COLLINGWOOD 3.2.20 4.9.33 7.12.54 9.15.69
ESSENDON 2.0.12 4.8.32 5.10.40 6.13.49
SCORERS - Collingwood: Cloke (2.0), Elliott (2.0), Seedsman (1.1), Crisp (1.0), Dwyer (1.0), Pendlebury (1.0), Swan (1.0), Adams (0.2), Broomhead (0.2), Varcoe (0.2), Gault (0.1), Langdon (0.1)
BEST - Collingwood: Seedsman, Swan, Adams, Crisp, Brown, Frost, Pendlebury
ANZAC DAY MEDALIST: Paul Seedsman
INJURIES - Collingwood: Nil
SUBSTITUTES - Collingwood: Sam Dwyer replaced Adam Oxley in the third quarter
REPORTS: Nil
OFFICIAL CROWD: 88,395 at the MCG
| 1. Magpies' relentless tackling pressure Paul Seedsman gained more than 800 metres, kicked a goal and was involved in eight scoring involvements to be a deserving winner of the Anzac Day medal. But the day will be remembered for the Magpies' defensive pressure. They had 11 forward half tackles to Essendon's one in the first 20 minutes of the game and everyone wondered whether they could keep the intense pressure up for rest of the game. They did. In the end Essendon beat the Magpies for tackle numbers (81-73) but there was no comparison between the two teams with Collingwood making all the most important tackles and running hard to cover the outlets at every opportunity. The Magpies' defensive pressure restricted the Bombers to just 49 points, their lowest score since round 14, 2010. 2. Jack Crisp quells Jobe Watson The biggest job on the day was handed to Collingwood recruit Jack Crisp. The 21-year-old ran with Essendon captain Jobe Watson and subdued him. He restricted Watson to just 23 disposals purely through work rate. He topped off the day with a brilliant goal from 50 metres when the game was at its hottest during the third quarter. Crisp has managed to step in for the absent Brent MaCaffer as he recovers from a knee reconstruction and along with Travis Varcoe and Jordan De Goey is shaping as good compensation for Dayne Beams. 3. Elliott's first goal from outside the boundary For the second time in consecutive weeks, Collingwood sharpshooter Jamie Elliott benefited from an umpiring error. This time it was the boundary umpire who didn't blow his whistle when Elliott ran out of bounds as he took a flying shot for goal. That Elliott managed to kick a brilliant goal – from the same pocket as Carlton's Wayne Harmes famously knocked the ball back in during the 1979 Grand Final – must have blinded the umpire as it was given the all clear. Elliott might have to add the umpires to his Christmas card list after last week getting paid a mark that he barely controlled. |
4. The Fletcher Bomb The 39-year-old veteran has been known for his long kicking throughout his 395 games so when he marked a Brendan Goddard pass inside the centre square 60 metres out the crowd immediately roared at him to have a shot. Fletcher waited and assessed his options before going with the crowd and unleashing a shot. The drop punt sailed through for the 71st goal of his career, his fourth on Anzac Day and his first on the big day since 2008. When Fletcher turns 40 in 10 days he will be set to become the second player in the game's history to play at that age with only Melbourne and St Kilda's Vic Cumberland playing at a later age. He was 43 years and 48 days old. 5. Is Dane Swan back? The Brownlow medallist returned to form against St Kilda and franked it with another outstanding performance on Anzac Day. Such is the level of respect with which he is still held, he attracted Essendon's run-with player Jake Melsham but from the moment Swan won the opening clearance Essendon was on the back foot worrying about Swan. The 30-year-old chased like he wanted to prove he could work both ways and moved forward to kick an important goal in the third quarter. He had 21 disposals and four inside 50s but it was his intent that showed he has plenty more to offer.
|
| THE MEDIA | |
|
Collingwood has signalled it should not be discounted from this year's finals calculations with an impressive 20-point win over Essendon at the MCG on Saturday that continued its recent ANZAC Day dominance. Few commentators had the Magpies in their predicted final eights ahead of this season but the Pies' unrelenting pressure around the ball against the Bombers helped them seal a 9.15 (69) to 6.13 (69) win that suggests the young side might be ready to return to September action earlier than many thought. In cold, dark, slippery and – in the last term – wet conditions at the MCG where a crowd of 88,395 saw more turnovers than they would at a Danish bakery, Collingwood did not allow the Bombers to get their potent possession game going. After leading by one-point at half-time, the Magpies powered away in the second half, piling on five goals to the Bombers' two to seal their fifth victory from the past six ANZAC Day clashes. Young defender Paul Seedsman was a star for the Magpies, racking up 31 possessions and 14 inside 50s across half-back to win the Anzac Medal. Seedsman also put in a nomination for goal of the day with a bouncing kick from 60m at the five-minute mark of the third term. Pies captain Scott Pendlebury (30 possessions) lead from the front, dominating through the midfield and pushing forward at times to stretch the Essendon defence. Midfielder Taylor Adams (29 possessions) and ANZAC Day specialist Dane Swan (21 possessions and a goal) were also important players for Collingwood, while key defenders Nathan Brown and Jack Frost teamed well together to limit the influence of Joe Daniher and Jake Carlisle on a tough day for key forwards. Cale Hooker was a rock for Essendon in defence, cutting off numerous Collingwood attacks with his intercept marking while keeping Travis Cloke to two goals. Dyson Heppell had a game-high 33 possessions, while Brent Stanton (30 possessions and two goals) and Dustin Fletcher (21 possessions, seven marks and a 60m drop punt goal in the second term that sent a roar around the MCG) were also among the Bombers' best. Collingwood's win was its 12th on ANZAC Day against Essendon since the teams established the annual blockbuster in 1995, with the Pies now leading the overall count 12-8. The inaugural game was a draw. The first half was a see-sawing contest. The Pies jumped out of the blocks from the opening bounce, short-circuiting the Bombers' possession game with ferocious pressure. Collingwood's dominance of general play was reflected in the inside 50 count (17-10) but its delivery to the forwards was poor and a Brent Stanton goal after the quarter-time siren cut the Pies' lead to eight points. The Pies started the second quarter in similar fashion but kicked two behinds to start the term. At that time, they led the inside 50 count 22-11 but from the six-minute mark of the quarter the game turned on its head. A Joe Daniher behind started a run of Essendon dominance that saw the Dons have the next nine scores – 2.7 – from 15 consecutive inside 50s to open up a nine-point lead at the 18-minute mark of the second quarter. But the Pies hit back after Jamie Elliott goaled at the 20-minute mark and had six of the last seven scores of the term – 1.5 – to go into half-time one point up. This particular Anzac Day wasn't an exceptional spectacle. The pre-game routines were exactly that. Rain and grey skies gave the afternoon a sombre, almost downbeat ambience, and there were few moments of audacious skill. A couple of long goals that skidded through – and a 60-metre bomb from a nearly 40-year-old Dustin Fletcher – were among the few occasions when people had cause to really rise from sodden seats. Collingwood's victory was predicated on effort and defensive intent. The Pies didn't play with efficiency or fluency. But they adapted far better to a wet-ball afternoon than the Bombers, who hung on to the ball without gaining ground. The Dons kicked sideways and backwards, with excessive deliberation and couldn't penetrate the black and white cluster in front of them. Collingwood, who applied unrelenting pressure on the ball carrier, had similar difficulties with skill. The difference was that the Magpies placed a greater store in gaining territory. The Pies played wet. The Bombers, as James Hird observed, were too dry. They prized possession too dearly and consequently paid a price, which was to be forever outnumbered in their scoring territory. To have 44 more uncontested marks and 35 more received handballs became a negative; on this day, it was territory – not possession – that counted. Paul Seedsman, hitherto on the fringes of selection, was most effective afield because he was the rare player who broke away from the endless unsightly scrums and drove the ball forward. The most meaningful measure of his performance – which saw him awarded the Anzac Medal – was not his 31 disposals. It was that he gained more than 900 metres. He sent the ball into Collingwood's forward 50m arc 14 times. No other player afield had more than six. "In the lead-up I was aware I hadn't performed very well on Anzac Day," said Seedsman, who said he had been "overawed" in his 2012 and 2013 Anzac Days. "But every week you go in wanting to play your role and execute and today I was able to." Seedsman's rivals for best afield were not the usual suspects of Dane Swan or Scott Pendlebury, each of whom were solid. In what was another theme of this grey day, it was the unglamorous no-names who thrived and outshone their famed teammates and opponents. After Seedsman, Collingwood's best included Jack Crisp, Jack Frost, Marley Williams, Taylor Adams and Nathan Brown. None would be spotted in a line-up, albeit Brown is a premiership full-back and the fierce Adams was sufficiently rated to be swapped directly for Heath Shaw. Essendon's Dyson Heppell was their sole star to figure in voting for the medal. "They're all competitors. They love the fight," said Collingwood assistant coach Scott Burns of the toilers. "You could see that today, and Seeds – when you look at our team – his ability to run and break the lines is really important." Crisp played on Essendon skipper Jobe Watson and severely impaired the champion's influence. Watson had 23 disposals, but did not penetrate. Crisp had played 22 games, four for Collingwood. Viewed as the add-on – the proverbial "steak knives" – in the Dayne Beams trade, Crisp wore Watson tightly, picked up 21 touches and crept forward in the third quarter to boot a long and significant goal, as his team made the decisive surge. Crisp had figured he would be on either Watson or Heppell. On Thursday, he was told it would be Watson. He went to work. "You watch a bit of footage from their previous games, find out strengths and weaknesses and obviously you go from there – try to expose them a little bit," said 190cm Crisp, who had noted that Watson was playing slightly differently, finding more uncontested balls to complement his superb inside game. "I was taking his body at the stoppage and working from there." Crisp played his role. Frost held both Jake Carlisle and Joe Daniher, made telling spoils and, with Brown, formed a pair of smother brothers. Williams defended stoutly, too. Outside of the Anzac pageantry, this grey game lacked colour. At the end, it was all black and white. |
FOOTBALL is so often a game of metres, and Collingwood used every bit of ground it could muster to orchestrate yet another ANZAC DAY victory over Essendon before 88,395 fans at the MCG. In doing so, the Magpies were able to restrict the space that the Bombers so often crave, in what was a highly-disciplined 20-point win based on relentless pressure. On an emotional 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli landings, and 20 years after the inaugural ANZAC DAY contest between these two sides, the Magpies continued their recent dominance over the Bombers on the most sacred day on the Australian calendar. Collingwood has now won eight of the past 10 ANZAC DAY clashes against Essendon. In keeping with the importance of the ground attained, ANZAC Medal winner Paul Seedsman gained 794 metres in a career-best performance. That was 356 metres more than the next best, Dyson Heppell, and Seedman’s performance saw him have 14 inside 50s — more than double that of any other player on the field. He set the scene with a slashing first term, and he not only nailed a 60-metre goal borne out of making the most of his opportunities, he also had countless scoring links. Ground was always going to be critical on a murky day that started in driving rain, eased out to little more than a drizzle and then brought in some wet weather at the start of the final term. Jamie Elliott used every bit of ground he could — and then some — to kick the first goal of the game when he nailed a superb running shot from an acute angle four minutes into the game. There was only one thing wrong with Elliott’s goal — he was clearly out of bounds when he kicked it. Fortunately for him, and for Collingwood, the boundary umpire giving chase, lost his footing and could not see what the rest of the crowd watched on the big screen a few moments later. It was the perfect start for the Magpies, and an indication of what was to come from a team so desperate to make the most of every chance it had. Essendon overused the ball; Collingwood used it wisely. Game over. The Bombers had almost 100 more touches, but the Magpies were able to squeeze the life out of their opponents, and allow them space only in the areas where it didn’t matter. That was a key factor in the way that Nathan Buckley’s team was able to control the match. At stages of the game, it seemed as if Essendon was going to click into gear. The Bombers threatened to do so during the second term, but wasted too many chances. And then the hard-tackling, the intercepts and the desire of the Magpies snuffed out those chances. A critical moment came during the mid-stages of the second term when the Bombers were coming, and David Zaharakis loomed large with the ball. Just as he appeared clear and ready to push Essendon forward, Tom Langdon laid a tackle that stopped him in his tracks, and that moment led to Elliott’s second goal of the game. It stopped the Essendon run and symbolised what Collingwood was prepared to do to win. Jack Crisp was outstanding in his role on one of the most dangerous players in the game, Jobe Watson. Watson had 23 touches; Crisp had 21; and the former Brisbane Lions player who was a part of the Dayne Beams trade in off-season showed the sort of discipline that summed up what the Magpies were all about. Collingwood’s defence was as rock solid as it has been in some time. Jack Frost and Nathan Brown combined brilliantly in the back half, and had the better of their opponents Joe Daniher (two goals) and Jake Carlisle (no goals), while the likes of Marley Williams, Tyson Goldsack, Langdon and Alan Toovey were key contributors in defending and moving the ball forward. An example of just how important the back half was came in the long gap between Essendon goals. When Zaharakis scored his second goal of the game at the seven-minute mark of the third term, the Bombers looked to be rallying. But they would not kick another major until Joe Daniher broke the long drought with a goal in junk time when the game was over. Heppell worked exceptionally hard for the Bombers, so much so that late in the contest Buckley pushed Crisp onto the player who looked capable of lifting the Bombers out of their slumber. Cale Hooker produced countless intercept marks and had the better of Travis Cloke, though the Magpie forward still managed two goals, including the critical first one in the final term. But in the end, Collingwood desperately wanted the ball more, was prepared to work harder for it, and used every bit of ground it could to bring about a memorable win on a memorable day in this country’s history. Collingwood's 20-point win over Essendon on ANZAC Day will foster belief in the team's direction, according to coach Nathan Buckley. With no passengers in the line-up, the Magpies built their win on tackling and closing down the opposition's space to restrict the Bombers to just 49 points, their lowest score since 2010. Buckley said every player contributed and he would be nit-picking if he focused on much else but the excellent effort of each player. He said it was a victory won on the ground rather than from the coach's box. "Days like today help with our belief and the way we go about it, why we do it and how we do it," Buckley said. "It doesn't really matter who it is against or where it is, the coach's tactics look pretty good when the players execute them and the effort is there." Commitment rather than class underpinned the win. Aside from Paul Seedsman's ANZAC Day Medal-winning effort, there were countless examples of Magpies who covered for teammates, created contests when they looked to be at a disadvantage or chased down Essendon runners. Key defender Jack Frost ran off his direct opponent to spoil free Essendon players on numerous occasions. Skipper Scott Pendlebury sat under high kicks to keep the ball inside 50. Brownlow Medallist Dane Swan chased like a man who only had winning on his mind. Apart from a 10-minute patch in the third quarter, such effort led to turnovers as the Magpies won both the inside 50s (61-57) and contested ball (165-161). "That effort comes from within them and a need and a want to stand up for their teammates as much as anyone and to take their chances," Buckley said. Impressed with individuals such as Jack Crisp who quelled Jobe Watson and then, to steal Adelaide coach Phil Walsh's term, 'cooled' Dyson Heppell when he began to look dangerous, Buckley said his performance simply reflected the team's approach. "(He's) just a young bloke having a crack," Buckley said. But what he has quickly become is someone the coach can trust when he needs to slow down an opposition playmaker as he showed when moved on to Heppell. "To have the confidence in Jack to do that is a big part of us," Buckley said. Not that anyone is getting comfortable at Collingwood. Buckley knows much improvement is required with former Collingwood premiership coach Mick Malthouse's record-breaking match at the MCG the Magpies' next assignment. Buckley said Malthouse deserves the praise he will get in the coming week but he is confident the event will not distract the Magpies' focus. "There are always external hooks that we look to but in the end we want to play our footy and take the next test and Carlton will be a test," Buckley said. |
No comments :
Post a Comment