GOLD COAST 1.3.9 6.5.41 6.7.43 9.9.63
SCORERS - Collingwood: Elliott (5.0), White (4.1), Fasolo (3.0), Pendlebury (3.0), Varcoe (2.0), Cloke (1.2), Grundy (1.0), Oxley (1.0), Blair (0.2), Swan (0.2), Witts (0.2), Crisp (0.1)
BEST - Collingwood: Varcoe, Pendlebury, Sidebottom, Elliott, Swan, Goldsack
INJURIES - Collingwood: Jack Frost (leg)
SUBSTITUTES - Collingwood: Tim Broomhead replaced Jack Frost in the third quarter
REPORTS: Nil
OFFICIAL CROWD: 16,440 at the Metricon Stadium
| 1. Another easy kill for the Magpies Collingwood did what it was supposed to against the under-manned Suns, snapping a two-game skid with an easy win and keeping its spot in the top eight. While their pressure was impressive and their offensive spread a constant threat, the Magpies will get a better indication of where their 2015 fortunes lie against North Melbourne next week. Collingwood's five wins have come against teams outside the top eight – Brisbane Lions, St Kilda, Essendon, Carlton and the Suns – and there’s no doubt the Pies will be keen to prove themselves against more legitimate opposition. 2. Quiet Cloke but Jesse jumps to the rescue Despite Travis Cloke's huge size advantage over fourth-game opponent Jack Leslie, and all the talk surrounding his free kick count during the week, it was Jesse White that stole the show. Cloke was relatively quiet, kicking one goal (and for the record did not give or receive one free kick) and came up to the wing for many of his 13 disposals. With more space in the forward 50, White took advantage, kicking three goals in the second term and finishing with four for the match. He led at the ball well, marked strongly and kicked well, aside from one poor miss in the final term. 3. Pendles celebrates his 200th in style You wouldn't expect anything less and Scott Pendlebury did not disappoint in his 200th game, putting together another superb performance to orchestrate his team's win. The skipper started in the forward line and set the tone in the first quarter with his 11 disposals, two goals and five score involvements. He moved more on-ball as the match wore on and was his usual classy self, finishing with 35 disposals and three goals to be one of the game's most influential players. His third quarter sidestep of Adam Saad and cool finish off the left-boot from 35m summed up his super night. |
4. Dixon dominates forward and Nicholls nails the ruck spot On another grim night for Gold Coast there was a couple of positives for the Suns. Charlie Dixon was terrific in the forward line, with three goals in a six-minute burst during the second quarter momentarily bringing the game to life. The imposing Dixon finished with 4.2 to dominate his position. After being chosen as the primary ruckman ahead of Zac Smith, Tom Nicholls has also well and truly cemented his spot with a relentless four-quarter performance. Alex Sexton also shone as a defensive half-forward, blanketed Paul Seedsman, kicking a goal and setting up another for Brandon Matera. 5. Man of Steele leads a Magpies midfield romp After missing six matches with a broken hand, Steele Sidebottom returned without missing a beat. Along with Pendlebury he was the core of a dominant – and deep – midfield. Sidebottom worked hard into the defensive half and was a great link to the midfield. His 32 touches – 19 in the decisive first half – were instrumental in the victory. Two off-season recruits - Travis Varcoe and Jack Crisp - also played arguably their best games since switching clubs. Varcoe's 29 touches were at 100 per cent efficiency, while Crisp had 27 and nine clearances. You wouldn't expect anything less and Scott Pendlebury did not disappoint in his 200th game, putting together another superb performance to orchestrate his team's win. |
| THE MEDIA | |
|
COLLINGWOOD captain Scott Pendlebury celebrated his 200th game in style, starring for the Magpies as they cruised to a 69-point win over Gold Coast on Saturday night. The 20.12 (132) to 9.9 (63) victory at Metricon Stadium ensured the Pies snapped a two-game losing streak and solidified their position in the top eight. Starting the match inside the forward 50 before drifting through the midfield, Pendlebury finished with 35 disposals and booted three goals, with two of those coming during an inspired opening-quarter performance. Jamie Elliott (five goals) and Jesse White (four) also performed brightly for the Pies alongside defender Marley Williams (33 disposals), while Steele Sidebottom returned from injury with 32 touches. Taking a 23-point lead into quarter-time, Collingwood survived a spirited Suns fightback midway through the second quarter en route to its fifth win of the season. The Suns kicked four goals within six second-quarter minutes, including three from Charlie Dixon, to come within 10 points of the visitors. But two late goals from White restored Collingwood's advantage to 23 points at the main break. The Pies restricted the Suns to just two behinds in the third term, kicking five unanswered goals to stretch their lead to 55 points at three-quarter time. Tom Nicholls booted two last-quarter goals to cap off a strong performance, but the Pies added another five in the final term to complete the percentage-boosting victory. Rewind. In hindsight, the last encounter between the Suns and the Magpies cruelled both clubs' 2014 campaigns. Gold Coast won an epic match with no fit players on the bench and Gary Ablett, who had been on his way to a third Brownlow Medal, was left with a wrecked shoulder. Collingwood, as they remain prone to doing, kicked themselves out of the match, a certain Travis Cloke being particularly wasteful. The wheels fell off after that: both injury-hit teams won just three matches between them for the remainder of 2014, the Suns ditching their coach after their push for a debut finals berth ended in disarray. Fast forward to the present: Ablett is still nursing that shoulder; and the Suns still haven't recovered. But let's be fair, it's not just the captain: the Suns are missing half a dozen other players who would normally be among their first picked, including key defensive pillars Rory Thompson and Steven May. That made the Suns easy pickings for Collingwood, who were bolstered by the return of Steele Sidebottom to complement Dane Swan and Scott Pendlebury, in his 200th game, in the midfield. Pendlebury started the game up forward, and had a hand in four of his team's first five goals, kicking two himself. The result was more or less a rout from there, though the Suns got on precisely the kind of roll the Magpies have vowed they needed to stop in the second quarter, as Charlie Dixon got the better of Nathan Brown. They did that by piling on the next seven goals to put the result well beyond doubt by the last change. Travis Varcoe was best afield for his new club, collecting 29 disposals and not wasting a single one, whether mopping up in defence or lurking in attack, where he kicked two goals. Up forward, Jesse White was the main target and responded with four majors. Other winners were Tyson Goldsack, a perennially underrated footballer having a tremendous year, and Alex Fasolo, who returned from a long stint in the VFL to kick three and add a little more class to the Pies' forward line next to Jamie Elliott, who ended up leading the scoresheet with five in a brilliant second half. At least the Suns hung in there in terms of their effort for the first three quarters. By the last, though, the Pies were queuing up for their share of the spoils. Harley Bennell got enough of the football, Kade Kolodjashnij played with poise and ruckman Tom Nicholls kept trying. But without enough players at the coalface, the Suns got burned. Dion Prestia, without much help, was beaten by Jack Crisp. Get David Swallow and Jaeger O'Meara back in this side and their midfield would have a harder-edged look. They'll get May back from suspension next week, and Thompson to stiffen their spine in a few more. For now, though, this is a second-string Suns outfit, and the Magpies took only the toll they should have after an ordinary fortnight. The Pies skipper laid the foundation for the win with a dominant opening quarter. By the time the siren had gone for the first change he had booted two goals, dished off to Travis Varcoe and Adam Oxley for two more, and also had a direct hand in another couple of Magpie scoring chains. |
SCOTT Pendlebury celebrated his 200th match with a dominant display on Saturdayy night, steering Collingwood to a 69-point win over the Suns at Metricon Stadium. If anyone tried to deny Pendlebury the game ball after his milestone match, it would not have seemed fair. After all, no one from the Suns appeared to have any objections to him getting his hands on the ball as he cruised to a typically classy 35- possession, three-goal game. The Pies skipper laid the foundation for the win with a dominant opening quarter. By the time the siren had gone for the first change he had booted two goals, dished off to Travis Varcoe and Adam Oxley for two more, and also had a direct hand in another couple of Magpie scoring chains. The Suns’ huge injury toll makes it hard to assess their current performances. Take two key defenders, almost an entire midfield and the best ball users out of any side, and they will struggle. That is the reality facing Rodney Eade’s side. But class is not the major factor in producing an acceptable level of pressure, effort and desire is. The Suns showed it in patches and looked briefly capable of causing a boilover. When they are committed to their team defence, it looks good but it is too sporadic. On Saturday night it was non-existent for the majority of the second half. And the way Suns players fall off simple tackles is a major concern. The significant factor in this game was the ease with which the Pies were able to move the ball out of defence, unchecked, all the way into a scoring opportunity. Charlie Dixon played another great game for the Suns, booting 4.2 and competing hard all night, but when he did not mark it, the Pies swept it away with ease. Dixon attempted to bring the ball to ground for his small forwards when he could not mark but too often they were nowhere to be seen. It is equally hard to get a gauge on the Pies, given the decimated opposition. But on the surface, they were very good. Travis Varcoe played his best game for the club and Alex Fasolo’s return made them look more complete. Tyson Goldsack also again proved his versatility when he was forced into a key defensive post when a leg injury forced Jack Frost out of the game. Collingwood dominated bar a 10-minute period in the second quarter when it was all the Suns. The hosts booted four goals in a row on the back of a momentum swing caused largely by pressure from Alex Sexton and Touk Miller. Dixon had three shots, two from marks on the lead and one from a free kick, and converted them all. When Sexton snapped cleverly from the pocket, the margin was reduced to just 10 points. At that stage the scoring shots were level and it was only Collingwood’s superior accuracy that was the difference. Goal kicking remains the Suns other major concern. They were simply unable to apply the scoreboard pressure to work in tandem with the physical pressure. Collingwood blew the game away in the second half but things may have been different if the Suns had cashed in on all their chances when they were still in the contest. Miller missed from two metres out. Shortly afterwards Jarrod Harbrow missed one from the slightest of angles just 30m out, and you could feel the oxygen go out of the Suns when Fasolo slotted one from a sharper angle moments later. Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury celebrated game 200 in style, starring for the Magpies as they cruised to a 69-point win against Gold Coast Suns on Saturday night. The 20.12 (132) to 9.9 (63) victory in front of a Carrara crowd of 16,440 ensured the Magpies snapped a two-game losing streak to keep within swooping distance of the top four. Starting the match inside the forward 50 before drifting back to midfield, Pendlebury finished with 35 disposals and booted three goals, with two of those coming during an inspired opening-quarter performance. Jamie Elliott (five goals) and Jesse White (four) also performed brightly for the Magpies alongside defender Marley Williams (33 disposals), while Steele Sidebottom returned from injury collecting 32 touches. Taking a 23-point lead into quarter time - their biggest first-term lead since Round 15, 2014 - Collingwood survived a spirited Suns' fight-back midway through the second quarter en route to their fifth win of the season. The Suns kicked four goals within six second-quarter minutes, including three from Charlie Dixon, to come within 10 points of the visitors. But two late goals from White restored Collingwood's advantage back to their first-quarter lead at the main break. Collingwood restricted the Suns to just two behinds in the third term, kicking five unanswered goals to stretch their lead to 55 points at three-quarter time. Tom Nicholls kicked the opening goal of the final quarter for the Suns, but the Magpies responded with five-straight majors to extend their advantage beyond 80 points. A goal to Alex Sexton and another to Nicholls gave the injury-hit Suns a small ray of light to finish off a disappointing 11-goal defeat. |
No comments :
Post a Comment