| 2017 AFL Round 23 COLLINGWOOD v MELBOURNE Time & Place: Saturday August 26, 1:45pm MCG TV: Fox Footy 1:30pm EST Weather: Min 8 Max 17 Betting: Collingwood $2.12 Melbourne $1.73 |
COLLINGWOOD 6.1.37 7.2.44 9.4.58 9.5.59
GOALS - Collingwood: Cox 2, Hoskin-Elliott 2, Broomhead 2, Moore, Sidebottom, Blair
BEST - Collingwood: Adams, Howe, Cox, Moore, Scharenberg, Hoskin-Elliott
INJURIES - Collingwood: Adams (head)
REPORTS - Collingwood: Nil
OFFICIAL CROWD - 47,889 at the MCG
| 1. Cats break Magpie hoodoo It was all so familiar, with the Pies making a fast start just like they'd done in their previous three clashes with the Cats, each of which they'd won as underdogs. The Pies rattled on six of the first seven goals and at that point Geelong's top-four spot appeared in grave danger. But in a scrappy affair the Cats found something, adding seven of the next eight goals and finishing with the last two to get out of jail. Now, if they beat the Giants at Simonds Stadium in next week's final round, they will finish second and earn the luxury of a home final. 2. 'The Macedonian Marvel' mark 2 There was plenty of romance in the air when Josh Daicos – the eldest son of Collingwood legend Peter Daicos – made his AFL debut. The 18-year-old's chance arose through a combination of his solid VFL form and mounting injuries, and he certainly didn't look out of place in gathering 10 possessions and 10 tackles. Just two minutes in, he dished off a handball at half-back that started a passage that ended with Steele Sidebottom snapping the game's first goal. Twenty minutes later, the diminutive Daicos marked on the southern wing and received a cheer from Pies fans, and his kick to position was marked by Mason Cox for another goal. He was one of five father-son players – the others being teammates Darcy Moore and Callum Brown, along with Cats Jed Bews and Sam Simpson. 3. Last week's Cat heroes go missing in action Geelong's matchwinners against Richmond last week were Harry Taylor and Steve Motlop, but neither produced an adequate encore performance against the Pies. Taylor, who was blanketed by Lynden Dunn, went stat-less in the first term and managed just one goal, and that came from a dubious holding free in the goalsquare in the second term. The hot-and-cold Motlop was decidedly cold, winning just 14 possessions (three contested) and laying just one tackle to fuel further trade speculation. If the Cats are to do any damage in the finals, this pair – and Motlop in particular – will need to find greater consistency. |
4. Cox relishes being the No. 1 man With Brodie Grundy to return from suspension next week, Mason Cox certainly enjoyed his second game as Collingwood’s No. 1 ruckman, enhancing his chances of securing a new contract. The 'American Pie' was hot early, slotting two goals in the opening 21 minutes, the second from an impressive contested mark. Finishing with nine disposals, eight tackles and 43 hit-outs in his 18th AFL game, the 26-year-old is still a raw ruckman but showed his development by winning his share of taps against Cats duo Zac Smith and Wylie Buzza. At one point, the former soccer player even attempted a back-heel kick when wrong-footed in general play. 5. A Cat's family ties to the Pies It was a significant occasion for Geelong youngster James Parsons, who played his first game against Collingwood, the club his grandfather Peter Marshall represented in 23 games from 1961-65. In his 17th AFL game Parsons was dangerous at times in attack, kicking the Cats' first goal against the flow of play with a neat finish on the run from 40 metres. The 2015 rookie selection could have had more impact on the scoreboard but sent another first-term shot from the arc out on the full, and missed a running shot from close range when he went with a banana kick in the second quarter. There was plenty of romance in the air when Josh Daicos – the eldest son of Collingwood legend Peter Daicos – made his AFL debut. The 18-year-old's chance arose through a combination of his solid VFL form and mounting injuries, and he certainly didn't look out of place in gathering 10 possessions and 10 tackles. Just two minutes in, he dished off a handball at half-back that started a passage that ended with Steele Sidebottom snapping the game's first goal. |
| THE MEDIA | |
PITY the Collingwood board.
When they meet on Tuesday to no doubt discuss the future of coach Nathan Buckley, how they will form a majority view is anyone’s guess. Here is a side that plays like it has split personality disorder. They are led by a coach who is steering a freewheeling attacking side one quarter and a conservative, mistake-riddled one the next. The Pies led Geelong by 28 points late in the first quarter of this match at the MCG. Careering through the middle of the ground and using the ball on instinct, they slammed on six of the first seven goals. With Taylor Adams winning it, Steele Sidebottom running it and Will Hoskin-Elliott finishing it, Collingwood was taking a top-four side and flag contender to the cleaners. All this without the likes of Scott Pendlebury, Brodie Grundy, Alex Fasolo, Jordan de Goey, Tyson Goldsack, Daniel Wells, Travis Varcoe and Levi Greewood. But then, in what has been symptomatic of their rollercoaster season, it stopped. The Pies could manage only 3.4 in the next three quarters. They went from corridor assassins to wide and slow crabs. The ball movement went from bull blast to impotent. How? Much like the Adelaide game they led by 50 points early in the third quarter before stopping to a halt and settling for a draw, they were like a different side after quarter time. Where did the adventure go? The dare? Collingwood went goalless from the six minute mark of the second quarter until the 22nd minute of the third quarter. In that time the Cats kicked five unanswered goals. Buckley’s Pies have now won three — Gold Coast, West Coast and North Melbourne and drawn one — Crows — of their past six matches. If last impressions last in this caper, maybe that will help Buckley when the suits gather around the mahogany table in two days’ time. Collingwood led for 80 minutes of this game, but at the same time were smashed in the inside 50m count 60-38. They lost by only 11 points. It was a bizarre game. There were more than 50 ball-ups — twice the AFL average — in a mistake-riddled stoppage fest that really did nothing to suggest Buckley’s future is safe or otherwise. Now, Collingwood names like Camplin, Holgate, Leeds and Korda will be just as important to Buckley as the likes of Treloar, Adams and Moore. On one hand, as the injuries have piled up at the Holden Centre, the effort has lifted. But the game style should come under enormous scrutiny at a club that, when it comes to win-loss, has progressively got worse under Buckley’s tenure. Geelong, which had lost to Collingwood the last three times, didn’t hit the front until the first minute of the third quarter and did its best to jeopardise its top-four chances. Forget debating finals venues — on this form it wouldn’t matter where they were playing; they would be found out against better opposition. What is it about the Cats against teams they know they should beat? Steven Motlop, brilliant last week, was poor. Ditto Harry Taylor and Daniel Menzel, which meant that without Tom Hawkins, the Cats looked blunt inside forward 50m. Ten goals from 60 inside 50s tells the tale. In the end it was a moment of quality — a rare sight in this contest — from Patrick Dangerfield that settled it. The Brownlow medallist took a handball on the wing half way through the last quarter and kicked a running goal from 60m to give the Cats the lead they wouldn’t surrender.
The thoughts of Collingwood supporters could well have drifted back to yesteryear when they perused the Magpies' listed half-forward line ahead of Saturday's clash against Geelong.
(Gavin) Brown, (Peter) Moore and (Peter) Daicos are legendary figures, and it's now their sons – Callum, Darcy and debutant Josh – who hope to forge their own successful path. That may still happen in the years ahead but, for now, it's memories the Pies must cling to, for their latest loss was an expected defeat, this time by 11 points on a biting afternoon at the MCG. The Pies have big-picture issues to immediately deal with, namely a board meeting on Tuesday when Nathan Buckley's future is set to be a topic of discussion. For the Cats, their focus is firmly on September. This win ensured they remain in contention for a top-two finish – and a home final in the first week of September – but this did little to inspire. While the Cats were without four of their first-choice players because of injury or suspension, it was only Patrick Dangerfield who had the ability to provide a burst of brilliance. And that came 15 minutes into the final term when, given too much room from a stoppage, he accepted a handball from Cam Guthrie, dashed to about 55 metres from goal and slotted the ball through. It was the moment the Cats had been hoping for. It lifted his teammates, with Jordan Murdoch following up minutes later with a set shot from 20 metres. The Pies were done. Dangerfield would finish with 32 disposals, including 12 clearances, and highlight why he remains the league's premier player. While grinding victories can be worth their weight in gold, that this one came against a bottom-six side on the eve of the finals was a worry. "The way our players rallied was special, especially as we knew what was on the end of this," Dangerfield said. "It wasn't pretty but it gives us confidence." To the Cats' credit, they were able to regroup after an ugly start, when the Pies opened a four-goal lead by quarter-time – with memories of their round-six win between the two clubs flooding back. However, their season-long struggles up forward would return. Whether it was the Cats' pressure or a propensity to too often pass sideways, the Pies would manage only three more goals. This was a grind, and one neither side will be keen to revisit. There has been an average of 25 ball-ups this season; this contest had more than 50. Trailing by three points at half-time, the Cats threatened to take charge in the third term but squandered a 17-7 advantage in inside 50s. They would finish the day with a 60-38 advantage in this area. Harry Taylor and Steven Motlop, so prominent against Richmond a week earlier, were largely non factors. Motlop had a game to forget, highlighted when a handball in the third term was intercepted by James Aish, who found an open Jarryd Blair for a crucial goal. When Tim Broomhead won a free kick minutes later when running back towards goal, and capitalised, the Pies had regained the lead. The Cats lifted early in the final term. Mitch Duncan, Guthrie and Dangerfield were busy. Sam Menegola was influential up forward, while Zach Tuohy and Tom Stewart provided rebound from half-back. Youngster Wylie Buzza claimed a big mark near the boundary. His talent is starting to emerge. For the Pies, it's all about next season. Daicos is slight in frame but ran hard and looked to get busy. He delivered a nice pass to a leading Mason Cox in the first term – but there was no sign of his father's famous dribbling shots for goal. Brown's workrate was also good but it's Moore who shapes as a centrepiece of the Pies' future. His leap and willingness to chase a contested mark is unquestionable – he just needs to get stronger. And a tall marking comrade would help, for Ben Reid offered little. The Pies initially were able to rebound far too easily from half-back, while also denying their opponents any run, forcing the Cats to kick over the mark. And that was the tale of the tape in the first term. Midfielder Taylor Adams, who weathered a heavy hit, was busy. So, too, Jack Crisp and Adam Treloar, who later would concede the Pies' overall ball-use had not been good enough. Moore also had his moments. The Pies' overlap was superb, one chain leading to Cox marking and converting from 30 metres out. Daicos was involved in the next impressive chain, his long kick marked by Cox just inside 50. Cox remains an untapped talent but showed he is learning to aggressively crash packs – and preferably mark. When Hoskin-Elliott followed up, the Pies held a five-goal lead. Was a boil-over on? The Cats, though, know how to work their way back into a contest. Dangerfield lifted late in the first term. He won a free kick and converted early in the second. Duncan, back from suspension, also got busy in the midfield. Where the Cats had been guilty of sagging off their opponents, they were now disciplined. The contest turned into more of an arm-wrestle and but was marred by stoppages. It suited the Cats because it meant the Pies' run had been halted. The Cats also had a loose man in defence, not that he was needed that much – the ball was predominantly stuck inside their attacking 50. Three more goals would eventuate, and they could have even had the lead at half-time had Daniel Menzel's shot not hit the post. |
ALONGSIDE Joel Selwood, Patrick Dangerfield forms half of the most productive matchwinning duo in the league.
‘Dangerwood’ has saturated the market but it does not mean the term is any less relevant. Flying solo, Dangerfield is no less impressive. if anything, his feats are even more remarkable. The Brownlow Medallist, whose MCG performance on Saturday may yield him three ultimately futile votes, was simply outstanding in his side’s 11-point victory over Collingwood. He was quiet in the first half and it was no surprise that the Magpies had the better of the Cats as a result. His output almost always reflects his team’s. Sometimes this is a curse for Chris Scott, but on Saturday it was ultimately a luxury. “He started slowly,” Western Bulldogs great Brad Johnson said on Fox Footy. “But then he got his game together and so did Geelong. He loves the contest. You see him on the ground, jumping up and loving the scrap in there.” The Cats trailed by 23 points at quarter-time and three points at halftime. But they needed an exclamation point to drive a wedge into Collingwood. They required a player or two to stand up and change the flow of the match. That player was Dangerfield, with loyal allies Zach Tuohy, Mitch Duncan and Sam Menegola in tow. He amassed 13 disposals in the third term before booting the goal that put Geelong in front of Collingwood halfway through the last quarter. For the 12th time in 2017, Dangerfield finished with 30 or more possessions. Of his 32 touches, 24 were contested. By comparison, there were 43 other players on the field and none of them had more than 14 contested disposals. It seems like a weekly ritual, but this was a masterclass worthy of the four points Geelong eventually received to keep its top-two hopes alive. “It was a huge game from Patrick Dangerfield,” Johnson said. “He was the difference once again,. The way he was able to break out of those stoppages and the congestion, we know he has the power in the legs to do that.” The MCG was uncharacteristically muddy on Saturday which played into Dangerfield’s hands. For him, the uglier the conditions the more he relishes the contest. Speaking to Fox Footy post-match, the 27-year-old didn’t shy away from what the win meant for his team. Assuming GWS defeat West Coast, the second spot on the ladder will come down to the Cats clash against the Giants next weekend. That will determine where the qualifying final is played a fortnight later. But for the aforementioned equation to come into play, a win over Collingwood was necessary. “It wasn’t a great start for us and that is something we need to look at, but the way the players rallied after that was special, especially given we knew what was on at the end for us,” Dangerfield said. “It’s not like we went into the game trying to shield our eyes from the carrot that is winning this game. “To achieve it is pleasing. It wasn’t pretty but at the end of the day a win is a win.” The only sour point may be that Dangerfield’s performance increases the likelihood of an awkward Monday night medal ceremony in Grand Final week. GEELONG was not at its best, was missing some of its key players and probably has half an eye on the finals, but none of that stopped the Cats from beating Collingwood on Saturday, and in the process sealing their place in the top-four. A defeat to the Magpies would have put the Cats' hold on a top-four position in real jeopardy with next week's clash with Greater Western Sydney on the horizon. And there were some shaky moments, particularly as the Magpies held a three-point lead over the Cats at the midway point of the final term. But with Patrick Dangerfield piecing together another brilliant best-on-ground display, Geelong flexed its muscles to win by 11 points, running out 10.10 (70) to 9.5 (59) victors. The win confirms the Cats' spot in the top-four regardless of next week's results. It's hard to think Geelong would have survived the scare without Dangerfield producing an MCG masterclass. The Brownlow medalist started the contest a little quietly, but finished with 32 disposals (including 24 contested and 22 after half-time). He also had 12 clearances and two goals, including the match-turning goal in the final term. It was a game of few highlights, with goals at a premium and the class level well down, but when it had to be won, Dangerfield was here, there and everywhere helping the Cats dodge a big bullet. Fellow midfielders Mitch Duncan (32 disposals) and Sam Menegola (28, two goals) were also handy, and Zach Tuohy gave valuable drive with 27 touches. The Pies' better form in the past six weeks continued, but they were unable to win their fourth-straight game over Geelong. Taylor Adams was their best with 26 disposals and 12 tackles, while Tom Phillips (26 disposals) worked into the game, and Matthew Scharenberg was good again across half-back. Father-son debutant Josh Daicos had nine disposals, laid nine tackles and set up an early goal in an encouraging first game. It was all Collingwood in the first term as they took a 23-point lead into quarter-time, Geelong appearing flat on the back of its important win over Richmond last week and the Pies taking their chances to grab the advantage. Mason Cox proved a challenge when pushing forward by converting two set shots while the Cats also found it difficult to contain the spark of Hoskin-Elliott, who also booted two for the term. But Geelong knew the stakes of the contest and lifted in the second quarter to get within three points by half-time. The returning Duncan got more involved, Wylie Buzza created contests in attack, and they wore down the Magpies, who appeared to be running out of options in attack. With Jamie Elliott quelled and Darcy Moore solid without being overly threatening around goal, Collingwood managed just one major for the second term as Geelong kicked four to gain control. The Cats took that momentum into the third quarter as well, with Dangerfield growing into the game and collecting 14 disposals and six clearances for the term. But despite that dominance, and the feel that the dam was about to burst in Geelong's favour (they had 10 of the first 12 inside-50s for the term), Collingwood wouldn't go away. When Jordan Murdoch, thanks to some run and dash from Cam Guthrie, broke the deadlock and extended Geelong's lead to nine points at the 20-minute mark of the quarter, it appeared the Cats were set to bolt away with the game. But the arm wrestle wasn't done yet. Collingwood kicked the next two goals and took a four-point lead into the final change, with a surprise victory in its sights. The tussle continued into the final term, with the first goal of the quarter coming at the 16-minute mark when Dangerfield coolly slotted a long running shot from outside 50. It couldn't have been anyone else. MEDICAL ROOM Collingwood: The Magpies had a concern in the fourth term with Taylor Adams leaving the field with a head issue early in the quarter. But Adams returned later in the term and the club didn't appear to have any other major worries for the day. NEXT UP Collingwood's disappointing season will finish up next Saturday at the MCG when the Pies take on Melbourne. PITY the Collingwood board. When they meet on Tuesday to no doubt discuss the future of coach Nathan Buckley, how they will form a majority view is anyone’s guess. Here is a side that plays like it has split personality disorder. They are led by a coach who is steering a freewheeling attacking side one quarter and a conservative, mistake-riddled one the next. The Pies led Geelong by 28 points late in the first quarter of this match at the MCG. Careering through the middle of the ground and using the ball on instinct, they slammed on six of the first seven goals. With Taylor Adams winning it, Steele Sidebottom running it and Will Hoskin-Elliott finishing it, Collingwood was taking a top-four side and flag contender to the cleaners... But then, in what has been symptomatic of their rollercoaster season, it stopped. The Pies could manage only 3.4 in the next three quarters. |
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