| 2017 AFL Round 12 COLLINGWOOD v MELBOURNE Time & Place: Monday June 12, 3:20pm EST MCG TV: 7mate / Fox Footy 3:00pm EST Weather: Min 8 Max 16 Betting: Collingwood $2.34 Melbourne $1.61 |
FREMANTLE 2.1.13 5.5.35 10.6.66 12.13.85
GOALS - Collingwood: Elliott 3, De Goey 2, Moore 2, Hoskin-Elliott 2, Phillips, Pendlebury, Greenwood, Treloar, Crocker, Howe
BEST - Collingwood: Treloar, Pendlebury, Sidebottom, Adams, Smith, Howe
INJURIES - Collingwood: Wells (calf), Elliott (ankle), Goldsack (shoulder)
REPORTS - Collingwood: Nil
OFFICIAL CROWD - 34,259 at Subiaco
| 1. Finals are still alive for the Pies At 5-6, Collingwood is well and truly entrenched in the race for a top-eight berth. Playing with just 18 fully-fit men, the Magpies fought tooth and nail to hold off a resurgent Fremantle side in what might be one of Nathan Buckley's most satisfying wins as senior coach. The Pies have won their last three matches and sit just a game outside the top eight, with winnable games against the Demons (twice), Hawks, Bombers, Suns, Eagles and Kangaroos to come. Their injury list will make it difficult, but Collingwood is in with a sniff. A loss to Freo might've spelled the end of the Magpies' season. 2. Collingwood crippled by injury The Pies faithful will wait with hearts in mouths while the club deals with yet another calf injury to prized recruit Daniel Wells. The smooth-moving midfielder pulled up short in the third quarter when running out of his defensive 50. Wells left the field immediately and took no further part in the game. Jamie Elliott was also carried from the field in the 10th minute of the final quarter with what looked to be a nasty lower-leg injury after he was rolled in a Lachie Weller tackle. His ankle was assessed by club medical staff and he too spent the rest of the match on the bench. Levi Greenwood struggled for most of the match with a corked quad, while Tyson Goldsack fought on with a sore shoulder. It makes their win all the more impressive given Fremantle's record of overrunning opponents in 2017. 3. No Sandi, no Freo? With the late omission of Aaron Sandilands (hamstring), Jonathon Griffin was, for the second week running, tasked with the unenviable challenge of nullifying an in-form opponent. Opposed to Brodie Grundy, the Fremantle big man won the hit-out count in the first half (16-15) but struggled with ball in hand, tallying six clangers from eight possessions. Griffin (26 hit-outs, 13 possessions, five tackles) was more dangerous around the ground in the third quarter and provided an outlet as a link man moving forward. But Grundy (39 hit-outs, 21 possessions) had a telling impact in the final quarter and eventually emerged on top as his team swamped the stoppages in the final stages to pull of an unlikely win. Sandilands' return can't come soon enough but with the bye to come in round 13, the Dockers might decide against taking him to Brisbane next week to play the Lions. |
4. The Magpies need to straighten up Ten rounds into the season, the Magpies had a goalkicking accuracy of just 44 percent – the second-worst in the League. In seven of 11 games Buckley's men have kicked more behinds than goals, including all of their first six matches. Collingwood started poorly in front of the big sticks with Scott Pendlebury, Taylor Adams, Darcy Moore and Jordan De Goey all missing chances they would be expected to convert. More gettable misses followed and the Magpies' wasteful 15.15 could've proven costly if it weren't for their opponents' equally wayward radar. If Collingwood is to challenge for finals, its accuracy in front of goal needs to improve significantly. 5. Dockers' response after massive loss As expected, Ross Lyon flagged a powerful response from his "embarrassed" team following last Saturday's 100-point drubbing at the hands of the Crows. It was slow to eventuate as the Dockers – typically tardy starters in 2017 – were dominated in the opening 15 minutes of the match and eventually conceded a 10-point quarter-time lead. Lyon's men were outclassed again in the second quarter as Collingwood – led by Taylor Adams, Adam Treloar, Levi Greenwood and Scott Pendlebury, executed risky kicks through the corridor and delivered the ball well to leading targets in its attacking half. Fremantle rallied in the third quarter and levelled the scores after trailing by as much as 22 points in the second term. But with their opponents hampered by injury, the Dockers failed to capitalise on a strong start to the final quarter and fell 20 points short of a crucial win. Though his chargers showed spirit and effort, Lyon will have concerns over the team's skill level which proved the difference in a tight contest. Playing with just 18 fully-fit men, the Magpies fought tooth and nail to hold off a resurgent Fremantle side in what might be one of Nathan Buckley's most satisfying wins as senior coach. The Pies have won their last three matches and sit just a game outside the top eight, with winnable games against the Demons (twice), Hawks, Bombers, Suns, Eagles and Kangaroos to come. Their injury list will make it difficult, but Collingwood is in with a sniff. |
| THE MEDIA | |
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COLLINGWOOD'S gritty win in the west over Fremantle has come at significant cost, with midfielder Daniel Wells and forward Jamie Elliott failing to play out the game. Wells, who missed the first four matches of the season with ongoing calf problems, pulled up lame late in the third quarter when trying to chase an opponent. He immediately came from the field and played no further part in the match, and coach Nathan Buckley said the injury was to his opposite calf than the leg that troubled him earlier this year. "Wellsy's strained a calf, so we'll see how that settles," Buckley said post-match. "He's been around a long time, he loves playing footy, so he's going to be disappointed to miss some more." The Pies were dealt another blow early in the final term when Jamie Elliott, who had kicked three vital third-quarter goals, suffered a left ankle injury and was helped from the field by two trainers. Elliott was assessed on the boundary and tested the injury on the sidelines, before returning to the bench. He failed to return to the field and left the ground on crutches, and Buckley was unclear how long the star forward might be sidelined. "Jamie's re-injured the ankle that he did earlier in the year," Buckley said. "I'm not a doctor, I'll wait for them (for a prognosis). The star duo aren't the only injury concerns ahead of the Magpies' Queen's Birthday clash with Melbourne in eight days' time. Tyson Goldsack also looks in serious doubt after courageously playing out the game despite injuring his right shoulder. Goldsack was severely limited in the use of his right arm but played a vital role deep in the forward line, halving a contest that led to Ben Crocker's late goal that sealed the game. "His aerial (work) has been really strong for us and when you can only put one arm in the air it was pretty evident that might become costly, so we put him forward of the ball," Buckley said. "That was a gutty effort by him to fight through that. "Apparently there's some damage to the scapula, so we'll have to wait for the dust to settle and see how that pans out." Meanwhile, Levi Greenwood laboured through the game with a suspected corked quad. Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley has praised the "guts of the group" after the undermanned Magpies withstood Fremantle's never-say-die spirit and secured a vital road win on Sunday. The Pies led at every change at Domain Stadium but saw their 13-point advantage at the final change evaporate almost immediately in the fourth term as the Dockers surged to level the scores. But Buckley's men dug deep – despite injuries to Daniel Wells (calf), Jamie Elliott (ankle), Tyson Goldsack (shoulder) and Levi Greenwood (corked quad) – and clinched their third-straight victory by 20 points. "The story tonight is just the guts of the group. With due respect to the guys that might be touch and go next week, it's not going to concern us when we bring that sort of collective effort," Buckley said. "We share the load. It's a squad mentality in the way we go about it and it's going to be different blokes' turn at different times. "With Alex Fasolo out for the week, Tim Broomhead goes back for a couple of weeks and then comes in and is starting to show us what he's capable of around the ball. "We will continue to, man-by-man, play the way we want to play." The Pies held sway for most of Sunday's contest and could have put the Dockers away early but for an inaccurate 3.5 opening term – with one shot out on the full. Collingwood edged ahead by 22 points during the second quarter and found another gear when Freo mounted a challenge late, booting four goals to two in the final term to improve to a 5-6 win-loss record and 10th spot on the ladder. "Accuracy, early in particular, (was a concern)," Buckley said. "There was some pretty easy shots that we missed, but we kicked some pretty good goals in the second half. "The weight of field position ended up working in our favour. "We're thrilled with the endeavour of our players just to keep fighting. "I thought we played pretty good footy for four quarters, we controlled field play for the most part. "We knew Freo would be really strong in clearance at patches, and that was a really strong point for them and that kept drawing them back closer to us. "But to have the resilience to be challenged, withstand that and finish the game off was a really strong performance." The Pies have now won three-straight matches against Hawthorn, the Lions and Freo to remain in the finals hunt, and was again powered by a star-studded engine room on Sunday. Brodie Grundy (21 disposals, 39 hitouts) was outstanding in the ruck without having to contend against Aaron Sandilands, while Adam Treloar (35), Steele Sidebottom (33), Taylor Adams (28) and Scott Pendlebury (30) drove the triumph. Buckley was confident his young group had plenty of improvement left in them ahead of a huge clash against fellow finals hopeful Melbourne on Queen's Birthday. "We're still a really young group, still growing and developing but we're starting to make some headway." SO often last-gasp winners this season, Fremantle were on the other end of a tight result on Sunday as Collingwood lifted in the last quarter to claim a 20-point win at Domain Stadium. With the game on the line and scores level early in the final term, the Magpies, despite being down two of their most important players, were better in the big moments. Skill errors and a lack of run hurt the Dockers as defender Jeremy Howe kicked the sealer to cap off a brave game and make it three straight wins for the men in black and white. The Dockers seemed to have all the momentum in the world with 11 minutes left in the game before a terrible miss by Bradley Hill while attempting to bounce the ball through the goals killed the atmosphere and ultimately any chance of their seventh win this year. Collingwood's injury problems, which will prove no help to under-fire coach Nathan Buckley, made the 15.15 (105) to 12.13 (65) win all the more meritorious. Jamie Elliot and Daniel Wells were both sidelined at crucial points in the game. Elliot, an important forward target, hurt his left ankle in a tackle by Lee Spurr early in the fourth. Wells appeared to injure a calf in the third quarter in an incident so innocuous it would be cause for major concern. He finished the game on the bench in a tracksuit jacket. Aaron Sandilands was a late omission for the Dockers, with Jon Griffin called into the side in his place. It was a move which most thought would hurt the home side and the reality was no different, with Griffin producing a string of first-half turnovers which opened the door for Collingwood to strike. The Pies were the first to find the goals despite a period of sustained pressure which had the Dockers in all sorts but also, strangely, extended to the visitors' nerves in front of goal. After four straight behinds, former Giant Will Hoskin-Elliot finally broke through for the visitors. The first goal down opened the game up across the board, but where Collingwood were scoring off the back of some smooth moves through the middle, the Dockers seemed to get their goals more through determination than anything. A quality finish from Bradley Hill one-on-one against Pendlebury was one of the rare highlights for the Dockers in the second term. Breaking the line with space in front of him, Hill was hemmed into the boundary and attempted to goose-step before electing to simply dribble the ball from a tight angle. Otherwise, it was a quarter marked by turnovers and curious decision-making, as the Magpies stretched their lead to 16 points by the break. The third term saw momentum swing wildly, with the Dockers starting like a house on fire, the Pies answering in kind, and the two sharing the points as they approached the final break. Hill's miss, some brave work from an injured Levi Greenwood, and a lucky goal to Hoskin-Elliot, where the ball bounced back into his hands off a smother, saw the Pies run home to take them within touching distance of the top eight. |
A third consecutive win for Collingwood sees the Pies and Nathan Buckley just hanging on. They overcame injury and poor use of the ball in attack early to record a 20-point win over Fremantle at Domain Stadium on Sunday. After wins against Brisbane and Hawthorn in the past two weeks, they now move to 10th on the AFL ladder and just one game from the top eight. With Daniel Wells and Jamie Elliott sitting injured on the bench in the final quarter, the Pies were able to absorb the pressure from the home side late in the game to hold on for the win. Wasted opportunities from Brad Hill, Brady Grey, Hayden Crozier and Lachie Neale helped. Hill's miss with 12 minutes to go hurt. He ran into an open goal when the Dockers trailed by six points and opted to roll it along the ground. He missed. Despite being down to 20 men in the final term, plus with Levi Greenwood (leg) and Tyson Goldsack (shoulder) clearly hurt, the Pies managed 4.2 to 2.7 for the quarter. There will be a nervous wait on the extent of Wells and Elliott's injuries though. Wells missed most of the second half with a calf injury and Elliott was carried off the ground with what appeared an ankle injury at the start of the final term. It's could be a telling blow for Wells, who missed the first three games of the season, his first since switching from North Melbourne, with a similar injury. Lower leg issues have hampered the 32-year-old since 2014. Rotations were all his injury cost the Pies on Sunday though, as he'd had just six touches before he was forced from the field. The loss of Elliott appeared at the time to be a massive blow though. As the Pies once again struggled in front of goals, the small forward was steady in attack and kicked three goals in the third term. Fremantle will once again look at its first quarters in the game review during the weekend. The Dockers trailed at quarter time for the seventh time this season. They have kicked 22.22 in opening terms this season and given away 42.39. The statisticians' sheets would have had Ross Lyon fuming at the break. Collingwood had 40 more possessions, 13 more contested possessions, eight more clearances and 11 more inside 50. It was a disappointing way to respond to last week's 100-point loss to Adelaide. But they trailed by only 10 points. The Pies have also had their own issues early in games this season and have almost kicked themselves out of this season. They are just unable to make the most of their chances when they go forward. There isn't a lot of confidence that they'll score when then do go into attack. Collingwood had 29 entries into their attack to half-time against the Dockers, compared to Fremantle's 15. But with 7.9 on the board, they still led by just 16 points. They have had issues with converting all season and the jitters have come about early in games. They have kicked a total of 65.84 in opening halves this season and 136.153 for the season. Elliot looked to be the exception in the third term when he kicked 3.1 for the quarter to give the Pies a 13-point lead at the last break. The loss of Aaron Sandilands before the game was always going to create a tough hole for Fremantle to fill. Sandilands missed the loss to the Crows last weekend due to hamstring tightness and speculation was about all week that he wouldn't get up for the clash against the Pies either. That doesn't spell good news for the Dockers – this year, or as the big man moves closer to retirement. Fremantle had lost the previous seven games they had played without the giant ruckman. Make that eight now. He missed 17 games in the Dockers disastrous 2016 season and Fremantle managed only three victories in his absence. And the Pies Brodie Grundy and Darcy Moore made the most of their advantage. Collingwood won the hit-outs 42-28. The clearances evened out to 40-37 in favour of the Pies, but that advantage was 53-16 at half-time. Nat Fyfe and Lachie Neale helped bridge that gap in the second half. Taylor Adams did most of the damage at stoppages for the Pies with nine clearances for the game while the fitness of Adam Treloar (35 touches) was arguably the difference in the end. Scott Pendlebury was also causing the Dockers issues, but had 1.2 on the board at half-time instead of the three goals he should have had. COLLINGWOOD has defied a host of mid-game injuries to breathe life into its finals ambitions with a gutsy 20-point victory over Fremantle at Domain Stadium. Despite dominating large swathes of Sunday's clash, the Magpies needed to stave off another determined fightback by the never-say-die Dockers to clinch their third-straight victory, 15.15 (105) to 12.13 (85). The Magpies' fifth win for the season lifts Nathan Buckley's outfit to 10th on the ladder, but the gritty road triumph has come at a cost for two injury-plagued stars. Big-name recruit Daniel Wells suffered another calf injury during the third term, while Jamie Elliott was carried from the field in the final quarter after hurting his ankle. Tyson Goldsack suffered a shoulder injury in the second term, but courageously played out the match. It took until the final 10 minutes when Will Hoskin-Elliott ran into an open goal – after his first shot from 50m out was smothered – and Ben Crocker snapped a clutch major for Collingwood to finally put the home side away. The Dockers were within striking distance of another come-from-behind victory trailing by 13 points at the final change and leveled the scores after quick-thinking snaps by Hayden Crozier and Shane Kersten. However, Adam Treloar answered with a superb running goal for Collingwood, and when Bradley Hill missed a sitter form 15m out the wind was out of Freo's sails. The Dockers responded to last week's 100-point shellacking from Adelaide with an improved effort but their vaunted engine room was overpowered without Aaron Sandilands. Fremantle's giant ruckman was a late withdrawal pre-match and in-form Pies big man Brodie Grundy provided silver-service to the Magpies' star-studded onball brigade. Taylor Adams (28 disposals, nine clearances) was outstanding all match while Treloar (35 possessions), Steele Sidebottom (33) and skipper Scott Pendlebury (30) were typically influential. Elliott booted three majors – all in the third term – before his injury, while Darcy Moore booted 2.2 in an encouraging display. Collingwood dominated the opening half, but the Pies were shooting themselves in the foot. Despite thrashing Fremantle around clearances (23-16) and inside 50s (29-15), the visitors couldn't take full toll. Buckley vented in the coaches box as the Magpies wasted some gilt-edged chances, booting 3.5 - with one out-on-the-full – in the first quarter alone. The Dockers ramped up their pressure to start the second term and quick goals to Ed Langdon and Brady Grey – who toe-poked from the goalline after a fumble – saw the home side snatch a two-point advantage. But Pendlebury stepped up to kick-start a run of four unanswered majors as the Pies broke away to a game-high 22-point lead. The Pies skipper was in the play again moments later when Bradley Hill burned him off and bounced through the goal of the day to keep the Dockers in touch only 16 points down at the long break. Freo closed to within 13 points at three-quarter time – inspired by skipper Nat Fyfe's bullocking around stoppages – and threatened another comeback victory when they drew level early in the last quarter. But the best efforts of Fyfe (24 disposals, one goal), Connor Blakely (26), and Lachie Neale (22, one goal) couldn't haul Freo over the line as coach Ross Lyon – now the longest-serving Dockers mentor – suffered another loss in a milestone game. "The story tonight is just the guts of the group. With due respect to the guys that might be touch and go next week, it's not going to concern us when we bring that sort of collective effort. We share the load. It's a squad mentality in the way we go about it and it's going to be different blokes' turn at different times." |
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