Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley admitted his club was under siege during the week, but the Magpies' stunning comeback win over the West Coast Eagles at Etihad Stadium on Sunday will be the perfect tonic to release the pressure.
After trailing by 18 points at three-quarter time, and then 24 points early in the final term, the Pies rallied to defeat the Eagles by eight points, thanks in no small part to four second-half goals by Jordan De Goey.
Collingwood charged home to kick the game's final five goals to register their seventh win of the season, and their second victory in a row. The win was spoiled by injuries to key Pies Darcy Moore and Travis Varcoe, who both missed large chunks of the game due to a neck injury to Moore, a dislocated elbow to Varcoe and concussion to both. The duo were taken to hospital for treatment.
West Coast capitulated in the final quarter, and when De Goey kicked his fourth to cut the margin to four points, Etihad Stadium erupted. The roof was well and truly blown off moments later when Jamie Elliott kicked his third goal to put the Pies ahead and seal their best win of the season.
The Pies' winning lead came with two minutes left on the clock, and the result of a big second-half drop in intercept marking by the Eagles. Collingwood got on top comfortably in contested ball and clearances.
The win pushes West Coast out of the top eight, after their fourth-quarter lead had assured them of a finals spot heading into next round.
A sharp increase in tackling pressure and attack on the footy by the Pies helped claw back West Coast's three-goal lead in the third term.
After Kennedy kicked two consecutive goals to start the third term, Collingwood fought back to kick three in a row through Adams and De Goey, with two going to the latter. Goals to De Goey, Elliott and Reid in the final term propelled the Pies to the front, with Eliott Yeo missing a sitter to potentially ice the game before those Magpie majors.
Eagles Jeremy McGovern, Liam Duggan, Tom Barass, Brad Sheppard and Hurn all excelled in the first half at marking in their defensive 50, while at the other end Collingwood's biggest defensive marking threat, Jeremy Howe, didn't have his usual influence in breaking up the opposition's play.
West Coast's forwards regularly and cleverly broke into a lead when matched up with Howe, so as to draw him away from the marking contests he's usually so adept at influencing.
Rather than better hitting forwards on the lead Collingwood had joy at ground level when the Eagles allowed the ball to spill. Three first-half goals, one to Will Hoskin-Elliott and two to Elliott, came via strong forward 50 pressure when the ball fell to the turf.
Their inability to kick crumbed goals or goals owing to good forward pressure has dogged Collingwood at times in 2017 and to see their forward line operating in that manner, albeit briefly, must have been one encouraging aspect of the afternoon for the Pies' coaches.
Another positive was the impact of the Pies' off-season signing, Daniel Wells. He had only 16 disposals for the game, but the vast majority of them helped Collingwood threaten the scoreboard.
The former Kangaroo possesses an assuredness in possession not shared by many of his teammates. He is clean when it matters and while he may not be as quick as he once was, his expert decision making makes him valuable to the Pies.
He was significant in some of Collingwood's best passages of play, his perfectly weighted handball to a running Josh Thomas and then his slipping of two Eagles players instrumental in the lead-up to goals by Ben Reid and Jamie Elliott.
In the third quarter Wells brilliantly knocked the ball into the path of Taylor Adams while being tackled over the goal line. Adams kicked the goal off the ground while motoring forward.
All that remains is for Wells to be more consistent across games for the Pies. A big question given his fitness problems of late.
West Coast will return to Perth bitterly disappointed with the result. It looked for much of the afternoon that Josh Kennedy's six goals would be the difference but like they have done so many times away from home this season, they produced a pitiful display to lie down and allow their opponents to roll over the top of them.
COLLINGWOOD has come from 18 points down with two fit men on the bench at three quarter time to upset West Coast in its bravest victory under Magpies coach Nathan Buckley.
Jordan De Goey was the match winner with four second half goals and a game-changing tackle that allowed Jamie Elliott to kick the goal that gave the Magpies the lead with just two minutes to go.
Collingwood kicked the final five goals of the game to win the dramatic contest 13.15 (93) to 13.7 (83) and tipped the Eagles out of the eight.
It also kept its slim finals hopes alive and shows the team has rediscovered the purpose it seemed to lose a fortnight ago.
On the other hand, West Coast were disappointing losing its fifth game away from home for the season and looking anything but a finals contender.
It appeared to have the game in its keeping with just 10 minutes remaining when Elliot Yeo ran into an open goal but he missed and the door was left ajar.
The Magpies worked through that door despite Darcy Moore being in hospital after injuring his neck three minutes into the second quarter and then losing Travis Varcoe to concussion just 10 minutes into the third quarter.
When Varcoe left the ground during the third quarter Collingwood was 15 points down and Josh Kennedy was dominating in his 200th game.
Kennedy had six goals on the board and looked to be leading a lack lustre Eagles to victory.
But Collingwood came alive sparked by De Goey who kicked two consecutive goals and lifted the Magpies, who were led brilliantly by Steele Sidebottom who was standing in as skipper for the injured Scott Pendlebury.
Levi Greenwood restricted Andrew Gaff to just 16 disposals, half his usual output and the Magpies dominated the inside 50s 56-45 and the clearances 37-29.
The 29-year-old Kennedy was too good for Tyson Goldsack in his milestone match taking six marks inside 50 and kicking six of the Eagles' first nine goals in just his second game back from injury.
Lynden Dunn, who had never won against the Eagles in nine previous attempts, moved on to Kennedy and quelled him.
When Moore went off the Magpies went with a small forwardline and the Eagles struggled with the Magpies quick low kicks into attack as their intercept markers, Jeremy McGovern, Shannon Hurn and Tom Barrass were unable to control the game from the back half.
After taking 10 intercept marks in the first half, the Eagles only managed two in the second half and the game changed.
MEDICAL ROOM
Collingwood: Darcy Moore was taken to hospital for precautionary scans with a suspected neck injury. Travis Varcoe was concussed in the third quarter and did not reappear on the bench.
NEXT UP
Collingwood will attempt to upset ladder leaders Adelaide at the MCG on Sunday as it looks to shape the finals.
"It took a fair bit of ticker, just to stick with it. But sometimes that's all that it takes. We probably took the game on a little bit more through the corridor, with a bit more run and carry. But in the end the effort was there all day and ultimately the siren went at the right time when we were in front."
Nathan Buckley
|
NATHAN Buckley needed a miracle.
And maybe this was it.
When West Coast star Elliot Yeo ran into an open goal and missed from 30m out in the last quarter on Sunday, the former Lion had the chance to bury Collingwood and perhaps its senior coach.
Yet remarkably with two men down, Darcy Moore and Travis Varcoe, Collingwood found something special to deliver an incredible triumph at Etihad Stadium.
Either side of the Yeo sliding doors miss, the Pies rattled home five-straight goals to pinch a famous eight-point win, finished with one of the most joyous moments of the season.
Alex Fasolo made the courageous call to step away from the game earlier in the year to deal with depression in what has been widely described as a watershed week for the game.
Of course, Collingwood threw its arms around the struggling forward at the time.
And on Sunday the livewire repaid the Pies in heart-warming circumstances when he iced the victory in the final minute with a clutch 45m set shot.
Fasolo bent to the ground, pumped his fists and let out a passionate scream just before the siren.
His teammates ran to him, knowing how significant it was.
Not only for Fasolo, but perhaps the whole team. And especially its besieged coach.
Collingwood players have said for weeks they want Buckley to stay on and they showed it, coming back from the dead, really.
The Pies trailed by 20 points in the third term just after Moore suffered a concussion and suspected neck problem and again by 26 points one minute into the last term.
The statistics say you just don't win from there as Josh Kennedy kicked six goals on Tyson Goldsack, highlighting the deficiencies the Pies have in the key position stocks at either end of the ground.
Whatever happens with the senior coaching position, Collingwood must find another gun big bloke or two.
This was the 16th time Kennedy and slotted six majors and up until Sunday, the Eagles have won all of them. This was a huge choke from the visitors, and Elliot may never forget his miss, but they're not the story.
Collingwood is.
The Pies showed tremendous ticker and bravery.
After half time they ramped up the defensive pressure, turned the tide in the midfield and the makeshift forward line ran hot.
For a while in the last term the Pies won the contested ball battle 32-13, again with two men down on the bench.
The temptation in attack was to swing Ben Reid back into defence as Kennedy slammed home goal after goal, but Buckley held his nerve, and it paid off.
But the other big redemption story here was Jordan De Goey.
He was the bloke who hurt his hand in a scrap at a night spot, lied to the club about it and paid for his sins.
While there were many heroes in black and white, including onball pair Adam Treloar and Taylor Adams, who just never gave in, and Levi Greenwood who nullified Andrew Gaff, clearly De Goey was the difference-maker kicking four second-half goals.
There was the pearler from the boundary line in the third, the 50m clutch set shot in the fourth, and then he was the man who set up Jamie Elliott to nail the go-ahead goal in the thrilling final minutes, again from long range.
Pies fans have been waiting a while, but this was some sort of performance and easily the best of his career from the No. 5 draft pick.
Now president Eddie McGuire has much to think about.
He watched from the stands alongside former coach Michael Malthouse at Etihad Stadium. They must agree that for all the bumps along the way this season, Collingwood players were clearly playing for the coach.
THEY were two men down and without their captain.
But the Magpies found a way to win with their backs against the wall on Sunday afternoon at Etihad Stadium.
It looked unlikely, with West Coast's Jack Darling booting a major to give the Eagles a four-goal lead at the start of the last term.
But just like they have all season, West Coast struggled to arrest the momentum set into motion by Collingwood's tenacious on-ballers.
Jordan de Goey, in particular, sparked the club with four second-half goals, as Darcy Moore and Travis Varcoe sat on the sidelines through injury.
But while de Goey's goals were spectacular, it was his chase down tackle on Liam Duggan that had the most important impact late in the match.
Alex Fasolo followed suit only minutes later, dispossessing Tom Barrass on the 50m arc.
Both pressure acts ultimately led to goals — and Collingwood's thrilling victory.
Coach Nathan Buckley lauded his troops for their resilience.
"It took a fair bit of ticker, just to stick with it. But sometimes that's all that it takes," Buckely told Channel 7 after the eight-point win.
"We probably took the game on a little bit more through the corridor, with a bit more run and carry.
"But in the end the effort was there all day and ultimately the siren went at the right time when we were in front."
While both teams shared momentum, West Coast continued to answer Collingwood throughout the match.
The Magpies got to within seven points of the Eagles on the eve of three-quarter time, before West Coast piled on three unanswered goals.
"We had a couple of two-goal swings where it looked like we could score and then the opposition went back down the other end," Buckley said.
"It really sucks the life out of you and can take the energy out of you, especially just before three-quarter time.
"But you could see the boys were up for it today. We really want to finish the season off as well as we can.
"But you're not going to get wins like that very often. It was a fair effort."
Adam Treloar performed admirably in the absence of Scott Pendlebury, racking up 35 touches, six clearances, six tackles and three inside 50s.
Visibly emotional after the siren, the midfielder suggested the win was as much a relief as it was reward for effort.
"It's unbelievable. I'm really lost for words," Treloar said.
"We've been under the pump a bit. We wanted to find some continuity in our season and get back-to-back wins and go from there.
"The way the boys fought in that last quarter in particular ... it was just an awesome performance."
Brodie Grundy had another starring game in the ruck, with Collingwood winning the hit out battle 46-31 and the hitout to advantage battle 15-7.
Treloar said Grundy was pivotal in setting up the win.
"We were quite confident we could get the job done in the middle and we did."
JK'S MILESTONE SOURED
Josh Kennedy had a brilliant individual performance, booting six goals, including four in the first half.
Unfortunately, the dual Coleman Medal winner will remember his 200th match for all the wrong reasons, with the Eagles capitulating at the death.
The loss has seen West Coast plummet to ninth on percentage, on the same number of wins as Essendon, Western Bulldogs and St Kilda.
And when you consider Collingwood is only a minute mathematical chance of making finals, you've got to wonder how the Eagles dropped such a crucial match. |
