose his words carefully post-match when asked about a decision to penalise captain Scott Pendlebury for a throw when replays showed a clear handball. The decision led to a quick inside 50 and a goal to Brad Sewell, sparking the Hawks' four-goal run late in the third quarter. "I saw the handball on the replay so my view wouldn't be positive towards that particular decision," Buckley said. "At times it felt like we were up against it in that particular regard. "That's the game. We didn't get the rub of the green at all today, but that happens from time to time." Down 21 points at the final change, Buckley said he was disappointed with how his players ran out the match, with Hawthorn barely challenged as they cruised to the finish line. "We've had consecutive six-day breaks coming up against opponents who have had eight-day breaks," he said. "There was every reason for our run to potentially drop off, but it actually wasn’t that...it was our intent. "We need to be better than that." The coach praised stopper Brent Macaffer for sticking to his task on hard-running midfielder Brad Hill, who had five of his 14 possessions in the second half. Tom Langdon, who was substituted late in the second quarter, was "dazed and confused" after the match after he was struck in the head with an accidental boot when pursuing a loose ball. Nothing can deflate a team that which has worked its heart out to stay in a contest more effectively than a burst of quick goals from its opponent. Hawthorn is the master of that football art, and yesterday it was Collingwood's turn to have its tyres let down by it. Midway through the third quarter, in front of a throng of more than 70,000 at the MCG, the Magpies were in this contest up to their necks. They trailed by just two points, having kicked five of the last seven goals. The last of that run, Travis Cloke's fourth, was a gem, too, the big man managing to square a contest against Brian Lake and Matt Spangher, recovering quicker, taking a handball receive from Dayne Beams and calmly bouncing one through from near the boundary line. Brad Sewell's steadier five minutes later was a relief for the Hawks. But it was also just an entree. With the third term deep into time-on, we looked set for a nailbiter. Instead, one of those trademark Hawthorn surges effectively killed the contest. It was Luke Breust who struck first, sneaking out the back of pack and cashing in on the spills. Barely one minute later, it was Brad Hill's turn to get on the end of a sublime bit of football, skipper Luke Hodge's booming centre clearance brilliantly tapped to Cyril Rioli by Paul Puopolo. Rioli's handball over the top of a defender to hit the oncoming Hill was also a thing of beauty. And less than two minutes after that, it was Puopolo doing it all himself, somehow climbing over the top of the much bigger Alan Toovey and teammate David Hale to take a genuine "screamer" and pop through another. Three goals in almost three minutes. A nine-point lead out to 27 in the blink of an eye, and Collingwood all of a sudden with a huge mountain to climb. Even Jarryd Blair's belated response seconds before the siren couldn't seem to spark the Pies again, and after Jack Gunston slotted the first of the final term, the rest was pretty academic. It wasn't that Collingwood hadn't had its moments. After spending most of the first half only just staying within striking distance, by the long break, the Pies had gone from mere nuisance value to a clear and present danger. They'd swapped goals for a while from the opening, Jarryd Roughead's first of the game cancelled out by Clinton Young's response against his old team, Ryan Schoenmakers giving the Hawks the edge, Brent Macaffer, shadowing the dangerous Hill, squaring things up again, running into an open goal after a rare Hawk turnover. Only a couple of minutes after that, Collingwood hit the front when Matt Suckling bumped Paul Seedsman when he should have tackled, the young Pie riding the knock and going long to an unmarked Jamie Elliott. But even then, Hawthorn looked the cleaner, slightly more efficient side, and it didn't take long to stamp its authority on proceedings in a more meaningful fashion, either. It was Breust who put the Hawks in front again, converting a nice kick out into space ahead of him from Hill. From the next centre bounce, he added another, skirting the pack and cleverly bouncing one through. The Hawks probably could have led by a little more at quarter-time, and soon did anyway. Roughead brought up his second and Breust his third, marking strongly in front of young Pies' defender Tom Langdon. Ruckman Jonathon Ceglar, very impressive around the ground, slipped between two Magpie defenders to mark and goal as well. By this stage the contested marks were 10-2 in favour of the Hawks and the gap on the scoreboard 21 points. The toughness of Sewell in the midfield was proving a valuable weapon, skipper Hodge was his usual leadership presence and Grant Birchall, after a slow start, was penetrating off half-back. The Hawk midfield, even without a regular driver against the Pies in Sam Mitchell, had the edge, and while the Pies' keys in Scott Pendlebury and Dane Swan didn't want for statistical output, the latter at least was struggling to have his usual influence. The Pies weren't rebounding out of defence as well, either. The Pies would have been in bigger trouble without Cloke, his five-goal haul, making it 11 in two weeks. The fact that both of those efforts haven't delivered victory, however, says just how great a burden he carries. As for victory over the Hawks, Collingwood's last remains the 2011 preliminary final, the sequence of losses now stretched to six. If the Pies are looking for some consolation, both the score and the winning margin this time were less than usual over that stretch. But it's small consolation. Because, given how comfortable this win seemed in the end, it probably also underlines that the Pies don't seem all that closer to breaking their run of outs against this opponent, either. |
COLLINGWOOD coach Nathan Buckley conceded he was at his wit’s end when he ripped into Jarrod Witts during the 29-point loss to Hawthorn. Buckley came to the interchange area late in the third quarter at a time when Hawthorn unleashed a matchwinning three-goal burst, and delivered a withering and animated spray at the 21-year-old ruckman. After the siren both men acknowledged that it was an emotional exchange, but had no problem with outburst. “It’s an emotional game, but I was fairly calculated in my approach to Wittsy,’’ Buckley said, “and he just happened to be running off at that time, which was bad timing for him’’. Witts told Fox Footy after the game that Buckley “got stuck into me a little bit. He just wanted me to come out and have a big last effort and will the boys to get over the line. “I’ll just take it on the chin and move on.’’ Buckley said the blast was “designed as a prickle. It was designed to really challenge him and wake him up in some ways. We’re getting about 85 per cent of what he’s capable of, right now, and there’s gold in that last 15 per cent. “Wittsy came into the club five years ago now as a young bloke,’’ Buckley said, “and I’ve got great belief in what he’s going to be capable of achieving. And I don’t think he shares that belief at the moment. “His last quarter was good. He kicked a couple of goals, took a contested mark in the goalsquare, but we want our big fellas to play like big fellas. We want them to play big and tall and tough and have blokes stand up taller around them, and I didn’t think Wittsy was doing that for most of the game, and definitely in that 5-10 minute period leading up to three-quarter time.’’ Buckley felt the last five minutes of the third quarter undermined all of the hard work the Pies had put in to get back in the match from 22 points down late in the first half. “We can’t afford to give up two or three goals in two minutes,’’ he said. “We can’t afford to do that against a quality side. We’d worked so hard as a side to be in the game and we need every individual to understand — and we’ve got a lot of young players there — but still understanding that there are moments in a game that you need to seize, and Hawthorn were the side today that seized those moments, and we let them go.’’ Another crucial moment in the third quarter involved a controversial decision by the non-controlling field umpire to penalise Pies skipper Pendlebury for throwing the ball, even though replays suggested it was a legitimate handball. The umpire made the call from 50 metres away, and the resulting free kick led to a goal from Brad Sewell that made the margin eight points. “I saw the handball on the replay, so my view wouldn’t be positive towards that particular decision,’’ Buckley said. “At times I felt like we were up against it in that regard. “But that’s the game. We didn’t get the rub of the green at all today, but that happens from time to time.’’ Buckley said he felt Collinwgood was “in the contest for a lot of it, although minus 25 in contested possessions hurts, and really that’s just like water dripping on a stone, eventually it told’’. He was also critical of his team’s slow ball movement in the final term, which he suggested was more of a factor than a lack of run caused by consecutive six-day breaks. Collingwood should regain the suspended Steele Sidebottom and Tyson Goldsack (knee) for next Sunday night’s match against Carlton. But Tom Langdon, who was subbed out in the second quarter with concussion after wearing a stray Jack Gunston boot in the mouth, is a chance to miss, while Nick Maxwell (calf) is likely to be unavailable for at least another week. Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley says his boundary line chat with Jarrod Witts in Saturday's loss to Hawthorn was a calculated "prickle" designed to wake up his young ruckman. Buckley grabbed a hand full of Witts' jumper on the sidelines and delivered a forceful message late in the third quarter after the Hawks went on a four-goal run that floored the Magpies. The 21-year-old, who had nine possessions and 17 hitouts to that point, responded and was one of the few Magpies to lift in the fourth quarter, finishing with two goals. Buckley said his young ruckman had lacked presence in the first three quarters and he was not giving the Magpies everything he was capable of. "It was designed as a prickle...it was designed to really challenge him and wake him up in some ways," the coach said post-match. "I've got great belief in what he's going to be capable of achieving, (but) I don't think he shares that belief at the moment. "We're getting about 85 per cent of what he's capable of right now, and there's gold in that last 15 per cent. "If you're saying was there emotion involved, yes there was, it's an emotional game. But I was fairly calculated in my approach to 'Wittsy'. "Buckley said the Magpies wanted their big men to "play big and tall and tough and have blokes stand up taller around them", and his ruckman hadn't done that for the majority of the game. Witts said he was disappointed with his game overall, but he had responded to the challenge from his coach. "It's part of footy and you've just got to wear it, you can't think about it too much," Witts told AFL Media. "You've got to get your head back in the game and move on, which is what I tried to do. "He was trying to will me on to finish the game strongly and get a few centre bounce clearances. I was able to finish off with a couple of goals, but I was a little bit disappointed with my game as a whole." Witts carried the ruck on Saturday with usual sidekick Brodie Grundy left out of the team and tall forward Jesse White offering minimal support. He said it was extremely important in his role to push forward whenever possible and hit the scoreboard. "It just gives the opposition something else to think about, so I've got to do that a little bit more," he said.
Nathan Buckley
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