COLLINGWOOD 2014 SNAPSHOT
Wins: 11
Losses: 11
Draws: 0
Ladder position: 11th
Percentage: 94.1
Last year: Finished 6th (14-8, 114.99%)
WHAT WENT RIGHT
Understandably, we all quickly forgot how impressive Collingwood looked during the first half of the season. The Pies sat fourth on the ladder with an 8-3 record following their scrappy win over Melbourne in Round 12. We all know what happened next, though.
They unearthed and exposed two young defenders — Jack Frost and Tom Langdon — to the rigours of AFL and both adapted to their surroundings comfortably.
Frost was the only Magpie to play all 22 games in 2014 — a remarkable achievement considering it was only his second AFL season. He impressed with solid performances on big-name forwards such as Sydney’s Lance Franklin (Round 2), Adelaide’s Taylor Walker (Round 9), Melbourne’s Chris Dawes (Round 12) and Port Adelaide’s Jay Schulz (Round 19).
 |
| Tom Langdon: a superb season. |
And you couldn’t fault the Pies’ intensity on the ball-carrier, finishing second in the league for average tackles per game (71) behind Sydney.
WHAT WENT WRONG
Where to start?
Overall, the second half of the season was a disaster, highlighted by their abundance of injuries. Dane Swan (hamstring/knee), Travis Cloke (ankle), Dayne Beams (knee), Nathan Brown (shoulder), Brent Macaffer (knee), Ben Reid (hamstring), Clinton Young (hamstring), Taylor Adams (finger) all missed big chunks of the season, subsequently exposing second-tier players that weren’t ready to take on the big boys.
Even before his injury, Cloke was under performing. After an impressive 2013 campaign, Cloke was well down on average kicks, marks and, above all, goals per game in 2014. He took more contested marks than any other player last season (58), but was ranked equal-13th this year (32).
Having said that, Cloke had little support inside forward 50 from his fellow big men. The club poached forward-ruckman Jesse White before the start of 2014, hoping he would form a lethal partnership with Cloke. But the experiment failed, with White only booting 20 goals from 18 games.
 |
| Ben Reid never got a clear run in 2014. |
The cherry on top was the post-season publicity surrounding Heritier Lumumba, who was outraged over a homophobic reference in a poster put up at the Westpac Centre. Despite an individually solid season, Lumumba is now almost certain to part ways with the club.
BEST-AND-FAIREST
It’s hard to go past skipper Scott Pendlebury, who was named on the bench of the All-Australian team on Tuesday night.
As his team faded, the 26-year-old continued to perform brilliantly during the second half of the season. He finished the year ranked third in the league for average SuperCoach score and effective disposals, sixth for average disposals and eighth for average contested possessions.
Pendlebury, who was appointed Collingwood captain at the start of the season, showed outstanding consistency, dipping below 25 possessions in only three of his 21 matches.
Expect the smooth-moving midfielder to win his third Copeland Trophy in early October.
 |
| Skipper Scott Pendlebury: likely to win the Copeland Trophy. |
Popular pick Dayne Beams was the SuperCoach revelation of 2014.
The best aspect about Beams’ 2014 SuperCoach campaign was his reliability and consistency. He only dipped below 100 points in three of his 19 matches. One of those games was when he hobbled off the MCG with a knee injury in the third quarter of Collingwood’s loss to Brisbane.
Beams, who averaged 27 touches, one goal and six clearances per outing, ended up as the eighth-most popular SuperCoach pick in the competition by season’s end.
SUPERCOACH DUD
Dane Swan. No questions asked.
For years, Swan was the most reliable midfielder in the AFL. Averaging 117 and 127 SuperCoach points per game between seasons 2009 and 2013, he was your automatic captain.
Not this season.
Swan averaged 86 points per game — his worst return since his debut season of 2005. He only topped 100 points three times.
The Brownlow medallist started the season priced at $632,600 but finished at $388,600. His price drop of $244,000 was the biggest of any player this year.
 |
| Dane Swan was unable to recapture his best form this year, with injury hampering his quest. |
Big improvers: Tyson Goldsack, Brent Macaffer, Jamie Elliott, Jack Frost
Gone: Nick Maxwell, Luke Ball, Quinten Lynch, Caolan Mooney, Marty Clarke, Peter Yagmoor, Ben Hudson
Trade Bait: Heritier Lumumba, Alex Fasolo, Paul Seedsman
WHAT THEY NEED
After losing to Hawthorn in Round 23, Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley said the club would make decisions based on being “super-competitive in the next three to five-year period”.
From a positional perspective, the Pies bat reasonably deep. They have an abundance of tall defenders and shorter players who can play either midfield or half-forward, while they have two promising young ruckmen — Brodie Grundy and Jarrod Witts — who are still a few years off reaching their full potential.
But to be immediately competitive, the Pies must secure a second tall forward to support Cloke, especially with Lynch announcing his retirement and White struggling to make an impact this season.
That hole could be filled by Melbourne big man Mitch Clark, whose preferred club of choice is reportedly Collingwood. The Pies have met Clark twice at the Westpac Centre and seem prepared to take the risk of recruiting him, despite his foot, soft-tissue and mental health problems.
And with Heath Shaw leaving 12 months ago and Lumumba set to depart soon, Collingwood could also do with a rebounding defender who can provide dash and drive out of defensive 50.
The Pies had cracks at star players like Nick Riewoldt, Jonathan Brown and Steve Johnson at different stages over the past decade, so don’t be surprised if they attempt to land a big fish during the upcoming trade period.
 |
| Nathan Buckley and the Pies are buoyant about their future. |
Before Collingwood played its first match against Fremantle in Round 1, club chief executive Gary Pert said he expected the Pies to be “featuring in the top four” over the next three years and “winning a premiership during that period of time”.
At the time, the call seemed bold and somewhat convincing. Now, it seems optimistic, perhaps unrealistic.
Collingwood will be doing some strong soul-searching over the summer. But was this year’s fall from grace the hit it needed to have? Was it the perfectly-timed wake-up call?
The Magpies missed the finals for the first time since 2005. Yes it’s not the end of the world, but it still seemed a disappointing outcome, considering most expected Nathan Buckley’s men to feature in the finals.
One thing in Collingwood’s favour is its core group of players are still in the right age bracket to challenge for a flag. Dayne Beams (24-years-old), Jarryd Blair (24), Nathan Brown (25), Travis Cloke (27), Jamie Elliott (22), Tyson Goldsack (27), Lachie Keeffe (24), Brent Macaffer (24), Scott Pendlebury (26), Ben Reid (25), Steele Sidebottom (23) and Alan Toovey (27) all have ample time to improve, both as individuals and a group.
But with Collingwood being Collingwood, expectations from fans and stakeholders will be high.
There hasn’t been too much backlash to this year’s fall from grace. But if the team fails to improve in 2015, stronger repercussions will undoubtedly ensue.
CHAMPION DATA SAYS
TICK: Started the season in a blaze of glory, ranking fourth on the ladder after Round 12 behind the Swans, Hawks and Power. It ranked in the top 5 in the league for contested possessions, tackles and mark inside 50 differentials.
CROSS: After winning eight of its first 11 games, the Pies fell right away thereafter, managing only three more wins for the year. They ranked 16th on the form ladder from Round 13 onwards — with only Melbourne and St Kilda worse off.
No comments :
Post a Comment