CARLTON 1.1.7 2.3.15 5.6.36 6.9.45
SCORERS - Collingwood: Cloke (2.3), Elliott (2.3), Pendlebury (2.1), Oxley (1.3), Crisp (1.1), Adams (1.0), Blair (1.0), Dwyer (1.0), Gault (1.0), Goldsack (1.0), Grundy (1.0), Karnezis (1.0), Swan (1.0), Varcoe (1.0), White (1.0)
BEST - Collingwood: Pendlebury, Oxley, Swan, Elliott, Grundy, Crisp, Adams
INJURIES - Collingwood: Seedsman (hip)
SUBSTITUTES - Collingwood: Paul Seedsman replaced by Patrick Karnezis in the third quarter
REPORTS: Nil
OFFICIAL CROWD: 71,759 at the MCG
| 1. Mick's dark night The celebrations for Mick Malthouse's record-breaking game reached a crescendo minutes before the bounce on Friday night when he walked onto a darkened MCG with his wife, four children and five grandchildren. He walked off the ground briskly through a guard of honour once it was all over. Earlier, Malthouse was honoured at the Blues' president's function, rebuilding bridges with guest Eddie McGuire and his former club Collingwood. He was lauded pre-match on all radio broadcasts, with Dale Thomas saying he hopes the coach is re-signed by the Blues, and sidekick Rob Wiley saying Malthouse still had the fire in his belly for the job. There were even fireworks at half time, but unfortunately for the occasion, Malthouse's team barely fired a shot in the 75-point loss. 2. Carlton drought There is a worrying trend emerging for the 1-4 Blues, who kicked just one goal in each of the first two quarters on Friday night, going long periods without scoring. It wasn't the first time this season their scoring had dried up. In round one they went goalless in the third quarter against Richmond, in round two they had a goalless second quarter against West Coast, and in round four St Kilda restricted them to just one goal in the first quarter. The second quarter against Collingwood would have been painful to watch for Carlton supporters as their team struggled to lay a hand on the Magpies, laying 12 tackles to 29. |
3. Seedsman cut down After winning the Anzac Day Medal last Saturday for his brilliant performance against Essendon, Collingwood's Paul Seedsman shaped as a danger man against the Blues. Still, he was given free rein in the first quarter and racked up nine possessions and five inside 50s. Tagger Ed Curnow was deployed to shut him down after quarter-time, and did a good job before an apparent left hip injury ended Seedsman's night. The attacking half-back was substituted in the third quarter and immediately iced his hip. 4. A doctor in the house There was a surprise guest in the Carlton coach's box on Friday night, with doctor Geoffrey Edelsten taking a seat in the back row. The explanation? Edelsten is a member of corporate coterie group, which has a different member in the coach's box most weeks. Born in Carlton, Edelsten was awarded life membership of the club in 2013. He is the former owner of the Sydney Swans. 5. Hendo hamstrung Carlton forward Lachie Henderson looked off his game early, and it soon became apparent why. The key tall played forward and lacked opportunities, but he entered quarter-time without a stat. By half time he still hadn't touched the ball with just a tackle to his name. That's where it finished when he was substituted early in the third quarter, immediately applying ice to his right hamstring. With tall forward Levi Casboult dropped, the Blues were relying on a big contribution from Henderson, who finished third in their best and fairest in 2013. |
| THE MEDIA | |
|
Collingwood has cruised to its third straight victory, spoiling the milestone night of former coach Mick Malthouse with a 75-point thumping of a lacklustre Carlton at the MCG on Friday night. Malthouse coached his 715th VFL/AFL game to break a record set by former Collingwood coach Jock McHale that had stood for 66 years, but the triple-premiership mentor had little to smile about as the Pies ran rampant in the 18.12 (120) to 6.9 (45) result. Collingwood improved its record to 4-1 for the season and continued to take advantage of a favourable early draw, with three of those wins coming over St Kilda, the Brisbane Lions and Carlton, teams unlikely to figure in finals contention this season. While Carlton could be forgiven for being totally outclassed, its effort was again found wanting. The Blues were beaten in possessions (375-297) but also tackles (81-47), and looked a dysfunctional outfit as they slumped to 1-4. On the flipside, the Magpies continued their impressive form under Malthouse's protege Nathan Buckley, with their fourth win built on the back of seven unanswered majors either side of half-time. ANZAC Day Medallist Paul Seedsman continued his stellar start to the year for the Pies before he was substituted with a suspected left hip problem in the third quarter, while skipper Scott Pendlebury (32 touches and two goals) racked up possessions at will. After starting the week in a moon boot, Dane Swan shrugged off ankle concerns and improved as the match went on, with strong support from Adam Oxley. The party-pooping Pies had winners all over the ground, but Carlton struggled to find a single player who convincingly beat his man. Tom Bell and last round's AFL Rising Star nominee Patrick Cripps had a crack, while Sam Rowe battled manfully on inaccurate Pies spearhead Travis Cloke (2.3). But there were few other contributors, with the horror night summed up by last week's five-goal hero Lachie Henderson held statless by Jack Frost before he was substituted with a suspected hamstring issue in the third term. Apart from Carlton's dismal effort, the evening's talking point came during a pre-game function, when Malthouse shook hands and appeared to call a truce with Eddie McGuire after the master coach's acrimonious split from the Pies at the end of 2011. Malthouse led Collingwood in 264 games and to the 2010 flag, after his coaching journey started at Footscray (132 games) in 1984 and continued at West Coast, where he won the '92 and '94 premierships during a 218-game stint. Fittingly, Malthouse received a rousing reception from both clubs' supporters when he and his family led the Blues onto the darkened MCG before the match. But with the formalities over, his attention quickly turned to upsetting his former club. Malthouse had never beaten the Pies in four previous attempts as Carlton coach, and there were worrying signs from the moment key defender Michael Jamison (calf) was a late withdrawal. After kicking only two goals in the first half, Carlton did little to save face after the main break, and plenty of the 71,759 supporters had left when Malthouse was clapped from the ground by a guard of honour after the final siren. He will have to search for win number 407 (McHale won 467) against the bottom-placed Brisbane Lions at Etihad Stadium in round six, while the Pies return to the MCG next Friday night against Geelong. A victorious Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley has declared that his emerging team ''has a long way to go'' in 2015 despite the major steps they have taken early this season. Buckley said the Magpies had ''some momentum'' and had backed up their Anzac Day game with a strong and efficient performance against Carlton, whom the Pies thrashed by 75 points on Friday night. But he said there was significant growth in the side. ''We've got a long way to go. We've got a real long way to go. But the steps we've taken early this season have been strong. The tests keep coming,'' Buckley said following Collingwood's clinical dismantling of a dismal Carlton in Mick Malthouse's record-breaking 715th game as a senior coach. The Collingwood coach was pleased that the Pies had used ball better than in previous games this year against the Blues. ''Our tackle efficiency was really high....clearly our efficiency with the ball in hand tonight was our best performance this year, probably our best performance for a couple of years really, we really controlled the ball well, created 58 inside-50 entries and..scored at over 50 per cent.'' Buckley was not concerned about players getting carried away with their position — the Pies are 4-1 — and was pleased they had retained application after a strong Anzac Day effort. ''The game itself caps it.... we've started well and there are lot of positive signs. We've got some momentum but I thought the response tonight off the back of Anzac Day shows that our players were able to absorb a really strong performance against a rated opponent and still apply themselves to their preparation and then come out tonight and play a really strong brand of footy... we've got a long way to go. We've got a lot of growth in us.'' Buckley said Paul Seedsman, who had been among the better players prior to being subbed out with a gluteal injury, had been taken off as a precaution. ''In the end it was precautionary. He wasn't 100 per cent, we didn't want to risk him any further.'' The coach praised his defence, which ''worked well together.'' Buckley said the Pies could improve in centre bounces — they lost lost centre breaks 19-9 — though they booted 10 goals to two from clearances. ''Centre bounce was the only place we weren't able to control clearances.'' He said Dane Swan, who had his foot in a moon boot during the week, ''did remarkably well'' to recover and it was ''testament to his professionalism'' that he managed to play. ''The players are really clear if they are not 100 per cent they don't put their hand up.'' Buckley called his old coach Malthouse's record-breaking achievement ''massive'' and said he couldn't see the record being broken. ''Mick speaks about holding on to the baton for someone else. I can't see that happening. You know, the game's changed so much, I can't see anyone coaching for 30 years. ''He's been a survivor for a long time Mick and I think it's due credit to him that he's received all of those accolades during the week.'' |
MOVE over Gary Ablett, the AFL has a new No.1 player. Courtesy of his best-on-ground display against Carlton on Friday night, Collingwood skipper Scott Pendlebury has assumed the mantle as the competition's best footballer, according to the Official AFL Player Ratings. Pendlebury was simply outstanding in his side's 75-point belting of the Blues, racking up 32 touches, winning five clearances and booting two majors. It was more than enough to see him leapfrog Gold Coast champion Ablett, who is still on the sidelines with a shoulder injury, and claim the No.1 ranking. It is the first time in more than three years that Ablett has been dethroned. Pendlebury started the match just 10.1 points in arrears but easily reeled in the deficit. His 18.3-point performance propelled him to 683.7 points, comfortably clear of Ablett on 675.6. The Official AFL Player Ratings are based on a player's past 40 games, delivering a long-term view of a player's standing within the AFL. A player's rating is determined by aggregating his points tally based on a rolling window of the previous two seasons, with more recent matches given a greater weighting than games earlier in the 40-game window. This creates a buffer for players missing matches through injury, suspension, omission or by not being involved in finals. But Ablett would want to hurry back soon. His former teammate, Geelong skipper Joel Selwood, is breathing down his neck, just 40 points behind in third place before playing in round five against Richmond. CRISP, Ramsay, Seedsman, Oxley. Significantly, it was Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley’s young pack who enhanced their standings. On this record-smashing night, Buckley’s boys were pivotal performers to humble traditional foe Carlton in front of 71,759 fans at the MCG. Jack Crisp found as much of the ball-efficiency as his run-with opponents Marc Murphy and Chris Judd while Jackson Ramsay, Paul Seedsman and Adam Oxley carved up the Blues with run and rebound so embarrassingly absent from the outclassed Navy Blues. Who would have bargained on this fixture, hand-picked by the exalted Mick Malthouse, degenerating into a massive 75 points percentage boost for his old club? And what a stunning endorsement for his Magpie counterpart’s new breed. Like Jack Frost who didn’t give Blues forward Lachie Henderson a touch of the leather in this monumental mismatch under the damning glare of the tower lights, not to mention the TV cameras. Malthouse and his assistants could never corral Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury who lit the way for his eager young teammates. And Dane Swan made a mockery of his foot ailment doubts with a typical hard-running performance. There were ample helpers too from a host of players nurtured and developed under Buckley’s watch. In the end the Magpies were lining up to get on the scoresheet — a staggering 15 of them contributing to the goal tally. Collingwood players oozed superior desperation as well as decision-making. Like little Jamie Elliott, outnumbered two to one, fighting to trap the ball near the 50m arc midway through the second term. While the Magpies found time and space to identify and hit a moving teammate, the Blues had little system going forward. Too often, it was the old-fashioned bang-it-on-the-boot that became easy pickings for Collingwood’s back half. Carlton’s 70s style approach produced an astonishing three uncontested marks to Collingwood’s 28 in the second quarter. Any remote hope of a Carlton second half fightback disappeared when Henderson, who kicked five goals in the Anzac Day victory in Wellington, was subbed out with a left hamstring injury in the opening minutes after the resumption. Goals from Jesse White, who was able to run to the line, Travis Cloke, from a mark on the edge of the goal square, and the overworked Crisp completed a run of seven in a row to stretch the lead past 60 points until Kade Simpson snapped that sequence 11 minutes into the third term. Admittedly, Carlton’s night didn’t start well with shoulder soreness forcing key defender Michael Jamison to be a late withdrawal, replaced by ruckman Rob Warnock. The Blues tried to stretch Collingwood’s defence by starting Cameron Wood up forward while Warnock handled the ruck duties. It provided almost an instant success when Wood converted for the opening goal after a contested mark right on the line between the goal and behind posts after just two minutes. But the Magpies settled far quicker with goals from Jarryd Blair, Oxley, Tyson Goldsack and Sam Dwyer establishing an early scoreboard buffer that kept stretching and stretching and stretching. A damning measure of the intensity was Carlton’s 25 tackles in the lopsided first half — compared to double that tally by Collingwood. Henderson trudged in to the rooms at half-time with just one stat, a tackle. It reflected the disappointing response by the Blues that rendered such an important occasion memorable for all the wrong reasons. '' We've got a long way to go. We've got a real long way to go. But the steps we've taken early this season have been strong. The tests keep coming. Our tackle efficiency was really high....We've got some momentum but I thought the response tonight off the back of Anzac Day shows that our players were able to absorb a really strong performance against a rated opponent and still apply themselves to their preparation and then come out tonight and play a really strong brand of footy... we've got a long way to go. We've got a lot of growth in us.
Nathan Buckley
|
No comments :
Post a Comment