COLLINGWOOD 2.3.15 6.6.42 9.7.61 11.10.76
PORT ADELAIDE 1.0.6 5.7.37 8.8.56 10.10.70
SCORERS - Collingwood: Cloke (3.2), Sidebottom (2.2), Broomhead (2.1), Beams (1.1), Dwyer (1.1), Elliott (1.1), Blair (1.0)
BEST - Collingwood: Beams, Pendlebury, Sidebottom, Cloke, Blair, Adams
INJURIES - Collingwood: Macaffer (right ankle)
SUBSTITUTES - Collingwood: Ben Reid replaced by Kyle Martin at three-quarter time
REPORTS - Collingwood: Nil
OFFICIAL CROWD: 32,804 at the MCG
| 1. Who is Collingwood's most important midfielder? Is it Dayne Beams or Scott Pendlebury? If the title still sits with Pendlebury, the gap between the pair has certainly narrowed. Beams had an outstanding start against Port Adelaide on Sunday, accumulating 13 disposals (eight contested), six clearances and a goal in the opening quarter. It's no coincidence that was when the Pies played their best footy of the day. He got some closer attention from Port's run-with option Kane Cornes from then on, but still finished with 32 disposals and 10 clearances. Pendlebury was excellent as well, with 27 touches (14 contested). 2. Injury doesn't deter Macaffer When Brent Macaffer hobbled from the ground with an ankle injury in the opening minutes, you could have forgiven opponent Travis Boak for thinking he might have been in for an easier day. The Collingwood tagger left the field and disappeared into the rooms for medical treatment, but returned later in the opening quarter and was back manning Boak, Port Adelaide's captain and brilliant midfielder. Boak finished with 23 disposals but just six kicks, meaning Macaffer probably won the battle. He was also a big reason for the Magpies centre-square dominance, with Collingwood winning 13-5 centre breaks, a big part of its six-point victory at the MCG. 3. De ja vu, nearly The last time Port Adelaide and Collingwood met at the MCG, the 2013 elimination final, young Power pair Ollie Wines and Chad Wingard starred. Wingard kicked three goals from 19 disposals and Wines booted two goals from 18 touches, both announcing themselves as stars of the future. Almost a year on, but with the stakes still high, Wines was again dominant in the Power's first game at the venue this year. He had 25 disposals and seven inside-50s. And although quieter, Wingard's supreme snap for goal in the second quarter helped his side get back into the contest. This time, though, the Pies got the points. |
4. Sliding doors Whatever the result of this game, there was going to be finals consequences. Collingwood's win pushes it into the top eight, but had it lost, it would have remained in 10th position and a game behind North Melbourne, Essendon and Gold Coast. And had Port Adelaide been able to get over the line, Ken Hinkley's side would have returned to the top four, a position it occupied for the first half of the season until a recent form slump. Instead, the Power remain a game behind fourth-placed Fremantle, and face a tough run home, including next week's meeting with the Sydney Swans. 5. Thanks, Maxy Before the clash the Collingwood faithful got its chance to farewell 2010 premiership captain Nick Maxwell, who retired three weeks ago following his season-ending ankle injury. After plenty of discussion during the week about when and how Maxwell would do the lap, it went ahead incident free before the first bounce. The 31-year-old, who played 208 games for the club after making his debut in 2004, sat in the back of a Ute and waved to the crowd, which displayed Maxwell-dedicated placards and supersized cardboard cutouts of the defender's face. His experience and cool head has already been missed in Collingwood's young backline. Beams had an outstanding start against Port Adelaide on Sunday, accumulating 13 disposals (eight contested), six clearances and a goal in the opening quarter. It's no coincidence that was when the Pies played their best footy of the day. |
| THE MEDIA | |
|
Collingwood is back in the top eight after outlasting Port Adelaide and prevailing by six points in a scrappy, but pulsating clash at the MCG on Sunday evening. The Magpies didn't waste the opportunity to move past Adelaide after the Crows slipped up on Saturday, also overtaking Gold Coast to now sit in eighth spot at the end of round 19. Entering the fourth quarter with just a five-point lead, they were tougher and more desperate when it mattered, working back into some form to win 11.10 (76) to 10.10 (70). Midfielders Dayne Beams and Scott Pendlebury were brilliant for the victors, controlling the stoppages to finish with 32 and 27 possessions respectively. While Kane Cornes was generally responsible for Beams at stoppages, the Power didn't run a hard tag on the game-breaker until halfway through the second quarter when he was well on his way to a half-time tally of 20 disposals and eight clearances. Beams motored on after half-time to finish with a game-high 10 clearances, with Collingwood winning the important centre clearances 13-5. Travis Cloke was the dominant key forward on the ground, kicking three goals and taking 10 marks in an entertaining duel with Alipate Carlile. Steele Sidebottom also hit the scoreboard with two goals to go with his 31 disposals, while tagger Brent Macaffer limited the influence of Port skipper Travis Boak, who finished with 23 touches. Entering the match with five losses from their past six games, coach Nathan Buckley said it was the best the Magpies had played since they hit the first bye sitting in fourth spot back in May. "It's the best we've played for 10 weeks and it came when we needed it," Buckley said. "With an element of youth in the side it's easy to get caught up in win-loss and you take your eye off the ball in regards to how you need to go about it. "I thought tonight was a better performance, but there's still plenty of improvement for us." Despite coming off a bye last week, Port was off its game in the first half and unable to generate any of its customary run, falling 21 points behind late in the second quarter. The Magpies were wasteful, however, and they left the door ajar for a second-half fightback. Port midfielder Hamish Hartlett, who was his team's best player, booted three goals in a 10-minute burst early in the third term, including a brilliant 55m effort on the run. Midfielder Brad Ebert, defender Cam O'Shea and forward Justin Westhoff, who moved to half-back after half-time, were also important in the Power fightback. Coleman Medal leader Jay Schulz was well held by Jack Frost and booted just one goal to take his season tally to 53. Key playmakers earlier in the season, Chad Wingard and Jared Polec had just two and three possessions respectively in the high-pressure final term. With a 187-191 kick to handball ratio, Port coach Ken Hinkley said his team handballed too much and players consistently put their teammates under pressure. He said the team had lost confidence with just one win to show from its past five matches. "That's not easy to recover, but it's something you've just got to keep working at to recover," he said. "I can sit here and pretend that they're close losses – that's what the scoreboard would tell us – but at the end of the day it's the way we've played and the way we've looked. "We're not playing with the confidence we had in those first 10-12 weeks." With Collingwood's finals aspirations still hanging by a thread, Buckley is certain to demand more from his men if they are to figure in September. The Magpies face West Coast at Patersons Stadium on Sunday. The Power are now a game adrift of the top four and host the Sydney Swans at Adelaide Oval in what shapes as a season-defining clash next Saturday night. Collingwood is back in the top eight, but coach Nathan Buckley maintains the ladder is merely an afterthought for his team, choosing instead to focus on the way it played in its thrilling six-point victory over Port Adelaide on Sunday. Having pushed Adelaide out of eighth position - exactly a week after the Crows had dislodged Collingwood - Buckley praised his team's resilience and believed it had been at its most impressive since mid-season. “It’s the best we’ve played for 10 weeks and it came when we needed it and with an element of youth in the side. It’s easy to get caught up in win-loss, and you can take your eye off the ball in regards to how you have to go about it,” Buckley said. “The AFL ladder has not been a part of our reviews for the whole season. It wasn’t when we got to 8-3 and through our losses it hasn't been there, because at the end we come back down to process.” The Magpies led at every change, but wasteful ball usage in attack had scuppered the chances of a handy half-time buffer despite the 24-12 first-half clearance dominance. When Port Adelaide captain Travis Boak converted a long-range attempt on the siren, the Magpies found themselves only five points ahead and with the Power seemingly fuelled by momentum. Buckley suggested his side could have been made to lament its early sloppiness. “We butchered the ball early, and we could have been a lot further in front. It’s still a massive area of improvement for us. “There was some frustration around what we felt was our lack of ability to take advantage of what we felt was our dominance around the ball. We had to win it a couple of times, and that’s probably even more encouraging to see us have the resilience to be able to do that. “The players were frustrated when we came in. It was nearly inevitable that we were going to give a goal away at some stage there. We’ve just got to maintain calm heads and kick it 50 or 60 metres down the line at the stoppage and just settle.” In his just his second game back for the season, tall utility Ben Reid was unable to stamp his authority on the game, held scoreless and to just five disposals up forward. Reid was eventually subbed out for Kyle Martin at three-quarter time, a decision which Buckley explained was a result of both tactical necessity and Reid’s lack of conditioning. “When you miss a lot of footy it takes a little bit of time. We need him to be more damaging in the air and take his chances when he gets his hands to it.” With West Coast at Patersons Stadium awaiting next Sunday, Buckley refused to rule out a return for 2011 Brownlow medallist Dane Swan, who has missed Collingwood’s past two games with a foot injury. Meanwhile Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley was left to rue his side’s drop-off. The Power has now slipped to be a game outside the top four, after being the competition’s frontrunner midway through the year, with just two wins now from seven starts since beating St Kilda in round 12. “We’ve got ourselves into some poor form and lost a bit of confidence because of that.” The second-year coach said he had questioned himself whether the club’s much-vaunted fitness regime under high performance coach Darren Burgess had played a part in its slump, but believed that ultimately it had not been an overwhelming factor. "I had that thought straight away. I don't think we're running out of steam, it's a long-season ... it's just what the game does to you at this time of the year." |
IF AT first you don’t succeed just try and try again. Nathan Buckley insisted last week there were signs that his team was starting to emerge from its worrying form slump despite its loss to Adelaide. Again the Collingwood coach couldn’t have been totally satisfied with his side’s execution, but importantly this time it got reward for its endeavour. It was not, at any stage, pretty, but was always, instead, gutsy. The last time Collingwood played Port Adelaide its 2013 premiership hopes were dashed with a shock elimination final loss at the MCG. The club’s culture was questioned, so too the attitude of some of its star players. Last night, as the Pies dragged their way back in to the top eight with four matches to play, there appeared a collective willingness to get one’s hands dirty for the cause. If the Power are the last quarter specialists then the game was theirs to win heading in to the final stanza. A lamentable first half had given way to some Hamish Hartlett brilliance, whose three outstanding third quarter goals had propelled the visitors within five points at the last break. But led Dayne Beams, Steele Sidebottom and Taylor Adams — who had been brilliant all night but still combined for another 24 possessions in the final term — the Magpies held firm. Recently retired premiership captain Nick Maxwell did a farewell lap of honour before the game and fellow back Nathan Brown continues to watch from the sidelines with injury, but the undermanned Collingwood defence remained resolute, conceding just two goals in the last quarter to hold on for a six-point win. It probably said a fair bit about this game that the most dangerous forward on the ground last night was Hartlett, a rebounding defender. Everything was, well, weird — and we’re not just talking about when the footy went flat in the second quarter. Collingwood’s effort couldn’t be questioned, but its disposal — particularly early on — was atrocious. The Magpies were going at 38 per cent disposal efficiency in first eight minutes. Twice in the opening salvos Travis Cloke — who ultimately finished with three goals — led perfectly, but both times he was victim of some poor delivery by, first, Sidebottom, and then Heritier Lumumba. Lumumba then went for a miracle goal from the flank and kicked out on the full, Tom Langdon — looking for Scott Pendlebury with a short pass on the members wing — had his kick intercepted, both Sam Dwyer and Alex Fasolo, under no pressure, were guilty of kicking out of bounds while clearing defensive 50m and then Cloke himself, 60m from home, just bombed long in hope and turned the ball over. Eventually though the wheel started to turn for the Magpies and by midway through the second term the margin was pushing three goals. But then, sparked by some Chad Wingard brilliance from the pocket and a goal on the siren to Travis Boak, Port, from nowhere, was back within a kick at half time — setting the scene for the arm-wrestle that was to come. Beams (32 possessions), Sidebottom (31) and Adams (28) finished on top of the disposal charts, but Pendlebury had a brilliant first half, while contributions from Dwyer (24 touches), Tony Armstrong — with 17 disposals in his Collingwood debut — and Tim Broomhead — 15 possessions and two goals — were also significant. Jack Frost held Jay Schulz to just the one goal while Brent Macaffer, despite suffering an early ankle injury, kept Port skipper Boak (23 possessions) relatively quiet. Port’s finals charge is now as flat as that footy that had its day ended early in the second term. That’s five losses in seven games now and a lucky home win against Melbourne in between. Another loss to Sydney next week could realistically see Ken Hinkley’s men just a game clear of ninth with three rounds remaining — unbelievable considering it was at one point two games clear on top of the ladder. The Pies, meanwhile, breath again. Collingwood's win over Port Adelaide was its best performance in 10 weeks according to coach Nathan Buckley, with the youthful Pies beginning to hit their straps as they fight for a finals berth. And the Magpies could be boosted by the quicker-than-anticipated return of Brownlow medallist Dane Swan, who may be considered for selection against West Coast next week. The Magpies pushed into eighth position with their six-point win over the Power at the MCG on Sunday, and broke a run which has seen them lose five of their past six games. But unlike last week's close loss to Adelaide, where they hit the lead in the last term and were overrun, the Magpies stood firm having been dominant through passages of the contest. "We butchered the ball early and could've been a lot further in front. That's still a massive area of improvement for us, it's been consistent through the whole year," Buckley said post-game." And there was some frustration upstairs (in the coach's box) around our lack of ability to take advantage of what we felt was a dominance around the ball and control of the game. "We had to win it a couple of times, and it's probably even more encouraging to see us have the resilience to be able to do that." Although the club would have been only one win outside of the eight had it lost to the Power, its finals chances would have been teetering.Buckley said the precarious ladder positioning didn't have a say on his message through the game. "It's really hard to stop players going to the result, and going to the impact it's going to have for the season," he said. "It's not as if we don't talk about it or frame our opportunity week-by-week with what's going on with the ladder. But the AFL ladder has not been a part of our reviews for the whole season. "We come back down to the process, we come back down to the type of football that we're playing and need to play and dealing with the opposition week-to-week." Along with the Pies' lift in form, Buckley acknowledged other reasons to be positive about the last month of the season heading into a possible ninth consecutive finals series. Senior midfielder Luke Ball returned in the VFL on Saturday and performed well, and youngster Ben Kennedy could be in line for a recall after a strong effort there too. Alan Toovey will be in the mix for next week, and the club will think about picking Swan, who has recovered well as he deals with a heel complaint. Swan has not played since Collingwood's round 17 loss to Essendon three weeks ago, but has improved with time on the sidelines. "The plan was to give him that time to rest and recover, and then to get a good week-and-a-half or two weeks of solid work in to him so he was cherry ripe and ready to go and come and have an impact for us," Buckley said. "It's a little bit of risk/reward decision-making that needs to happen coming up. "We need to tread the tightrope...and make sure we make the right decision at the right time without being seduced into what 'Swanny' has traditionally given for a long period of time. "We haven't had that for probably eight weeks this year because of his ailments and lack of fitness. We need to get those two right before we pull the trigger." Collingwood travels to Patersons Stadium to play the Eagles next Sunday. |
No comments :
Post a Comment