Preview Round 11: Collingwood v Fremantle

AFL

SUMMARY

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 10 Max 22 Chance of rain 5%: < 1mm Wind: SSE 13kph Betting: Collingwood $2.00 Fremantle $1.83

Fremantle's resurgence hit a speedbump against Adelaide last round, and the Dockers need to bounce back to avoid a potentially swift tumble down the ladder. A 100-point shellacking from the Crows was Ross Lyon's biggest loss as coach and cost Freo valuable percentage in the race for a finals spots. The Dockers sorely missed giant ruckman Aaron Sandilands (hamstring tightness) and will be sweating on his fitness for a crucial match-up against Pie big man Brodie Grundy. The midfield battle looms as the key this Sunday, with Collingwood's powerful engine room – led by Scott Pendlebury, Adam Treloar and Steele Sidebottom - more than capable of taking it up to Nat Fyfe, Lachie Neale, Stephen Hill and co. at Domain Stadium. The Pies have hit some reasonable form and a third-straight win would keep Nathan Buckley's men right in top-eight contention.

LAST FIVE MEETINGS

1. R14, 2016, Collingwood 12.13 (85) d Fremantle 5.7 (37) at the MCG
2. R13, 2015, Fremantle 12.8 (80) d Collingwood 11.7 (73) at Domain Stadium
3. R1, 2014, Fremantle 17.14 (116) d Collingwood 5.16 (46) at Etihad Stadium
4. R7, 2013, Fremantle 15.10 (100) d Collingwood 10.13 (73) at Domain Stadium
5. R14, 2012, Collingwood 15.17 (107) d Fremantle 12.6 (78) at the MCG

THE SIX POINTS

1. Fremantle and Collingwood meet for the 28th time and the Magpies hold the advantage with 16 wins to 11. The Pies are aiming for three consecutive wins for the first time since rounds 14-16, 2016.
2. This will be the 10th meeting between the sides at Domain Stadium, with five wins to four in the Dockers' favour. Collingwood hasn't beaten Freo in Perth since round 23, 2011.
3. The Pies have been plagued by goalkicking inaccuracy (ranked 17th at 44 per cent), but Freo isn't much better going at 48 per cent (14th).
4. Centre clearances are a focal point of Fremantle's game and the Dockers rank fifth (14.3 per game) this season, although, without their man mountain Sandilands, they were beaten by Adelaide (16-13).
5. Fremantle's 100-point loss to Adelaide last week was the heaviest defeat of Ross Lyon's coaching career and the Dockers' biggest defeat since 2010.
6. The strength of Collingwood's midfield is reflected in the Schick AFL Player Ratings, with skipper Scott Pendlebury (second overall), Adam Treloar (eighth), Steele Sidebottom (43rd), Taylor Adams (44th) and Brodie Grundy (74th) the top-five ranked Pies.
   

IT'S A BIG WEEK FOR … Ross Lyon.
It was a forgettable 250th match as an AFL coach for Lyon last round and 'Ross the Boss' will be expecting a vastly-improved effort as he becomes Fremantle's longest-serving coach this weekend, passing Chris Connolly on 129 games.

PREDICTION: Fremantle by nine points