Collingwood: Contenders or Pretenders?

REAL FOOTY - Matthew Lloyd

Collingwood v GWS Sunday June 14, 1:10pm MCG 7mate / Fox Footy 1:00pm Weather: Min 7 Max 17 Chance of rain 20%: < 1mm Wind: E 12kph Betting: Collingwood $1.67 GWS $2.25

Collingwood has been called many things over 100 years - a mystery is not one of them. But that is how I would describe Collingwood under Nathan Buckley.
I am yet to consolidate in my mind whether the Magpies are good enough to command a top fourspot with their current form or have just been blessed by what can only be described as a flattering early season fixture.
There is no easy win in AFL football. Collingwood have been really impressive on their way to a 7-3 record, but their true test will be in the next month when they step up in class to play some of the best sides of the competition.
Collingwood's seven wins this season were against the seven current bottom sides on the ladder. Their two best wins were against Essendon on Anzac Day and against North Melbourne in a stirring comeback two weeks ago.
Their three losses were against Adelaide, Geelong and Richmond, who are all good sides, but not great. That is why Buckley's men are very hard to read. It is extremely hard to get a true gauge of their form line until they can beat a top eight side.
While Buckley would be ecstatic with the win-loss column, even he said this week that he is unsure of how well Collingwood are travelling, and that far greater tests lie in wait for his troops than what they have encountered so far this season.
But you can only beat who has been put in front of you. I like what I am seeing from Collingwood. I'd be very excited if I was a Magpies fan, as the future looks bright, whatever the outcome this season. Collingwood were in the same position this time last year, but were decimated by injury and won just three of their last 11 games to miss on the final eight.
Losing Dayne Beams over the off-season only added salt to the wounds, but Collingwood did the best they possibly could out of a bad situation, picking up Jordan De Goey with pick five and Jack Crisp from the Brisbane Lions. With those two players, they may come out the deal better in the long run, as both look like being 200-game players for the Magpies.
In recent years, Collingwood have had an unhealthy reliance on four players: Travis Cloke, Scott Pendlebury, Dane Swan and Beams. I have a strong belief that it is the improvement in second-tier players that catapults you back into premiership contention. This is where Collingwood is slowly building a war chest of 50-100 game players who are capable of becoming elite.
Jamie Elliott is just about the best small forward in the game. He is unique in that he can sit on heads and mark out in front of his eyes at full pace, but then act as an elite crumber at ground level as well. Elliott has also become a really reliable kick for goal, which makes him the complete player who is only going to get better.

Round 12 BYE Round 13 Thursday, June 25 Fremantle Collingwood Round 14 Friday, July 03 Collingwood Hawthorn Round 15 Thursday, July 09 Port Adelaide Collingwood Round 16 Saturday, July 18 Collingwood West Coast Eagles Round 17 Sunday, July 26 Western Bulldogs Collingwood Round 18 Saturday, August 01 Collingwood Melbourne

Brodie Grundy is back playing the quality of football he demonstrated in his debut season. He has elite numbers compared with all the dominant ruckmen in the game. Grundy is third for disposals behind Sam Jacobs and Stefan Martin, and he is the fourth-ranked ruckman for overall clearances.
Jack Crisp, Taylor Adams, Paul Seedsman, Adam Oxley and Tim Broomhead are all young players who make Collingwood a much better side through greater midfield depth to support Pendlebury and Swan.
The exciting thing for Magpie fans is that on top of those players, first-round recruits Nathan Freeman, Matthew Scharenberg and Darcy Moore are yet to debut, and Levi Greenwood is still yet to play a game for Collingwood after a serious pre-season ankle injury.
Buckley has made some bold decisions as a young coach, and he has taken a lot of heat for it from people around the club, and from Collingwood members who loved the departed players and their previous coach, Michael Malthouse. Media alike questioned Buckley and his hard-line stance on expectations and disciplines. There are no doubts now.
Who would have thought that Collingwood's greatest challenge yet is today's clash with Greater Western Sydney at the MCG. It is fourth-versus-fifth, with the chance to remain a game clear in the top four.
It is a game the Pies at the start of the year would have pencilled in as a certain win. It's not that now; it's become a season-defining match.
I believe this is will be the biggest and most important game in the Giants' history, on the big stage, against the biggest club in the land, with so much to play for. There is no mystery about the Giants as they look destined for a long stint at the top no matter the result on Sunday.
For Collingwood, it's all about the here and the now, about putting a top-eight contender to the sword. It will make a whole lot clearer what the Magpies are fully capable of in 2015.