| 2017 AFL Round 11 COLLINGWOOD v FREMANTLE Time & Place: Sunday June 4, 4:40pm EST Subiaco Oval TV: Fox Footy 4:30pm EST Weather: Min 8 Max 20 Betting: Collingwood $2.13 Fremantle $1.72 |
BRISBANE 4.3.27 6.3.39 10.6.66 13.6.84
GOALS - Collingwood: Elliott 4, Moore 3, Fasolo 2, Wells 2, Treloar, Sidebottom, Smith, Maynard, Dunn, Broomhead, Adams
BEST - Collingwood: Pendlebury ,Treloar, Sidebottom, Adams, Elliott, Grundy
INJURIES - Collingwood: Moore (right shin)
REPORTS - Collingwood: Nil
OFFICIAL CROWD - 32,750 at the MCG
| 1. Blonds really do have more fun Jamie Elliott caught the eye after he ran out with a new blond hairstyle. Combined with his flashy green boots, the small forward was hard to miss. His form leading into the game was impressive – he had booted three goals in four of his past five games after a left ankle injury kept him out of the side early in the season. Up against Darcy Gardiner on Sunday, Elliott reached that three-goal mark in the second quarter. Some of his pick-ups were exceptional as he twice collected the ball brilliantly off half-volleys in the first term. Maybe he likes playing with extra attention - he changed his footwear to a black pair at half-time after rain fell in the second quarter, but kicked just one more goal for the rest of the contest. "I try not to give too much critique on people's haircuts. I've been running with the same one for 25 years," Nathan Buckley quipped after the game. "You want to see your boys express themselves, largely on the footy field, but if he backs it up, that's all good." 2. Josh who? Out-of-contract forward Josh Schache didn't play at any level this week after the second selection from the 2015 NAB AFL Draft went on leave. The Lions are adamant he wasn't given time off to decide his future, but it seems inevitable that Schache, who had been so keen to play at the Lions before being drafted after his late father Laurence lined up in 29 games for the Brisbane Bears, will leave at the end of the season. However, some of Eric Hipwood's efforts showed that Chris Fagan will be able to build a dangerous forward line. Hipwood drew comparisons to Lance Franklin and Joe Daniher in the first quarter when he picked up the footy off his toes, made a u-turn and booted it through for a goal from just outside 50. While the Queenslander had just six disposals, the big man again showed signs why many think he will be a star. The Magpies struggle to score and came into the clash 15th for points per game. On Sunday, they had plenty of chances but often failed to finish off their work in front of goal. A dominant second quarter saw them win inside-50s 18-8 but they scored 4.5. |
3. Collingwood can't kill the game The Magpies struggle to score and came into the clash 15th for points per game. On Sunday, they had plenty of chances but often failed to finish off their work in front of goal. A dominant second quarter saw them win inside-50s 18-8 but they scored 4.5. It seemed Collingwood wouldn't be punished for its inaccuracy but the Lions came hard in the third quarter while Darcy Moore sat on the bench with ice on his right leg after copping a knock in a ruck contest. Goals to Jake Barrett and Daniel Rich helped bring the margin back to 10 points and would have given Nathan Buckley a fright. Ultimately, the Pies posted consecutive wins for the first time since rounds 15 and 16 last year, but poor finishing will be costly against better sides. 4. Finally, Matthew Scharenberg returns After 630 days since his last game, the rebounding defender made it back to the senior team. Scharenberg was involved in a scoring chain with his first touch after finding an open Scott Pendlebury at centre half-forward, who hit Levi Greenwood in the forward line. The former Roo missed but it was a relatively easy start for Scharenberg, who finished with 16 disposals. Twice Scharenberg has had knee reconstructions – on his left in 2014 and on his right the following year – in an injury-riddled career. The sixth person drafted in 2013 was forced to earn his fifth career game after racking up 109 disposals in his last three VFL matches and while he was relatively quiet on his return to the AFL arena, he should only improve as he plays more in the senior team. 5. Dayne Beams shines again The star midfielder faced his former club as captain for the first time and was massive. He returned against Adelaide last week after missing a couple of games with a quad injury and seemed to be carrying an injury against the Magpies as he spent plenty of time forward and away from the real being right inside the contest. Nevertheless, the 2012 Collingwood club champion racked up 28 disposals and 11 contested possessions. Beams showed his class when he snapped a goal on his left in the opening term and on his right in the second, and finished with three. He has performed exceptionally well every time he has taken to the field this season and has been a massive addition after playing just two games last with after dealing with knee troubles. |
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The 45-point win Collingwood managed against the Brisbane Lions at the MCG on Sunday was its biggest victory this season, but coach Nathan Buckley says inaccurate goalkicking has smashed his side in the percentage column. Collingwood has a 4-6 record after defeating the Lions and a percentage of a tick over 100. The Magpies kicked away to post consecutive wins for the first time since round 16 last year, but the coach said his side fell back into old habits after recent improvement. "Our percentage will sit around 100 now, after 10 games. We could be 10, 15 per cent better off, and a couple of wins better off, if we had have kicked straighter," Buckley said after the game. "It doesn't impact the result today, but clearly when the game's a bit tighter, it can impact the result. We'll continue to work on it." The Magpies finished with 18.21 with forwards Jamie Elliott, Darcy Moore and Alex Fasolo the main offenders. "(We won) the game by 5.15. If it was 15.5, it wouldn't change a great deal other than percentage and probably, it's great to fill your boots when you get your opportunities," Buckley said. "'Billy' (Elliott) had eight shots on goal for 4.4 and probably had a couple more (shots) as well. Darcy had five shots, 'Faz' had six. Each of those guys should really have kicked four, five or six. "In the end, the general shape of our team was positive. We controlled weight of possession inside forward-50, stabilised clearance and contested ball after quarter time and were able to control the game for the most part." He praised his side's composure to put away a Lions outfit that lost its ninth-straight game. "There was some maturity in the performance as well. There was a patch through the first quarter and there was a patch in the third quarter where our intensity dropped off, but we were able to right the ship pretty well," he said. "At no stage did it look like there was any panic out on the field. That's a sign of maturity – when you know exactly what you need to do to right the ship." Buckley expressed some disappointment with the way the Lions scored from clearances. "We gave up three goals from stoppage inside our D50, which is high, and we gave up five scoring shots from centre bounces. We nearly gave up as much score from centre bounces as we've given up for the first nine rounds," Buckley said. "They were outliers. There's probably a little bit in that, getting that contested-ball stuff right." Moore had a stint on the bench in the third quarter after he hurt his right shin in a ruck contest and had ice applied but returned with a shin guard and finished the game. Buckley said the 21-year-old was fine. NEXT UP Collingwood travels to Domain Stadium to take on a Fremantle team licking its wounds after a 100-point loss to Adelaide. NATHAN Buckley admits Collingwood's wayward goalkicking could be fatal to their finals ambitions if they cannot quickly rectify the issue. The Pies took a full four quarters to run over Brisbane, leading by just 11 points in the third term before a seven-goal final quarter. That scare as Brisbane looked some chance to snap its eight-match losing streak seemed to spark the Pies into life. But after the 45-point MCG win, Buckley admitted the inaccuracy stretched back too far to dismiss it as an aberration. Alex Fasolo kicked 2.4 for a total of 14.20 for the season, Levi Greenwood 0.2 and Jamie Elliott 4.4 in the 18.21 (129) scoreline. The Pies take on Fremantle at Subiaco next week, the kind of clash over a fellow finals contender the 4-6 Pies must win to reach September. "It's been pretty consistent over a long period of time,'' Buckley said. "Our last month we have improved but our percentage is sitting around 100 (100.2) after 10 games and we could be 10 or 15 percentage points better off and a couple of wins more. "Clearly when the game is a bit tighter it can impact the result. It's great to fill your boots when you have opportunities. "Darcy (Moore) had five shots, Faz had six and those guys could have kicked four, five or six but in the end the general shape of our team was still positive." The Pies endured a pair of flat spots to ease to victory, jumped early then kicking six straight points in the third term. But the club's first successive victories of the season puts them at least within range of the top eight heading into the Fremantle clash. "I thought there was some maturity in the performance. They got back to 11 points so there were patches in the first and third quarters where our intensity dropped off. "At no stage did it look like there was any panic on the field. There will be sterner tests than that and we need to be ready for them." Moore needed ice on his shin after a ruck knock but is in no risk for the Dockers clash, with the club's injury list relatively clean. Buckley said he would not be judging the Dockers off their 100-point loss, aware how dangerous all sides are in the competition. "You focus on your own stuff more than the opposition to be honest. We are in the position we are in because of the footy we have put forward. We haven't had any blowouts, that's the highest margin (of win), but we need to keep looking after our own back yard and to best our opposition each week. That's what the competition requires." Defender Matthew Scharenberg got through the game unscathed with 16 low-key possessions, playing his first game since 2015 after a pair of knee reconstructions. "He got better as the game wore on. It's been over 600 days since he played his last AFL game and he's still only played a handful. We all travel different journeys to get here and he's had a pretty rocky road to get to this point." "Our last month we have improved but our percentage is sitting around 100 (100.2) after 10 games and we could be 10 or 15 percentage points better off and a couple of wins more. Clearly when the game is a bit tighter it can impact the result. It's great to fill your boots when you have opportunities. Darcy (Moore) had five shots, Faz had six and those guys could have kicked four, five or six but in the end the general shape of our team was still positive." |
Collingwood's game against Brisbane was a microcosm of their season. Good in parts, dominant in others, frail at times. They were architects of their own misfortune at others. Eventual 45-point winners, the Magpies were five goals up in the biting cold and rain approaching half-time. The Lions got a goal back on the siren from Matthew Hammelmann, but the contest had about it a sense of inevitability, which was only reinforced after the break when Darcy Moore booted the first goal. Then Collingwood kicked six straight behinds and teased out in Brisbane minds the idea of the comeback as the Lions in contrast kicked four goals. Alex Fasolo, Moore and Tim Broomhead all missed regulation set shots – a regular problem this year. For Fasolo it brought him to 6.13 from set shots in 2017. Jamie Elliott missed the sort of crumbing snap he would wish to have the chance to kick each week. Taylor Adams had a snap that went awry. They were earning the shots – as they had all year – and then wasting them in front of goal, as they had all year. At game's end Collingwood had enjoyed more than double Brisbane's inside 50s – 72 to 33 – the sort of dominance that might have reflected better on the scoreboard but for a goals and behinds ledger that favoured the minor score. These might sound churlish points in a win of this margin but against a lower side they would have hoped to find a better a gear than they did. Comfortingly, a seven-goal last quarter was the sort of satisfying correction they would have hoped for. Throughout, at least, they were trying to move the ball forward with purpose and open space on the ground. Steele Sidebottom and Scott Pendlebury were the most creative influences yet their steadiness across half back helped the Pies. Brayden Maynard gave them run from half back but Tyson Goldsack, Jeremy Howe and Lynden Dunn were very good in setting up behind the Lions' high forwards to repel the ball. They won contested one-on-ones but got across to assist each other as well. For all that, Daynes Zorko and Beams were the equal of anyone on the ground and the reasons – well, as much as Collingwood's inaccurate kicking – that the Lions were able to stay clinging to the contest Occasionally opportunities present to judge a player not against the broad competition, but against a peer, a player of similar vintage and experience. Darcy Moore was not being asked to play on an Alex Rance or Robbie Tarrant; he was predominantly playing on Daniel McStay, who is only 12 months his senior. Moore has been better in recent games and again on Sunday had a game that rebuilt confidence in his season. It is well to recall that he is a third-year player playing predominantly as the sole key forward – if you don't count the fact that the much shorter Elliott actually plays as a full forward. Collingwood have looked better since Elliott came back in to the team. He might have had at least six, if not eight goals, and contented himself with 4.4 for the day. It was the first time Collingwood had played Brisbane in a day game since the 2003 grand final. That day didn't go well. In fact the weather felt more like the 2002 grand final. For historic context it was also Matthew Scharenberg's first game since round 23, 2015. He had good touch and coach Nathan Buckley looked wise to hold him in the VFL until he was ready to play so that he arrived at Sunday's game approaching the ball with confidence. The wet weather was not the most welcoming reintroduction to the game for a player after two knee reconstructions. The signs for Brisbane were, again, in the green shoots of Eric Hipwood – a hanger in the first term at half back that led to a Zorko goal, and a snap of his own later that he lifted from his toes and nimbly got it to his boot - as well as Archie Smith, Hugh McLuggage. THE INACCURACY that has plagued Collingwood this season returned on Sunday afternoon, but a spirited Brisbane Lions team was unable to advantage as the Magpies won a scrappy clash by 45 points at the MCG. For the first six rounds of the season the Magpies kicked more behinds than goals, and they relapsed in a calamitous third quarter that gave the Lions a sniff in a match they had never looked like winning. Just 10 points separated the teams deep in the third quarter, but the Magpies were too strong and experienced, settling in the final term to kick seven of the last 10 goals and win 18.21 (129) to 13.6 (84). As poor as the Magpies' goalkicking was, their midfield was dominant and Nathan Buckley can thank Scott Pendlebury and co. for delivering back-to-back wins for the first time this season. The important win keeps Collingwood in touch with the mid-table logjam, taking their record to 4-6 in an up-and-down campaign that seems to only ever be one big loss away from crisis. Pendlebury was outstanding for the Magpies, working in tight spaces and using the ball with typical care to finish with 31 possessions, seven clearances and nine inside 50s. He had plenty of sidekicks in a dominant midfield, with Adam Treloar (30 and seven clearances) and Taylor Adams (33 and five) enjoying big afternoons, while Steele Sidebottom worked off the back of the square at times to win a game-high 34 disposals. Those four Magpies combined for 77 possessions in a brilliant first half, setting up a 25-point lead that only looked like growing as the young Lions tired. But their efforts were not rewarded by the team's wayward forwards in the third quarter as the Magpies booted 2.6, with Darcy Moore, Jamie Elliott and Tim Broomhead missing particularly gettable shots. As if to ram home the Magpies' failings in front of goal, the Lions took their chances, with Rhys Mathieson and the brilliant Dayne Beams converting 50m set shots and Jake Barrett snapping accurately from the boundary. Beams was a star against his former club, finishing with 28 possessions six clearances and three goals, appearing hurt at times but pushing on to be his team's standout player. He was well supported by Dayne Zorko (28, 10 clearances and two goals), while Marco Paparone was very effective in a defensive forward role on Magpies' defender Jeremy Howe. Lions coach Chris Fagan focused on the positives, despite the club losing its ninth consecutive match, taking its record to 1-9 and anchoring them to the bottom of the ladder. "The third quarter was really exciting, just to see our guys fight back and for a while there put themselves in with a chance to win that game," Fagan said. "But Collingwood's experience and poise and our mistakes in the last quarter contributed to a fade-away." |
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