| 2017 AFL Round 21 COLLINGWOOD v PORT ADELAIDE Time & Place: Sunday August 13, 4:40pm Adelaide Oval TV: Fox Footy 4:30pm EST Weather: Min 11 Max 17 Betting: Collingwood $3.62 Port Adelaide $1.29 |
N. MELBOURNE 1.5.11 1.9.15 4.11.35 7.15.57
GOALS - Collingwood: Blair 3, Thomas 2, Adams 2, Fasolo, De Goey, Moore, Phillips, Treloar, Howe, Wells, Grundy, Elliott
BEST - Collingwood: Treloar, Adams, Blair, Langdon, De Goey, Grundy
INJURIES - Collingwood: Levi Greenwood (left knee), Goldsack (head), Daniel Wells (left thigh)
REPORTS - Collingwood: Nil
OFFICIAL CROWD - 33,394 at Etihad Stadium
| 1. Pies' premonition rings true Collingwood's banner on Saturday night read: "Hear it first, breaking news, tonight's result, Pies smash the Roos." Lucky for the Magpies' cheersquad, their pre-match crystal ball prediction came true. It was ugly football at times. The opening quarter was comical with 37 clangers registered, reminding fans they were watching a game between two sides sitting 13th and 16th on the ladder. But to the Pies' credit, led by midfielder Adam Treloar, they were able to turn their disposal woes around. A run of five goals in the second and third quarter put the game out of reach for the Roos, as the Pies recorded an impressive 54-point win. Collingwood hasn't suffered a loss in its last four games, with the draw last week against Adelaide the only blemish in what has otherwise been a great month for the club. Is it enough to save coach Nathan Buckley? Only time will tell, with Port Adelaide, Geelong and Melbourne the Pies' final three opponents for the season. 2. Coleman Medal contender hospitalised Play came to a halt at the 23-minute mark of the second quarter when North Melbourne forward Ben Brown was concussed in a crunching Brodie Grundy tackle that is certain to come under scrutiny from the Match Review Panel. The Roos' leading goalkicker had his arms pinned in the tackle, with his head smacking into the Etihad Stadium turf. After lying motionless for about a minute, Brown tried to get up, rolling onto his back but was unable to steady himself. North Melbourne trainers and medical staff hurried to his side, stabilising his neck immediately. Brown was eventually stretchered off, giving Roos fans a thumbs up as he was carted off into the rooms and taken to hospital. Play resumed with Grundy awarded a free kick for holding the ball, North Melbourne fans booing the Magpie as he took his kick. The incident immediately prompted comparisons to Geelong star Patrick Dangerfield's tackle on Carlton's Matthew Kreuzer last week, which saw the Brownlow medallist banned for one match. |
3. Carnage continues It was a dramatic second quarter at Etihad Stadium. Five minutes after Brown was stretchered from the field, North Melbourne skipper Jack Ziebell left the field in the hands of trainers after colliding with Collingwood's Matt Scharenberg. Then minutes later, Pies midfielder Levi Greenwood went down clutching his left knee, after Roos ruckman Todd Goldstein fell across his leg. Unable to apply any weight to his left leg, Greenwood was carried down into the rooms by two trainers and did not return. Ziebell however did return to the field after half-time, nursing bruised ribs, the courageous skipper played predominantly in attack, kicking five goals in the second half in a standout performance for the Roos. 4. Is Cunnington in trouble? The MRP will have another incident to assess from Saturday night's game after North Melbourne midfielder Ben Cunnington collided with Magpie Tyson Goldsack. The Collingwood defender was slow to get up after Cunnington's shoulder made contact with his head. Both players had eyes for the ball, but it will be up to the MRP to decide on Monday whether or not the contact was incidental. Fortunately, Goldsack was able to return to the field and played out the rest of the game after being cleared of a concussion. 5. All's not well that ends Wells After his best performance for Collingwood against Adelaide last weekend, Daniel Wells took to the field to face off against his former side for the very first time. The Magpies recruit has been in great form for the Pies, but after starting on the bench in the first quarter, it was clear something wasn't quite right. His first and only kick in the opening term was a turnover, but he just didn't look comfortable. The trainers worked on his left quad during the second quarter. He had just two disposals for the first half. He emerged from the rooms with heavy strapping on his right quad and while he played out the game, he struggled to make an impact. He finished the match with five disposals and a goal, his lowest possession tally since round seven, 2007 against Essendon. |
| THE MEDIA | |
|
THERE'S carnage on a football field. Then there's this game. Collingwood's clash with North Melbourne was the very definition of ugly football. The roof may have been on at Etihad Stadium, but the skill level was down, the physicality was up and the casualties just kept on coming. We should have all known we were in for a tough night when the first five scores of the game were behinds – with even the usually-reliable Ben Brown spraying his shots for goal. On a night when Daniel Wells faced his former club for the first time, it seemed a cruel twist of fate that the silky-skilled onballer couldn't find the football as it was butchered around him. The former Kangaroo also spent time on the bench, being assessed for a leg complaint – though he would later return with heavy strapping. But if the skills on the slick Etihad Stadium deck were bad, the injury situation was worse. The worst of it was an incident involving Brown in the final five minutes of the second quarter. The North Melbourne big man was tackled by Collingwood ruckman Brodie Grundy – who pinned his arms as he attempted to kick – with the force of the action bringing Brown to ground, and the forward hitting his head. Play was stopped for several minutes as Brown was stretchered off. He was later taken to hospital, while Grundy is set for a nervous wait for the Match Review Panel's verdict on the incident.
Brad Scott and Nathan Buckley were at odds over a tackle from Collingwood ruckman Brodie Grundy that left star North Melbourne forward Ben Brown in hospital on Saturday night.
It brought the question of what should be a fair tackle to the fore less than a week after Patrick Dangerfield was ruled out of Brownlow medal contention following a similar incident.
Brown carted off after Grundy tackle
After his head sickeningly slammed into the ground in a tackle from Collingwood ruckman Brodie Grundy, star North Melbourne forward Ben Brown was carted off Etihad Stadium.
Brown was concussed and had to be carted off Etihad Stadium late in the quarter of his side's 54-point loss to Collingwood.
The Coleman medal fancy appeared to be knocked out as soon as he hit the turf after having his arms pinned in a tackle from Magpies big man Grundy on the wing.
Brown got rid of the ball as he was headed towards the ground and was helpless, unable to brace for contact.
He lay on the ground for more than five minutes as he was attended to by North medicos before being carted from the ground.
However Grundy won a free kick for holding the ball, and opinion was split as to whether the Magpie had done anything wrong.
Pies coach Buckley said after the game that Grundy had laid the "perfect tackle".
"It was a pretty good tackle rewarded with a holding the ball. Clearly when you're tackling someone from behind with momentum, there's going to be a little bit of carry on," Buckley said.
"It's pretty hard to put yourself in reverse when you've got no friction to do it.
"It was a perfect tackle. I don't think there was any malice in the tackle. He was tackling to dispossess, tackling to get a free kick. The way the rules are written."
North coach Scott clearly disagreed, appearing bemused when told of Buckley's assessment.
Asked if he agreed, Scott simply said: "No," but his facial expression was considerably more telling.
The incident bore similarities to the one for which Dangerfield copped a one-match suspension after a dangerous tackle on Carlton ruckman Matthew Kreuzer at the same venue seven days earlier. Buckley said the issue had a "massive grey area".
"Brodes was impacted by it. He's a hard, tough player Brodes, but he's a very fair player," Buckley said.
"He didn't want to see an opposition player go off the field through any action on the footy field. There'll no doubt be discussion about it. I agree with protecting the head of players, and we've seen different rules come in at different times to do that. But I think it's really important to give the most important stakeholders, who I believe are the players, a really clear understanding of what is and is not acceptable. It is a contact sport. We don't want to see that happen but it's going to happen from time to time."
Scott agreed that it was a contentious issue. "It's tough on the players too, because you're trying to dispossess, you're trying to pin the ball in, you don't want the player to get rid of the ball either," Scott said.
"I think it's a bit of a work in progress, but the powers that be are on it.."
Grundy was shown a replay of the incident by Channel Seven after the game, and appeared rattled as he spoke to the network in the rooms. "That's pretty tough to look at," Grundy said.
"There was no malicious intent. That's not the player that I am and the brand that I want to get across. I felt pretty shaken up after it happened.
"It's terrible to hear that he's gone to hospital. I'll definitely reach out to him tonight."
Scott said Brown had been taken to hospital "for observation."
"I haven't had an update yet. Clearly I think he's felt better," Scott said.
Brown wasn't the only injury concern on the night. Playing against his old side for the first time, Magpie Daniel Wells exacerbated a pre-existing quad injury, and will be assessed ahead of the Pies' clash against Port Adelaide on Sunday week.
Likewise midfielder Levi Greenwood is expected to miss at least two matches with a medial issue in his knee sustained in the second quarter.
Veteran Tyson Goldsack returned to the field after being taken off for a concussion test in the third quarter after a bump from North midfielder Ben Cunnington. The Roo is likely to face match review panel attention for the hit.
Meanwhile Buckley confirmed that captain Scott Pendlebury is unlikely to play again this season as he recovers from his fractured finger, although young Roo Jy Simpkin is expected to be available to face Hawthorn next Sunday after being a late withdrawal on Saturday night with a rolled ankle.
The Pies are unbeaten in four matches, but remain only a mathematical chance to make the top eight, still six points adrift of eighth spot with three round to play. The re-building Roos remain 16th.
|
COLLINGWOOD coach Nathan Buckley has confirmed captain Scott Pendlebury's season is over. The midfield superstar injured his finger in Round 17 and underwent two rounds of surgery. The Magpies were hopefully Pendlebury might have returned late in the year but Buckley put an end to that. "He's got a coat hanger hanging out of end of finger. He's out for the year," he said post-match on Saturday. Buckley also revealed details about Levi Greenwood's injury. "It's a hyper-extension of his knee," he said. "The doc is really confident there's no significant structural damage outside of that. "We're thinking there's maybe damage to a medial ligament. We'll scan and see but we don't expect him to get up for a couple of weeks." The Pies whacked North Melbourne in what some are calling the worst game of the season.
IT WAS a dead rubber but there was carnage at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night as Collingwood belted North Melbourne by 54 points.
The result of the low-standard affair – which the Pies won 16.15 (111) to 7.15 (57) – was secondary to a long injury list.
The chief casualties were Kangaroos spearhead Ben Brown (concussion) and skipper Jack Ziebell (ribs), Roos-turned-Magpies Levi Greenwood (left knee) and Daniel Wells (left thigh), along with Pies defender Tyson Goldsack (head knock).
In the process, the Match Review Panel appears certain to scrutinise the actions of Collingwood ruckman Brodie Grundy and North midfielder Ben Cunnington.
A chaotic body count either side of half-time began at the 20-minute mark of the second term when Ziebell tackled Adam Treloar over the boundary line, with the Pies midfielder dazed after hitting his head on the ground. Treloar played on and was one of the best players afield.
Two minutes later there was no coming back for Coleman Medal chance Brown, who was knocked out in a Grundy tackle reminiscent of the one that last week incurred a one-game suspension for Geelong's Patrick Dangerfield.
Play was held up for several minutes as Brown was carted off the field (and later taken by ambulance to hospital), after which Grundy took the resultant free kick for holding the ball, to the jeers of North Melbourne fans.
Soon after the resumption, Ziebell came off second best in a marking contest with Matt Scharenberg and was taken straight into the rooms for treatment. He manfully returned after half-time to be one of his team's few winners, kicking five of North's six goals in the second half.
Moments after the Ziebell injury, Greenwood ran into a falling Todd Goldstein and immediately clutched at his left knee. Greenwood couldn't place any weight on the leg as he was helped from the field by trainers, and it would surprise if he returned before season's end.
Early in the third term, Goldsack showed typical courage in a marking contest when he was crunched by the oncoming Cunnington, who will also face a nervous wait for the MRP's findings on Monday. In his favour, Goldsack reappeared later in the quarter.
Wells would have enjoyed the first-up win over his former club but little else. The veteran took 15 minutes to get his first touch – a rare clanger kick – before being hindered by an apparent corked thigh, finishing with a team-low five touches and a goal.
It's difficult to judge whether the Pies victory would have strengthened the position of coach Nathan Buckley given the error-riddled nature of the contest.
Both clubs were fresh from big performances – North upsetting Melbourne, and Collingwood drawing with ladder leader Adelaide – but neither showed any real semblance of that form.
Between them they committed 26 clangers in the opening 14 minutes; and by half-time they had combined to tally 6.20 – comprising Collingwood's 5.11 to North's abominable 1.9.
The Magpies didn't use the ball with the purpose they displayed against the Crows but they were never troubled after quarter-time.
They overwhelmed the Roos with their depth of runners, with the likes of Treloar (a game-high 34 touches and a goal), Taylor Adams (30 and two goals), Tom Phillips (27 and a goal) and Jordan De Goey (27 and a goal) prolific, while defensive playmakers Jack Crisp (27), Matt Scharenberg (a career-high 27), Tom Langdon (29) and Brayden Maynard (27) did as they pleased.
Aside from Ziebell, youngster Ryan Clarke gathered a personal-best and team-high 31 touches, while fellow midfielders Trent Dumont (27), Sam Gibson (27), Cunnington (28) and defender Robbie Tarrant (21) tried hard.
With North big man Majak Daw missing through injury, the experienced Todd Goldstein earned a recall, but he and the developing Braydon Preuss were soundly beaten by Grundy.
Buckley conceded it was at times an ugly exhibition but was pleased his team dominated the contest.
"It was a bit of a yuck game for some of it. The skills weren't great," he said post-match.
"But it was a very fast game in the first half and then it was probably bit more calculated and composed in the second half.
"We were able to make more of the right decisions more often, we controlled the tempo of play, and we probably played closer to how we want to play for longer than last week in particular."
North counterpart Brad Scott was particularly disappointed in his team's delivery into attack.
"It unravelled when we had the ball in our hand, that's for sure," he said.
"It's really, yes, the worst we have butchered opportunities going forward all year.
"But compounding our problem, we didn't defend those mistakes either.
"The numbers probably tell a bit of a story. You can go forward, win the clearances pretty comfortably, win the inside 50s and get beaten by nine goals."
MEDICAL ROOM
Collingwood: Greenwood is expected to be sidelined with his knee issue, which appears to be a medial ligament problem. Wells entered the game with a corked thigh, which was aggravated against the Roos and faces a battle to be passed fit next week.
NEXT UP
The Magpies face a tough assignment against Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on August 13.
|
No comments :
Post a Comment