| 2017 AFL Round 2 COLLINGWOOD v RICHMOND Time & Place: Thursday March 30, 7:20pm EDT MCG TV: 7mate / Fox Footy 7:00pm EDT Weather: Min 14 Max 21 Chance of rain 40%: 1-5mm Wind: WSW 29kph Betting: Collingwood $1.90 Richmond $1.90 |
COLLINGWOOD 1.5.11 7.9.51 9.11.65 12.14.86
GOALS - Collingwood: Fasolo 3, Sidebottom 2, Pendlebury 2, White, Mayne, Treloar, Goldsack, Hoskin-Elliott
BEST - Collingwood: Pendlebury, Treloar, Sidebottom, Adams, Fasolo, Reid
INJURIES - Collingwood: James Aish (virus) replaced in the selected side by Chris Mayne
REPORTS - Collingwood: Travis Varcoe reported for rough conduct in the first term
OFFICIAL CROWD - 66,254 at the MCG
| 1. Dogs find the answers In the lead up to round one, the question of a premiership hangover was raised with Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge at his weekly press conference. The premiership mentor admitted he wasn't sure how his side would go. The Bulldogs were certainly challenged by Collingwood on Friday night, and while it wasn't a convincing performance by the premiers, they had the answers when the game was in the balance. There is, of course, much room for improvement; after all, it's only round one. The Dogs were smashed at the stoppages and had 18 fewer inside 50s than the Pies, but still managed to make the most of their opportunities. For Nathan Buckley, his side may not have won the four points, but the Pies were certainly competitive and their midfield is one to fear. They will be ruing their missed opportunities but there was plenty to like from Collingwood. 2. Cloke's fresh start For Travis Cloke it must have been a strange feeling running out against his former side for the first time. It didn't take him long to find his feet though. The Bulldogs recruit had his first touch five minutes into the match, and as expected there were plenty of boos from the black and white faithful. Those initial jeers though were nothing compared to the chorus of boos that came at the 26-minute mark of the first term, when Cloke took his first mark on the paint of 50. Holding his nerve, the ex-Pie kicked truly and Bulldogs fans erupted , drowning out the Collingwood army. It was a moment Cloke will long remember as his new teammates ran from everywhere to celebrate with him. From there though, Cloke was pretty well held by his former teammate Ben Reid, the ex-Pie finishing with 14 disposals, six marks and a goal. For Nathan Buckley, his side may not have won the four points, but the Pies were certainly competitive and their midfield is one to fear. They will be ruing their missed opportunities but there was plenty to like from Collingwood. |
3. Mayne's late call-up It was a shaky start to life as a Magpie for ex-Docker Chris Mayne. Originally left out of the round one team, Mayne was handed a debut after James Aish pulled out with illness. There has been plenty of talk about the 28-year-old since he moved across to Collingwood in October last year on a lucrative four-year deal, and the pressure showed on Friday night. Mayne needed four attempts before he finally booted his first goal of the game and it was a cracking kick from 50m out right on the boundary line. Ex-Giant Will Hoskin-Elliott and former Gold Coast defender Henry Schade also made their official debuts for the Pies on Friday night. Hoskin-Elliott was impressive with 22 touches, six inside 50s and a goal, while Schade did well in defence, spending time on Cloke and Stewart Crameri throughout the game. 4. Bob's back It didn't take Bulldogs skipper Bob Murphy long to find the footy in his first game for premiership points in nearly a year. The veteran Dog looked more than comfortable during the JLT Series, but it was a special moment when he had his first touch of the 2017 home and away season. Ninety seconds into the game Murphy gathered his first possession much to the delight of the Doggies faithful, who burst into cheers. It was the skipper though, when the game was in the balance in the third term, who stood tall and lifted his side. Playing up forward and in defence at times, Murphy lit up at the 'G as the Dogs pushed out to a 25-point lead at three-quarter time. He had the chance to kick a goal too, which would have brought the house down, but true to his selfless nature Murphy handballed off to teammate Stewart Crameri. The former Bomber, who sat out 2016, kicked his first goal since the Bulldogs' 2015 elimination final loss to Adelaide. 5. Nervous wait for Varcoe Magpie Travis Varcoe will have to wait until Monday afternoon to find out his fate after the ex-Cat was reported for a high bump on Bulldog Luke Dahlhaus. The incident happened halfway through the opening term at a centre bounce when Varcoe charged off the back of the square. The Magpie's shoulder made contact with Dahlhaus' head and the premiership Dog hit the deck. It will likely be graded medium impact and high contact, but the incident occurred off the ball and could have caused serious injury. Luckily, Dahlhaus didn't require medical treatment and was able to play out the game. |
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The Western Bulldogs have kicked off their premiership defence with a hard-fought 14-point win over a gallant Collingwood at the MCG on Friday night. In the end the Bulldogs' versatility and star power was too much for the Magpies, who relied heavily on the brilliance of skipper Scott Pendlebury and lionhearted efforts from Steele Sidebottom and Adam Treloar. Bulldogs star Tom Liberatore was crucial in evening up the battle inside the contest, laying 14 tackles, and Marcus Bontempelli's class was telling with two goals exactly when the Bulldogs needed them most. The Bulldogs eventually ran out winners, 15.10 (100) to 12.14 (86). After the Bulldogs kicked the opening four goals the Pies worked their way back into the game through the brilliance of Alex Fasolo, who kicked three goals late in the second quarter. Collingwood then hit the front through a brilliant Treloar goal early in the second half and looked to have the momentum. However, the Bulldogs, led by the silky Robert Murphy, lifted to kicked five unanswered goals to extinguish the challenge. Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge was pleased to escape with the win. "Collingwood were very, very good in tight and definitely beat us around the source, so we had to find a way," Beveridge said. "Our efficiency was better than it normally is forward of centre, which is great to see, but they put on a bit of pressure and it was good to hold sway at the end." Murphy worked in tandem with Jason Johannisen switching back and forth from defence to attack to confuse the Magpies. Johannisen kicked two goals and Lachie Hunter was also elusive with three goals and 15 uncontested possessions. It was the Bulldogs' sharpness in space that proved the difference. They moved the ball from end to end repeatedly to kick goals over the back as Collingwood tried to exert forward pressure. Collingwood kept coming, but the four-goal margin at three-quarter time was too much for the Magpies to overhaul. Buckley was disappointed but he remained positive after the game. "There was a lot to like," Buckley said. "Our use inside forward 50 was not ideal and they were able to get it out of our forward line and score a little too easily as well." Former Pie Travis Cloke kicked one huge goal in the first quarter to silence the loud boos coming from Collingwood supporters, but Ben Reid defeated him on the night. Magpie midfielder Travis Varcoe was reported after cleaning up Luke Dahlhaus at a centre bounce and will be lucky to avoid suspension. Collingwood faces a huge test next Thursday night against Richmond, but showed it has the capacity to match the Tigers, while the Bulldogs will unveil the flag against Sydney next week. What's New Collingwood: A virus to James Aish saw the Magpies turn to Chris Mayne as a late inclusion. He settled the nerves with a long, important goal early in the second quarter to arrest the Bulldogs' momentum. Tried hard and could improve at the Magpies. Will Hoskin-Elliott lacked defensive pressure but showed his class when he had the football in his hands. He ended the game with 22 disposals and a goal and played well after quarter-time. Henry Schade worked hard in defence but a fumble at a crucial time in the third quarter was costly, allowing Bontempelli to goal. Western Bulldogs: Although he wore a different jumper, it was the same Travis Cloke who arrived at the MCG. Kicked a brilliant, long goal to silence the booing Magpie fans late in the first quarter. He tackled hard and his effort was as good as ever, but he did his job and little more. Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley has labelled his side's Round 1 loss to the Western Bulldogs a "missed opportunity" but believes there are plenty of positives to take out of the clash. The Magpies went down by 14 points, Buckley left to lament a third-quarter lapse which saw the Bulldogs kick five unanswered goals as well as poor ball use going forward throughout the night. Collingwood won both the clearance and inside 50 counts by 18 as a midfield brigade led by captain Scott Pendlebury (35 disposals), Steele Sidebottom (35 disposals), Taylor Adams (33 disposals) and Adam Treloar (33 disposals) shone brightly. However, the side struggled once inside 50, kicking just 12 goals from 62 entries. "I think there's elements of the game that we did really well … contested ball, pressure, our back half use was pretty good. Forward half use was not as good," Buckley said. "We probably really had a lull through that 10, 15 minutes of the third quarter. Apart from that we were pretty close to playing the way we want to play for the whole game. "In many ways it's a missed opportunity for us. We can't get those points back. But if that's our brand, if that's the way we play, we'll win a lot of games." The Magpies have a six-day break before meeting Round 1 winner Richmond at the MCG next Thursday night. Buckley did not rule out Jamie Elliott returning in that match to bolster the forward line but said the goalsneak still had work to do to prove his fitness after battling an ankle injury in recent weeks. "We're not discounting him," Buckley said. "He'd probably be less likely than likely. He's missed so much footy. He played less than half of a game against Essendon and he's been pristine, his back and conditioning apart from that. But we'll make a judgement call as we get further in." "I think there's elements of the game that we did really well … contested ball, pressure, our back half use was pretty good. Forward half use was not as good. We probably really had a lull through that 10, 15 minutes of the third quarter. Apart from that we were pretty close to playing the way we want to play for the whole game. In many ways it's a missed opportunity for us. We can't get those points back. But if that's our brand, if that's the way we play, we'll win a lot of games." |
On Monday Nathan Buckley was asked to swallow an implausible story of a dog and a door knob. On Friday he was presented an equally unpalatable Dogs' tale.
The Premiers held off Collingwood to claim a 14 point win in their season opener.
The Bulldogs hit the lead early without needing to play well, were reined in by Collingwood's energy, and made to play well to win. Which they did, finding the gears to play well enough to do what was needed to win.
The narrative of the match was about Captain Bob being back. It was also about an old, new dog - Travis Cloke, who proved also to be an old dog with a new trick – kicking straight. Well, for his first important one anyway.
The most deliciously poetic moment was late in the first term when Cloke marked 55 metres out – his range – and directly in font – not his angle. This time he kicked long and true and confounded Collingwood fans turned as one to one another and asked "Why didn't he do that for us?" They sniggered later when he put a shot from closer range out of bounds, but it was a mirthless giggle, for Cloke's Dogs were home by then.
Collingwood had chosen a tall side trying to outplay the best running team in the league by keeping it off them in the air. It didn't work.
The Magpies' most effective forwards were small – Alex Fasolo and Steele Sidebottom – and their talls Mason Cox, Darcy Moore and Jesse White did nothing. Their cumbersome forward line was made taller by Chris Mayne coming in late for the ill James Aish.
The Bulldogs, in contrast, were playing with their new forward line – with Stewart Crameri and Cloke as additions to a premier line up.
This theoretically should have unsettled their structure. But it didn't. Both players were only ever used as targets forward as an afterthought. They were used if they were in the right positions but not just because they were out there – which had been Collingwood's approach.
Luke Beveridge instead tinkered with his forward line, rotating his players through the wings and half-forward line and taught old dogs new tricks (we're going to stick with this canine theme, OK?).
Jason Johannisen won the Norm Smith Medal surging off half-back last year but he like was swung forward along with skipper Bob Murphy and caused mismatches. He booted a couple of goals in the third term.
The Magpies' ability to stay in the game was based on effort not skill. They had energy and ownership of the ball early, yet conceded easy scores through their own sloppiness.
It was a pattern of the first half that the cleaner Bulldogs could concede contested possession and clearances so significantly, yet effortlessly turn possession into score.
Early on, they were helped in this by being gifted the ball by Collingwood turnovers. And they kicked straight – 9.1 at one point.
Collingwood dragged one of their talls to the bench in the second term and funnelled their attack through Alex Fasolo. He booted three goals the third term and helped Collingwood to recover the lead. Adam Treloar goaled for the first of the second half to give Collingwood a lead but it proved short-lived.
This awoke a slumbering dog (I warned you about that dog theme) and with Marcus Bontempelli – quiet in the main – moved forward, he had a hand in goals and quelling the Magpie rally.
They spread Collingwood's defence and outran them through the middle. The Magpies were pressing up at the ball and working hard to trap it in their zone but they didn't score. Then the Dogs would get them out the back. It was the reason they dominated virtually every statistical column, yet lost.
Collingwood's loss was made worse by Travis Varcoe being reported for a hit to Luke Dahlhaus when he charged in off the centre square. The Bulldog was close to Pendlebury, who had the ball, but probably would not have anticipated the contact.
YOUNG midfielder Jordan De Goey will learn from the events of the past week according to Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley. The 21-year-old lied to his coach about how he had broken his hand only for the truth to be revealed soon after Buckley went public with De Goey's fabricated story. It gave the Magpies unwanted headlines leading into round one for the second successive season, but the coach did not think it had an affect on the team's performance. Buckley said De Goey made two mistakes but he could make up the ground he lost if he followed the program set out for him over the next few months. "He will learn a lot from it, but he's a good kid and he made bad decisions. We have got a plan in place for him and it is an opportunity for him to grow and to learn," Buckley said. The headline grabbing event was the least of Buckley's worries however, after he watched the Magpies fall short to the defending premiers on the scoreboard despite winning most of the statistical measures. The Magpies were more than competitive, winning the inside 50 count and clearances by 18, contested possessions by 26 and had one more scoring shot but still fell 14 points short of the defending premiers. Buckley said it was poor ball use and inefficiency inside 50 that was the difference in the end, but the overall effort was strong. "In many ways it is a missed opportunity for us," Buckley said. "But if that is our brand…if that is the way that we play we'll win a lot of games of footy." Collingwood faces a huge game next Thursday night against Richmond, after the Tigers defeated Carlton in the opening game of the season on Thursday night. The Magpies are unlikely to include injured forward Jamie Elliott, although he is yet to be ruled out entirely, and will still be without injured trio Levi Greenwood, Daniel Wells and De Goey. Buckley, however, said he saw enough signs to suggest Collingwood would be very competitive against Richmond, with only a lapse in the third quarter proving costly. "If we persist and become more consistent in our application of the way we want to play then we will become a better team," Buckley said. The coach was pleased with the defence but said the use of the ball forward of the centre exposed the Magpies more often than he would have liked. He defended the selection of Chris Mayne ahead of Tim Broomhead after James Aish was a late whithdrawal due to a virus, and said the forward structure was not an issue once they began rotating tall forwards on and off the ground. "There was a lot to like," Buckley said. |
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