| 2017 AFL Round 3 COLLINGWOOD v SWANS Time & Place: Friday April 7, 7:50pm EST SCG TV: 7mate / Fox Footy 7:30pm EST Weather: Min 16 Max 21 |
COLLINGWOOD 2.4.16 4.9.33 7.13.55 11.14.80
GOALS - Collingwood: Hoskin-Elliott 3, White 2, Treloar 2, Moore, Broomhead, Mayne, Grundy
BEST - Collingwood: Grundy, Hoskin-Elliott, Pendlebury, Treloar, Adams
INJURIES - Collingwood: Nil
REPORTS - Collingwood: Nil
OFFICIAL CROWD - 58,236 at the MCG
| 1. Richmond has found a winning style While their round one win against Carlton needed to be taken with caution, Thursday night's result showed there is reason to be excited about the Tigers this season after starting 2-0 for just the second time since 1997. The Tigers had a fresh look in round one, with a small and quick forward line that forced turnovers and converted them into scores. After an AFL-high 88 tackles in the opening week, the tackle count was much lower on Thursday night (56) but it was a different game. There was still significant forward pressure, and it was no more evident than when captain Trent Cotchin desperately lunged for two goal-saving tackles in the last five minutes. "That's something we can control, the opposition can't take that away from us," coach Damien Hardwick said of the tackling focus pre-game. It looks like a winning style. 2. The Magpies forward issues are real Collingwood is 0-2 for the first time under coach Nathan Buckley and the forward line needs attention. The three-pronged tall forward line didn't work in round one, with Jesse White, Mason Cox and Darcy Moore combining for just one goal. Cox paid the price at selection but it wasn't a quick fix, with the Magpies again struggling on Thursday night. Alex Fasolo shaped as the most dangerous forward, having kicked 3.3 in round one, but he was blanketed superbly by Dylan Grimes and kicked 0.3. White booted two, but the goals came from the midfield, with Will Hoskin-Elliott (three) and Adam Treloar (two) their most dangerous going forward. Young tall Darcy Moore worked hard on Alex Rance but finished with just one goal, with the Pies' delivery not helping him. Collingwood is 0-2 for the first time under coach Nathan Buckley and the forward line needs attention. The three-pronged tall forward line didn't work in round one, with Jesse White, Mason Cox and Darcy Moore combining for just one goal. Cox paid the price at selection but it wasn't a quick fix, with the Magpies again struggling on Thursday night. |
3. Take me where the action is It's no secret that Richmond's midfield recruiting was designed in part to let Dustin Martin spend more time forward, but at what cost? Martin is clearly in magnificent touch right now, and we saw glimpses of brilliance again on Thursday night. But we also saw him spending long periods anchored as the deepest forward missing out on opportunities to impact the match. In the third quarter he appeared frustrated as players missed opportunities to kick long to him in one-out contests. He had just three possessions and one mark for the quarter, with a head injury to Ben Griffiths playing a role in his deployment forward for longer periods. He was finally rewarded with two important goals in the fourth term and finished with 25 possessions. 4. Ben Lennon gets his chance For a player who arrived at Punt Road Oval with high hopes as a No.12 draft pick, Ben Lennon has not made his mark in three full seasons. His fourth year shapes as a career-defining one and Thursday night was a step in the right direction. His moment to step up came late in the third quarter. The Tigers had their tails up but they needed someone to seize the moment when Lennon cleverly intercepted Tyson Goldsack's kick in. He lined up from 48m and converted, giving Richmond the lead for the first time since early in the second quarter. It was a turning point in the match and has the potential to spark Lennon's season, with the 21-year-old finishing with one goal (could have been two but he failed to get a toe on the ball as Bachar Houli's long shot dribbled through) and three score assists. 5. Shortcomings on show While the game came alive in the second half, the first two quarters were a cause for concern for both teams, especially as they set finals as their expectation in 2017. They will both be hoping the third-rate skills on show were an aberration. For Richmond, it was their ball-use through the middle of the ground, racking up 45 turnovers to Collingwood's 36. The Magpies held on to the ball much better, but they could not convert when they went forward, kicking five straight behinds in the second term before kicking two late goals. Even reliable and skilled midfielders Scott Pendlebury and Adam Treloar were shanking gettable shots on goal, robbing the Pies of what should have been a sizeable half-time lead. |
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Trent Cotchin has produced an outstanding captain's game to lead Richmond to a 19-point win over Collingwood at the MCG on Thursday night. Cotchin had 26 possessions, kicked two goals and laid two crucial tackles in the last quarter as the Tigers won 14.15 (99) to 11.14 (80). It is only the third time since 1995 that the Tigers have won their opening two games of the season. The last time was 2013, when they returned to the finals. Collingwood only had itself to blame - for the second week in a row the Pies paid dearly for goalkicking inaccuracy. It is the first time they have made a 0-2 start to the season since 2005 and in Nathan Buckley's time as coach. This is a crucial season for both Buckley and Richmond coach Damien Hardwick. As the Pies repeatedly blew scoring chances, Buckley hit the wall in frustration and anger. Richmond star Dustin Martin was not as dominant as round one, but he kicked the last two goals of the match to seal the result. Collingwood ruckman Brodie Grundy also starred and, along with captain Scott Pendlebury, helped bring his team to within 10 points twice late in the game, but the Tigers held firm, kicking five goals to four in the last quarter. Scores were level at quarter-time and, while Richmond looked better through the midfield, Collingwood's defence remained solid and, finally, the Magpies broke the deadlock. They found key forward Darcy Moore by himself deep inside 50 and he goaled to give them back the lead. Then Chris Mayne marked and goaled on the half-time siren and Collingwood had a handy 10-point advantage. The Magpies extended their lead to 17 points early in the third term, but Richmond rallied as the game opened up. Well held by Tyson Goldsack through the first half, star Tigers forward Jack Riewoldt kicked two third-term goals. Small forward Daniel Rioli also became more prominent as the Magpies kept blowing their chances. The Tigers nearly tripled their score in the third quarter, kicking 6.3 to 3.4 and led by seven points at the last change. Richmond ruck-forward Ben Griffiths was forced out of the game when he landed heavily in a third-term marking contest. MEDICAL ROOM Richmond: Tall forward Ben Griffiths is the main concern for the Tigers after he suffered concussion in the third quarter, ending his night. Dustin Martin injured the right side of his face when bumping opponent James Aish in the first quarter, playing out the game with a black eye. The club checked him for facial injuries but let him play on and coach Damien Hardwick was not concerned about any serious damage. Collingwood: Tall forward Jesse White left the ground in the first quarter after injuring his right knee, placing ice on the kneecap in a short spell off the ground. He returned within 10 minutes, however, and played the match out. The Magpies had no other concerns. NEXT UP Collingwood will be under pressure to find its first win in hostile territory, travelling to tackle Sydney on Friday night at the SCG, where they have played just twice since 2000. COLLINGWOOD coach Nathan Buckley lashed his side's ball movement as the Magpies fell to a 0-2 start to the season for the first time since 2005. Buckley accused his players of lacking the dare they train with as inaccuracy in front of goal thwarted the chance to break clear of Richmond. The Tigers won all eight centre clearances in the first half and then scooted clear on the scoreboard in the second half as Buckley said his team "let go" of its effort. But Magpies great Tony Shaw leapt to Buckley's defence, placing the winless start to the season squarely on the players. "Half these players skill faults are nearly uncoachable," Shaw tweeted. The Pies now have an eight-day break before travelling to the SCG to face grand finalist Sydney. Buckley hinted star forward Jamie Elliott was unlikely to return to play his first game since 2015 as his injury curse continues. "He did some running today. I think he was OK, I don't think he knocked it out of the park," Buckley said. The Magpies kicked 1.5 from set-shots in the first half before superstar Adam Treloar and Chris Mayne shanked costly set shots in the third quarter. GWS recruit Will Hoskin-Elliott slotted three final-quarter goals as the game opened up, but the Tigers held the answers in their 14.15 (99) to 11.14 (80) victory at the MCG. "We had our struggles forward of the ball again," Buckley said. "We had a bit of a gap (on the scoreboard), and then we let it go in the third quarter and got run over. "Our ball use was not what we train. We were far more up and down the line than we'd like to be, and to be honest our structure forward of the ball relies on that. "We have mechanisms that are there if we're forced to go down the line. But we just didn't play with the dare that we'd like to, and it invited a really dour game." The Pies dominated statistics against premier Western Bulldogs last week and Tigers coach Damien Hardwick said Collingwood could easily be 2-0. But Buckley said his team did not deserve to win either game. "We're not happy with our performance tonight," he said. "There's a lot of things that we didn't do that we rate (and) we had a lot of players down." The Pies are missing Elliott, Daniel Wells, Levi Greenwood, Jordan De Goey and Travis Varcoe. Varcoe will return from suspension against Sydney and Buckley said the other players were badly needed to restore grunt and speed. "We're a little bit dour down there (forward line) at the moment," Buckley said. "We're whacking away, but you'd like to do better than that." |
Nathan Buckley could only lash out in the coaches box in frustration as Collingwood remained winless, this time their poor goal kicking to blame for a 19-point loss to Richmond on Thursday night. Where the Magpies' woes had been their sloppy disposal when heading into attacking 50 in a loss to the Western Bulldogs last week, they were left to lament their woeful conversion rate on this occasion at the MCG, ensuring a week of intense public scrutiny. Fighting to retain his job, Buckley must now find a way for the Pies to regain their groove, with finals contenders Sydney (SCG) on Friday night, St Kilda (Etihad Stadium), Essendon (MCG) and Geelong (MCG) to come over the next month. The Pies led by 10 points at half-time but that would have been far more had they not botched a handful of opportunities in front of goal. Darcy Moore, Jesse White, James Aish, Alex Fasolo and Adam Treloar would all miss shots they would be expected to convert, with even skipper Scott Pendlebury, admittedly on his right foot, spraying a running shot over the boundary. There would be more frustration in the third term, none more obvious than when recruit Chris Mayne missed from about 20m out in front of goal, after the former Docker – who has had the yips in recent years – had done the hard work by successfully tackling Alex Rance. It was a telling miss. Fasolo, who had a dirty night, would later botch a set shot from 35m. This was enough to make any coach slip into a rage, and Buckley's feelings were clear when he swiped at his desk in anger. After an arm-wrestle in the first half, the Tigers made their run from late in the third term, incidentally after key forward-ruckman Ben Griffiths was helped from the field after landing heavily in a marking contest on the wing. He was clearly dazed and did not return. Trailing by a game-high 17 points, the Tigers – despite the best efforts of indefatigable Pies ruckman Brodie Grundy – would respond to lead by seven points at the final change. The Tigers' tackling pressure, as was the case against Carlton a week earlier, was instrumental in their comeback, as they outworked their opponents. Dustin Martin may not have been as brilliant as he was against the Blues but he played a key role, whether that be through the midfield or up forward. His strong mark and successful snap with less than six minutes remaining would ice the win. Adam Treloar found plenty of the ball for the Pies, so, too, did Trent Cotchin, who was brilliant. He would finish with 26 disposals, two goals, seven clearances and seven tackles. Dion Prestia was also busy with 24 disposals but his kicking percentage was poor. The Pies showed plenty of fight in the final term, with Will Hoskin-Elliott contributing three goals, but the Tigers responded in fine style. "Collingwood are a fantastic side .. it's just how you turn that momentum back your way. There were some fantastic efforts," Cotchin said. Buckley said he had been worried the Pies would struggle to run out the game after a taxing clash against the Bulldogs. "We thought that we would struggle for legs. We felt like we really rolled out of the Bulldogs' game and looked after the players as well as we possibly could, introduced some fresh legs in Aish and (Tim) Broomhead, went a bit smaller but, in the end, we weren't able to maintain the rage for long enough," he said. COLLINGWOOD deserves to be 0-2 after failing to "maintain the rage" for long enough against Richmond on Thursday night, according to coach Nathan Buckley. The Magpies have had a winless opening two rounds for the first time under Buckley, with their forward half woes returning in a wasteful 19-point loss at the MCG. While there were encouraging signs last week against the Western Bulldogs and periods of ascendency on Thursday night, Buckley said his team had nobody to blame but themselves for their early-season slump. "It is what it is … we would have loved to have won both games, but we didn't deserve either of them," Buckley said. "We're not happy with our performance tonight. There were a lot of things we didn't do that we rate, and we had a lot of players who were down. "There was too much left to too few tonight … in the end we weren't able to maintain the rage for long enough." Buckley's concerns were in the forward half, where the Magpies took safe options down the line rather than getting into more dangerous corridor positions before kicking inside 50. "Our ball use was not what we trained. We were far more up and down the line than we'd like to be … (and) we just didn't play with the dare that we'd like to," the coach said. "It just wasn't what we planned for. It wasn't what we went into the game trying to achieve. "To be honest, our structure forward of the ball relies on that." Collingwood's forwards struggled as a result on Thursday night, with Darcy Moore kicking one goal and Alex Fasolo crashing back to earth with 0.3 after a standout round one performance. Apart from the return of Travis Varcoe from suspension, there doesn't appear to be relief in sight for the Magpies as they prepare for a Friday night clash against the Sydney Swans at the SCG. Buckley said forward Jamie Elliott, who is returning from an ankle injury, completed a running session on Thursday but had not "knocked it out of the park". "We're clearly missing just a bit of grunt in front of the ball and a bit of speed," the coach said. "Our speed is out with Elliott and Varcoe for different reasons and probably (Jordan) De Goey (hand) and (Levi) Greenwood (hip). "They've got real grunt and toe to break the space or to win a contested ball in the front half. We're a little bit dour down there at the moment. "We're whacking away, but you'd like to do better than that." "We're a little bit dour down there (forward line) at the moment. We're whacking away, but you'd like to do better than that." |
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