NORTH MELBOURNE 4.4.28 10.6.66 10.9.69 14.11.95
SCORERS - Collingwood: Elliott (5.2), Fasolo (2.0), Swan (2.0), Cloke (1.1), Sidebottom (1.1), Blair (1.0), Crisp (1.0), Grundy (1.0), Pendlebury (1.0), White (1.0), Witts (1.0), Varcoe (0.1)
BEST - Collingwood: Elliott, Sidebottom, Swan, Adams, Pendlebury, Fasolo
INJURIES - Collingwood: Nil
SUBSTITUTES - Collingwood: Adam Oxley replaced by Jordan De Goey in the third term
REPORTS: Nil
OFFICIAL CROWD: 43,452 at the MCG
| 1. Pies pass big test ... Last week, Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley declared the clash against North the Pies' biggest test yet of the season. In their first game this season against a top-four side from last year, the signs looked ominous early. The Pies were wasteful by foot in the opening half and applied little pressure, allowing Brad Scott's men to do as they pleased. But mainly thanks to a blistering third term, the Pies stunned the Roos, turning a 39-point deficit into a 17-point victory. The brilliant win cemented their place in the top eight - the Magpies now sit fourth with a 6-3 record. 2. ... but North’s season hangs in the balance For the Roos, at 4-5 after nine rounds and sitting 13th on the ladder, their season sits in a perilous position with crucial games against West Coast (Blundstone Arena), the Sydney Swans (Etihad Stadium) and the Giants (Spotless Stadium) coming up before their bye in round 13. Approaching the half-way point of the season, not many would have predicted last year's preliminary finalists would be so low on the ladder with a percentage of just 89.7. With the competition so even, North Melbourne has a huge fight on its hands to push its way into finals contention. 3. Elliott's big day out It was Elliott's five-goal second half which turned the game on its head. After a slow start, the exciting forward suddenly looked dangerous at every turn in front of goal, or up the ground. The young Magpie kicked 5.2, had two score assists, seven marks, 18 disposals and four inside 50s. Elliott's third goal in the third term drew the Pies level late in the quarter, while his first of the final term was a brilliant soccer off the ground. Fittingly, with rain bucketing down at the MCG, it was the 22-year-old who marked uncontested in the last seconds of the game and kicked the final goal, to cap off an amazing comeback from Collingwood. |
4. Magpies surge in premiership quarter After a dominant first half, North Melbourne had etched out a 39-point lead. The Pies were all over the shop. But led by skipper Scott Pendlebury, they were sparked into action in the third term, kicking nine unanswered goals to head into the final break with a 14-point advantage. Pendlebury, who was quiet in the first half, had eight disposals, and kicked a goal in the third quarter, while Steele Sidebottom and Jack Crisp also stood up. But the biggest hero for Collingwood was small forward Jamie Elliott, who electrified Pies fans with three goals in the term. 5. Young Kangaroo shows promise After being the substitute for his first two games of AFL football, young Roo Trent Dumont relished playing his first full game. In the opening term he was handed the task of running with Pendlebury. Recruited from Norwood at pick No.30 in the 2013 NAB AFL Draft, the 19-year-old kept Pendlebury to just five lacklustre touches in the first term, and managed to gather five of his own and two inside 50s. Aided by teammate Ben Cunnington at the stoppages, Dumont was able to restrict Pendlebury's influence in the first half, restricting the Magpie to just nine disposals. Coach Brad Scott allowed Dumont off the leash in the second half and he made the most of the opportunity, finishing the game with 18 touches, seven clearances and an impressive 10 tackles. It was Elliott's five-goal second half which turned the game on its head. After a slow start, the exciting forward suddenly looked dangerous at every turn in front of goal, or up the ground. The young Magpie kicked 5.2, had two score assists, seven marks, 18 disposals and four inside 50s. |
| THE MEDIA | |
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A STUNNING nine-goal third quarter propelled Collingwood to a thrilling comeback win over North Melbourne at the MCG on Sunday, with the Magpies overcoming a 39-point half-time deficit to clinch a 17-point win. North looked to have the game in control at the main break, having dominated play in the midfield and ruled the air inside its forward 50 through tall targets Jarrad Waite and Drew Petrie. But the Pies came out a different team after half-time to produce a remarkable 13-goal-to-four second half that sealed a 17.10 (112) to 14.11 (95) win in greasy conditions. Collingwood even looked set to run away with a comfortable win when Jamie Elliott kicked the opening goal of the final term – the Pies' 10th in a row – to put his side 20 points up. But North suddenly found a spark when Robbie Nahas kicked its first goal of the second half three minutes later, with Lindsay Thomas and Jarrad Waite adding another two in the next two minutes. And when Drew Petrie goaled at the 18-minute mark the Roos were suddenly four points up. The game's frantic final minutes were played in driving rain and it was Collingwood that stood up in the conditions. Dane Swan took an outstanding contested mark over Jamie Macmillan at the 23-minute mark and converted from 20m to give the Pies back the lead. Jarryd Blair kicked truly from 40m three minutes later to give the Pies a 10-point lead and Elliott poured salt on to the Roos' raw wounds after the siren when he slotted his fifth major. Steele Sidebottom was outstanding for Collingwood, finishing with 31 possessions and one goal, while Elliott - who along with skipper Scott Pendlebury helped spark the Pies' comeback - kicked four of their 10 consecutive goals. Swan also worked his way into the game after a wasteful first half, racking up a game-high 32 possessions and six clearances. Todd Goldstein (19 possessions, eight marks and 51 hit-outs) was a tireless worker for North, while Waite (three goals and nine marks) was lively in attack and Brent Harvey (27 possessions) and Sam Gibson (27) provided constant run. North dominated the opening half, controlling play in the midfield and ruling the air in attack through tall trio Waite, Petrie and Ben Brown. Waite kicked two of the Roos' four opening-term goals to help set up a 20-point lead at the first break. The former Blue also took five marks (two contested) for the term while Petrie took four as North plucked six marks inside its forward 50 to the Magpies' one. North's quarter-time lead could have been greater too, with Petrie missing three set shots. The Roos stretched their lead to 39 points at half-time with a six-goal-to-three second term, sending the Pies into the main break needing a massive turnaround. If you did not see this game you will not believe this story, but please read on anyway and suspend disbelief. If you did watch the game, read on to double-check — it really did happen. At half-time, the team that was 12th on the ladder was beating the team that was fifth on the ladder by 39 points. They should have been more than 10 goals up after hideous misses in the first quarter, but they were romping ahead. It was a shellacking. North Melbourne was playing superbly and Collingwood was horrific. Brownlow medallist Dane Swan might not have played many more ineffectual games than the first half – he kicked the ball at 18per cent efficiency. Steele Sidebottom looked like his hand was still broken. Scott Pendlebury was poor. North Melbourne was pressuring, hunting, gathering and winning. Todd Goldstein was the dominant player. Ben Cunnington was channelling Greg Williams in ignoring his feet and creating everything by hand. Robin Nahas was bright and Jarrad Waite still had silly Jarrad Waite moments but more good ones than bad. Then the momentum changed and the score. But what created this change was nothing positional, nothing structural, nothing other than a mental change. Suddenly Collingwood wanted to be the team to win the ball and tackle and move the ball quickly. "We are an effort and intensity-based side and we know if that is off we are not going to win many games and that clearly showed in the two halves," Swan said. "We were waiting for them a little bit in the first half and they did what they had to and pantsed us. "At quarter time we said 'boys that is about as bad as we have played and we are three or four goals down' and after the second quarter we said 'that is the worst half we have played all year and we know we can't go any worse and if we get better we will get closer and closer' and I don't think any of us expected to be in front at three-quarter time." The third quarter was unforeseeable. Collingwood kicked nine goals to none. Within half an hour they led by 14 points. Pendlebury was the architect, Jamie Elliott the new conduit. Swan and Sidebottom began to create with possession, not hack to find territory. Jack Frost won contests behind the ball and Alex Fasolo looked to pressure not just finish. Collingwood was in front and rampant. A goal was even insisted upon from the video man just as Brent Harvey was about to kick in for the point that had been given. They kicked the first goal of the last quarter in a manner emblematic of the shift in the game – they hurried to force confusion and panic and the ball was bobbled up to them. The query was only whether the effort of getting back in the game would weary them. "No doubt it goes through our mind," Swan said. "The rain comes down but thankfully the wind was blowing our way a bit so those thoughts go through your head." To tease at those concerns North found momentum from a moment of nothing. A fortunate lapse on the mark, a long kick from Goldstein and mark and goal from Nahas that begat two more goals in a minute. Soon after, North hit the front when Petrie goaled. It seemed the Magpies would be left with more self-respect but no points. Yet there were cunning twists left. Collingwood chased the ball and territory. The three big tall forwards were ignored for the smaller ones Elliott, Blair and Fasolo. Swan went forward when something was needed. In the slip and wet, Jamie Elliott curled a ball to the goal square and Swan set his frame and edged his backside. He held his ground and more importantly held the mark. He kicked the goal to put his side back in front. "I have a lot of confidence in my hands and they put me forward to do something and thankfully I did. It was a perfect kick from Jamie, I just had to hold my ground and thankfully it stuck," Swan said. "We needed a good win, we needed a test against a good side. "We know North were a kick away from the granny last year and we need to beat those sides to have a bit of depth and make people think we can compete with the best." |
THE North Melbourne membership package should come with a warning label. In fine print on the back of the card the Kangaroos can safely write: “Will cause nausea. Do not tip with confidence”. The Kangaroos took their almost customary roller-coaster season to a new level against Collingwood at the MCG yesterday, violently jolting from a high to a crippling low in 30 extraordinary minutes which could define their season. They lost the unlosable. At half-time the Roos — which at 4-4 had labelled this junction a turning point in their season — were methodically destroying the Magpies and had a 39-point lead to show for it. It should have been north of nine goals, Drew Petrie and Jarrad Waite among offenders of easy first-quarter blemishes as the league’s current worst set-shot team again struggled in front of the sticks. When a furious Scott next spoke to his charges they were 14 points in arrears and moments into the last quarter Jamie Elliott had kicked the 10th consecutive Magpie goal to push his side’s lead past three goals. How did they do it? As dark clouds formed above the G and above North’s season, they conjured 7.0 from their first eight entries of the third quarter and finished with 9.2 from 13. It was magic, and will be replayed in Collingwood households frequently throughout the week. The deadly-efficient football not only tasered the Kangaroos, but will leave Arden St in shock for the week. Almost unbelievably, ruckman Todd Goldstein jagged another sharp momentum reverse in the final quarter as the seemingly impotent Kangaroos broke their goal drought with three majors in 144 seconds. The Roos then had three set-shots to regain the lead. Robin Nahas and Sam Gibson fluffed the first two but Drew Petrie made no mistake as rain began to pelt down on a contest which had morphed from mediocre to marvellous in a blink. The Kangaroos had kicked 4.2 from six forward 50 entries, but the Magpies refused to be denied. Elliott and Swan would prove critical after that Petrie goal. The livewire forward banged the ball to the top of the square where Swan marked a soapy Sherrin as if it was a tennis ball to restore the lead for the final time. Elliott fittingly smashed through his fifth goal — all kicked in the second half — after the final to cap a famous Collingwood win and plunge the Kangaroos further into demise. The final quarter was littered with mega moments. There was a brutal Marley Williams bump, a dropped Robbie Tarrant chest mark which led to a Jarryd Blair goal and a heavy Goldstein tackle on Swan. The premiership hopeful Roos are now 4-5 having been blown off the park by three quality sides this year and suddenly facing West Coast, Sydney and GWS before their bye. A preliminary finalist which recruited Jarrad Waite and Shaun Higgins is faced with the stark possibility of sitting out September. As for the Magpies? They’re 6-4, in the top four and have eight days to prepare for their Queen’s Birthday meeting with Melbourne. Things could hardly be sweeter. Collingwood produced a remarkable second-half revival to power over the top of North Melbourne and win their AFL match by 17 points at the MCG on Sunday. The Magpies were woeful in the first half, managing only four goals, and were lucky to go into the long break only 39 points in arrears. But they made up the deficit - and then some - in a stunning nine-goals-to-nil third term and withstood a belated fightback by the Kangaroos in the final quarter to win 17.10 (112) to 14.11 (95). Livewire forward Jamie Elliott was the game-breaker for the Magpies, booting three third-quarter goals. The Magpies' ninth major of the third quarter came courtesy of a video review which deemed that Drew Petrie had been unable to get a hand on Alex Fasolo's shot before it crossed the goal-line. When Elliott booted his fourth of the day early in the last term to put the Magpies 20 points up it looked as though they would run away with the win. But North hit back with the next four goals to regain the lead, only for the Magpies to make one more decisive surge with the last three goals of a see-sawing encounter. Elliott finished with a game-high five goals for Collingwood. The Kangaroos were best served by ruckman Todd Goldstein, while Robin Nahas and Jarrad Waite booted three goals apiece. North suffered a big blow in the lead-up when skipper Andrew Swallow was forced to withdraw due to an ongoing thumb injury. He was replaced by Kayne Turner. Collingwood’s come-from-behind win over North Melbourne saw it scale its third greatest half time deficit. Down by 39 points at the main break, the Magpies slammed on nine goals to nil in the third quarter to turn the game on its head. In its previous 2,449 games, the club had only twice overcome a greater half time margin. The Magpies beat St Kilda after trailing by 52 points at half time in round 10, 1970, while they went on to roll Richmond after ending the first half 46 points in arrears in round 20, 1978. It was only the third time since 2000 that Collingwood has won after trailing by five goals or more at half time. The magnitude of the comeback is greater understood when compared with VFL/ AFL history. Since 1897, only 18 teams have managed to win despite a half time deficit greater than 39 points. Other random facts and stats you might be interested in… In kicking 9.2 (56), the Magpies of 2015 catapulted themselves into the top echelon of the club’s third quarter history. But as potent as they were in that third term, they were outstripped by at least 15 other Collingwood sides in the club’s history. Collingwood’s record third quarter effort is 12.5 (77), kicked against Carlton at Princes Park in round four, 1969. It was Carlton’s highest score against at the time. John Greening’s seven goals may have had something to do with this. Sunday’s third quarter score was also the club’s equal sixth most accurate quarter in its history. As good as 9.2 (56) is, it’s still a little shy of the 10.0 (60) against Melbourne in round two, 1996. The Magpies have enjoyed some healthy quarters against the Kangaroos in recent years. They kicked 10.6 (66) in round 22, 2006, and managed 7.7 (49) in the third term against the same opponents in round three earlier that year. In fact, Collingwood’s strongest ever final quarter was recorded against North Melbourne. The Pies kicked 11.5 (71) at Victoria Park in round nine, 1990 (Gavin Brown and Peter Daicos each finished with seven for the day). |
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