Preview Round 10: Collingwood v Melbourne

AFL

SUMMARY

Collingwood v Melbourne Monday June 8, 3:20pm MCG 7mate / Fox Footy 3:00pm Weather: Min 11 Max 16 Chance of rain 70%: <1mm Wind: NNW 26kph Betting: Collingwood $1.30 Melbourne $3.50

Collingwood has had a mortgage on Queen's Birthday contests against Melbourne, with the Demons' last win on the public holiday Monday coming in round 11, 2007.
However, there was a draw in 2010.
The Magpies are sitting pretty with a win-loss record of 6-3 and could really separate themselves from the pack with a big win over Melbourne.
The Demons’ problems remain – the gap between their best and worst footy is too distinct, as evidenced by their glaring drop off in a 61-point loss to Port Adelaide last week.
The significance of the occasion should see a more determined performance from Melbourne this week.


LAST FIVE TIMES

1. R12, 2014, Collingwood 8.13 (61) d Melbourne 3.10 (28) at the MCG
2. R11, 2013, Collingwood 17.20 (122) d Melbourne 5.9 (39) at the MCG
3. R11, 2012, Collingwood 19.15 (129) d Melbourne 13.9 (87) at the MCG
4. R12, 2011, Collingwood 19.15 (129) d Melbourne 6.5 (41) at the MCG
5. R12, 2010, Melbourne 11.10 (76) drew Collingwood 9.22 (76) at the MCG

THE SIX POINTS

1. Melbourne managed just three goals for the game, two of which came in the first half, when these sides last met in round 12 last season.
2. Both teams have struggled to win centre clearances in 2015 with Melbourne averaging just 9.9 per game to rank 17th in the competition. The Magpies are equal third last with 11.7 per game.
3. Collingwood has dominated Melbourne over a long period, winning nine of the past 10 meetings. The Demons' only premiership points since 2008 came from a draw in round 12, 2010.
4. Melbourne is ranked 18th in the competition for uncontested possessions, averaging 188.7 per game. The Magpies are ranked 13th in that category with 210.2 per game.
5. Melbourne has the worst goalkicking accuracy of any side in 2015, kicking 87 goals and 94 behinds at 45.1 per cent efficiency. Collingwood is ranked third at 54 per cent goal efficiency, booting 129 goals and 107 behinds.
6. Collingwood forward Alex Fasolo scored a season-high 23.3 points in the Official AFL Player Ratings against North Melbourne last weekend.

IT'S A BIG WEEK FOR… Jeremy Howe.
The Melbourne high-flyer went missing against Port Adelaide, notching just six touches from 96 per cent game time. Howe is a much better player than that and needs to impose himself on the game more. After starting the year down back, he has been switched forward in recent weeks to add some punch to Melbourne's scoring power. Up forward, Howe gives the Demons a point of difference and it is up to him to make the most of that.

PREDICTION: Collingwood by 22 points

Collingwood News The facts and figures of Collingwood's 228 meetings with Melbourne since 1897

7,334,639– Total attendance at games between Collingwood and Melbourne. 115,802 – People packed into the MCG for the 1956 Grand Final. 99,346 – The largest home away crowd at a Queen’s Birthday match (round 10, 1958). 19,347 – Total number of points Collingwood has scored against Melbourne. 16,925 – Total number of points scored by Melbourne against Collingwood. 7,000 – People attended the first final between the two clubs (1897). For the record, the Magpies won by four points. 3,887 – The smallest recorded crowd between the two sides. 2007 – The year that marks Melbourne’s most recent win over the Magpies. It was recorded on the Queen’s Birthday in front of 70,660 fans at the MCG. Russell Robertson kicked seven goals on greenhorns Danny Stanley (on debut) and Alan Toovey (in game nine) after Heritier Lumumba left the field with a dislocated shoulder in the opening minutes. Ben Johnson received a Brownlow vote for his three goals and 25 disposals. 1994 – The last time the two clubs met at a venue other than the MCG. It was out at Waverley Park in round six. Melbourne snuck home by six points, although controversy surrounded a shot at goal by Collingwood skipper Gavin Brown on the half time siren that some Pies fans believed was kicked before the siren blew. Brown had a team-high 22 disposals while Shane Watson was his side’s only multiple goal scorer with two in a low scoring affair at Arctic Park. 1992 – The year of the last game at Victoria Park between the two sides. 1989 – The last time the two clubs met in a final. 1958 – The year that marked one of Collingwood’s most famous triumphs, an 18-point win over the Demons on a wet and muddy MCG to help prevent Ron Barassi’s Dees from winning four flags on the trot and equalling the Magpies’ VFL/AFL record. 229 – Total number of games between the two sides. 145 – Collingwood wins against Melbourne since 1897. 109 – Largest winning margin between the two sides when Collingwood defeated Melbourne in round 15, 1919. 101 – Combined disposals won by the Ms, McGuane, Millane and Morwood, in Collingwood’s 52-point win over Melbourne at Waverley Park in round 10, 1990. 77 – Games played for Melbourne between 1983 and 1987 by Peter Moore after 172 with Collingwood. Moore won a Brownlow Medal with each club (1979 and 1984). 74 – Games played by Neil Crompton in his final five seasons for Melbourne during the 1960s. During that time, the back pocket kicked just one goal – a goal that sealed the Demons’ premiership triumph over the Magpies in 1964. 62 – Games played for Collingwood by Shane Woewodin after 138 games for Melbourne. Woewodin took out the Brownlow Medal in 2000 with 24 votes. 54 – The number worn by James McDonald in his first senior game for Melbourne against Collingwood in round 17, 1997. Unfortunately, the future Melbourne captain never played against his older brother, Alex, who was a regular in Tony Shaw’s best 22 between 1996 and 1999. The third brother, Anthony, played 104 games for the Dees between 1997 and 2002. 48 – Times Darren Jolly played for Melbourne between 2001 and 2004. He later played in 71 games (most famously the 2010 premiership) for Collingwood. 47 – Goals kicked by Sav Rocca in 10 games for Collingwood against Melbourne. 43 – Number of goals kicked in the highest scoring game between the two sides, Melbourne (22.21.153) def. Collingwood (21.16.142) in Round 16, 1937. 43 – The number worn by Adam Oxley on debut for Collingwood against the Demons on the Queen’s Birthday in 2013. 40 – The inside 50 discrepancy in Collingwood’s favour in the 2011 Queens Birthday clash, the fifteenth largest inside 50 difference in AFL history. 39 – Disposals won by Scott Pendlebury on the Queen’s Birthday in 2009. It was his highest career tally and stood for four years. 39 – 5.9 (39) was Melbourne’s lowest score against Collingwood since 1980. 38 – Number of goals Ron Barassi kicked against Collingwood in 31 games. 37 – Disposals won by Sharrod Wellingham on the Queen’s Birthday in 2011. It remains the greatest return of his 124-game career, and was recorded in the absence of Dane Swan and Dayne Beams. 36 – Disposals won by captain Scott Burns on the Queen’s Birthday in round 11, 2008. Remarkably, it was the greatest haul of a 255-game career that had just 10 games left in it. 31 – Number of possessions Tony Shaw had to go with his four goals in the round 14, 1985 clash between the two sides. 29 – Hitouts won by Peter Moore in his first game for the Demons against his old club in the first round of the 1983 season. 26 – Games played by Simon Buckley in Black and White stripes between 2010 and 2012 (none in 2010). He had previously played 21 games for the Demons between 2007 and 2009. He played in just two losses during his time at Collingwood but never once featured in September.

25 – Goals kicked by Allen Jakovich in five games for the Dees against the Magpies, his equal highest tally against a single club. 22 – Disposals won by Athas Hrysoulakis in Collingwood’s 23-point loss to the Demons in the 1989 Elimination Final at Waverley Park. It was the highest tally of his career in what would be his third last game. 22 – Disposals won by Shane Woewodin in his first game for Collingwood against his old club in round 11, 2003. 18 – The number of possessions Scott Pendlebury had in his second AFL game, the 2006 Queen’s Birthday clash. 16 – Second half goals propelled Tony Shaw’s Magpies to a 52-point win over Melbourne in round 17, 1997. It wasn’t as easy as it sounds though, with the Demons leading by five goals at half time. 15 – Disposals, a goal and one big specky. That was the result of Alex Fasolo’s first game of senior football for Collingwood while wearing the No. 35 on the Queen’s Birthday in 2011. 13 – Individual Collingwood players registered their names in the scorebook on the Queen’s Birthday in 2008. 12 – Scoring shots recorded by Allen Jakovich, seven of which were goals, in Melbourne’s nine-point win over Collingwood at Victoria Park in round 20, 1992. 10 – Disposals won by Garry Lyon in his final game of league football against Collingwood in round 11, 1999. 10 – Goals kicked by Sav Rocca to belt Melbourne by 107-points in round two, 1997. 10 – The number of times the two sides faced each other at Waverley Park. 9 – Goals after half time kicked by the Wizard, Jeff Farmer, to help sink Collingwood in round 14, 2000. 9 – Goals kicked by Magpie livewire Brad Dick in his final two games against Melbourne on the Queen’s Birthday in 2009 and 2010. Dick received a Rising Star nomination for his efforts in ’09, while his efforts in ’10 were even more remarkable considering he had played for the club’s VFL team 24 hours prior. Ironically, it was against Melbourne’s VFL affiliate, the Casey Scorpions, that Dick’s Collingwood career came to an end with a ruptured ACL out at Casey Fields in 2011 – again on the Queen’s Birthday weekend. 8 – Final quarter goals kicked by Collingwood to thrash Melbourne by 88-points at the MCG on the Queen’s Birthday, 2011. 8 – Goals kicked by Liam Jurrah during his brief stint with Collingwood’s VFL team in 2008. He later kicked 81 goals in 36 games for Melbourne. 7 – Disposals won by Brad Oborne in his fifth and final game for the Black and White against the Demons in round 14, 2000. Oborne is the son of Rod, who played 87 games for the Magpies between 1972 and 1979. 7 – Number of goals kicked by Gordon Coventry in the 1937 Preliminary Final against the two sides, Collingwood won by 55 points. 7 – The number of Grand Finals played between the two sides. 6 – Goals kicked by Brian Taylor in Collingwood’s 13-point loss to Melbourne in the 1988 Semi-Final at the MCG. 6 – Goals kicked by Michael Richardson in the Magpies’ 72-point win over Melbourne in round 14, 1985. 6 – Goals kicked by Travis Cloke against Melbourne on the Queen’s Birthday in 2011. It was the first time he had reached the mark in 135 games. 5 – Games played for Melbourne by former Magpie Steven Pitt between 2000 and 2001. Pitt kicked 14 goals in 13 games for Collingwood 1996 before joining the police force in South Australia. 5 – Goals kicked by Sav Rocca in his first game against Melbourne in round 20, 1992. 5 – Goals kicked by the high flying Shaun Smith in Melbourne’s three-point win over the Magpies in round eight, 1998. 5 – Number of drawn games between the two sides. 5 – Times the two clubs met on Grand Final day between 1955 and 1960. Collingwood won only one, but it famously preserved the club’s record of four consecutive premierships in 1958. 4 – Behinds kicked by Chris Dawes in two games for Collingwood against Melbourne. Dawes managed just the one goal from five scoring shots but averaged 18.5 disposals. 4 – Goals to Tony Francis against the Demons in round 17, 1997, a career-high. 3 – Games played for Melbourne by Tom Couch. Couch was drafted out of Collingwood’s VFL team at the end of 2011 and has returned to the team in 2014 after two seasons as a Melbourne rookie. 2.2 – Collingwood’s miserable scoreline at the end of the 1960 Grand Final. It’s no surprise that Melbourne coasted to a 48-point win. 1 – Number of Grand Final wins Collingwood has over Melbourne. 1 – Second left on the time clock when Steele Sidebottom saved the game for the Woods by spoiling Ricky Petterd on the goal line in round two, 2010. The result? Collingwood home by a point. 0 – Points between the two clubs when they drew on the Queen’s Birthday in 2010. For the record, Collingwood managed a savagely inaccurate 9.22 (76).