| 2018 AFL Round 2 COLLINGWOOD v GWS Time & Place: Saturday March 31, 4:35pm EDT MCG TV: 7mate / Fox Footy 4:30pm EDT Weather: Min 10 Max 21 Chance of rain 20%: <1mm Wind: SSW 7kph Betting: Collingwood $2.44 GWS $1.56 |
COLLINGWOOD 3.4.22 6.4.40 7.6.48 9.13.67
GOALS - Collingwood: Crocker 2, Reid, Howe, Hoskin-Elliott, Sidebottom, Aish, Moore, Thomas
BEST - Collingwood: Sidebottom, Treloar, Crocker, Pendlebury, Murray, Stephenson
INJURIES - Collingwood: Nil
REPORTS - Collingwood: Nil
OFFICIAL CROWD - 58,051 at the MCG
| 1. Rock 'n' Rioli returns Cyril Rioli started his first match in 10 months on the bench, but the Hawthorn faithful erupted when the 2015 Norm Smith medallist entered the contest in the seventh minute. Rioli's never been a huge accumulator of the Sherrin and he took time to get going, even putting a routine kick – under little pressure – out on the full early. But two defensive acts, one in each of the first two terms, created Hawk goals like only Rioli can. He hounded Brayden Maynard into a turnover on the first of those, before smothering a Tom Langdon handball and putting a dinky kick to Ricky Henderson's advantage. His third quarter goal also earned a huge reception thanks to Paul Puopolo's fancy footwork. Welcome back, Cyril. 2. Tom Mitchell possession watch No-one (officially) wins the football like Mitchell – and it seems he still holds a grudge about Nathan Buckley's slight from the sides' corresponding clash last year. That night he had 50 touches and earned three Brownlow votes and still couldn't convince Buckley to send a tagger his way. Mitchell himself shrugged the milestone off because it came in defeat. Fast-forward to round one, 2018 and he had 13 disposals by the first break, 29 to half-time and 37 by three-quarter time. Mitchell, who set a new home and away season possessions record with 787 last year, incredibly went on to break dual Brownlow medallist Greg Williams' single-game record of 53 disposals. His 54th possession (27 contested) – his 34th handball – drew a big roar from the attentive crowd. It was also the sixth time Mitchell won at least 40 disposals in a match, and he'll be pleased, because Hawthorn won. 3. Collingwood's impotent attack Rinse, repeat. Is there a worse forward line in the AFL, especially with Jamie Elliott and Alex Fasolo again sidelined through injury? Mason Cox barely touched the ball when he was forward and Ben Reid, other than a first-minute goal, was mostly a non-factor. Ben Crocker, at 188cm, troubled the Hawks more than any other Pie forward, but this structure isn't going to frighten many opponents. Collingwood had 11 of the first 15 inside 50s in the second term and failed to capitalise before the brown and gold put on the afterburners. Taylor Adams even started at full-forward in the second half. Can Nathan Buckley afford to keep Darcy Moore down back (he went forward in the fourth quarter)? Should All Australian-calibre defender Jeremy Howe return to his forward roots? There is no more pressing issue for the Magpies' brains trust. |
4. Going at Jaeger speed There was genuine fear that Jaeger O'Meara's last rites as an AFL footballer were being written in 2017, when another knee setback put an early pause on the former Sun's new start at the Hawks. Even when he did play, the pace and explosiveness that made him one of the competition's best prospects had faded. The lion's share of his disposals were handballs last year, partly as a result. But O'Meara was back with a vengeance on Saturday night, posting 27 disposals (14 kicks and 14 contested) and six clearances – but also the game's equal-highest maximum speed (33.1 km/h) at half-time. Paul Puopolo (34.6km/h) and Will Hoskin-Elliott (34.2km/h) pipped him by game's end, but Hawthorn must be heartened. 5. Pies' recruits provide positives A tough night for Collingwood was made that little bit better thanks to first-gamers Jaidyn Stephenson and Sam Murray. Stephenson possesses lightning speed and is one of those footballers who creates something from nothing. He was caught holding the ball on one occasion when he tried to be creative, but the No.6 draft pick from last year has 200 games written all over him. Pies fans were up in arms about the club giving up a second-round selection (in a multiple-pick deal) for little-known Swan Murray, but that anger has dissipated. He shone in Collingwood's second JLT Community Series match and is a good addition to the backline, even if the defensive side of his game remains a work-in-progress. Is there a worse forward line in the AFL, especially with Jamie Elliott and Alex Fasolo again sidelined through injury? Mason Cox barely touched the ball when he was forward and Ben Reid, other than a first-minute goal, was mostly a non-factor. Ben Crocker, at 188cm, troubled the Hawks more than any other Pie forward, but this structure isn't going to frighten many opponents. Collingwood had 11 of the first 15 inside 50s in the second term and failed to capitalise before the brown and gold put on the afterburners. Taylor Adams even started at full-forward in the second half. Can Nathan Buckley afford to keep Darcy Moore down back (he went forward in the fourth quarter)? Should All Australian-calibre defender Jeremy Howe return to his forward roots? There is no more pressing issue for the Magpies' brains trust. |
| THE MEDIA | |
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ANOTHER record-breaking game from Tom Mitchell has propelled Hawthorn to an emphatic 34-point win over Collingwood at the MCG on Saturday night. Mitchell collected 54 disposals to surpass the previous individual best of 53 held by Gary Ablett and Greg Williams, to again put the Magpies to the sword after his 50-possession game against them in round nine last year. As the Hawks signalled their intention to march back into finals contention in 2018 with the 15.11 (101) to 9.13 (67) win, the Pies again had no answers for Mitchell as he motored to another prolific performance. He wasn't alone; Jaeger O'Meara collected 27 possessions in another encouraging outing, Luke Breust kicked four goals and Jack Gunston celebrated his 150th game and return to attack with two majors and three scoring assists. "We tried to curb his influence but were unable to," Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley said. "We had 'Tay' [Taylor Adams] and Steele [Sidebottom] and 'Crispy' [Jack Crisp] on him at various times after quarter-time. "He's a good player. He gets his hands on the ball, wins stoppages, he's probably one of the cleanest ball handlers in the shoe box in the first five to 10 metres, and he's proving to be a really good spreader to the next contest. Even Clarko can't stop record-breaking Mitchell "I thought he and [Jaeger] O'Meara early in the game, from the centre bounce in particular, gave Hawthorn's forwards first access to it." The Hawks had winners everywhere. "O'Meara collected 27 possessions and six clearances in another encouraging outing, Luke Breust kicked four goals, Jack Gunston celebrated his 150th game and return to attack with two majors and 12 scoring involvements, and Shaun Burgoyne was important in his new forward-half role early on. And Cyril Rioli only had 14 touches after starting on the bench in his first game since round eight last year, but he used them to show glimpses of his old brilliance. James Sicily was another who stood out with 26 disposals, seven marks including three contested, and 11 tackles in a composed and skilful display across half-back. The Hawks blasted the Magpies with a six-goal-to-three second quarter to open up a 27-point lead at half-time and didn't look back from there as they cruised to an opening round victory. The only blow for the Hawks was a game-ending ankle injury to defender Ryan Burton in the second quarter. While the Hawks were a cut above in class and ball movement, it was more of the same for the Magpies as they failed time and time again to make use of momentum swings. Some new moves paid off with Ben Crocker their most effective forward, Darcy Moore pulling down eight marks in defence before he was thrown forward late in a desperate attempt to find some firepower and debutants Sam Murray and Jaidyn Stephenson showing positive signs. But Mason Cox (six disposals) struggled for effectiveness and simply couldn't take a mark as a forward option, Travis Varcoe was quiet, and their leading possession-winner – Adam Treloar with 32 – moved the ball at just 40 per cent efficiency. The first quarter was played at breakneck pace and the Pies were in the contest, with Ben Reid presenting well in attack, Tom Phillips moving the ball well and Moore looking settled. But Mitchell and O'Meara got on top in the second quarter turnaround with their work at the centre clearances telling, before the Pies offered a late rally that saw them whittle a 39-point three-quarter time margin to 23 points in the last term. "We were pleased with our endeavour against a pretty formidable opponent," Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson said. "I reckon they're going to be OK this year, the Pies, and we were really pleased we were able to get the points, because it loomed as a pretty tight affair right throughout the course of the game. "We just managed to get some scoreboard ascendancy late in the second quarter that just gave us that three or four-goal buffer that we were able to maintain for the greater part of the rest of the game." MEDICAL ROOM Collingwood: The Pies picked up a couple of injuries late in the game with Josh Smith nicking a hamstring in the fourth quarter and Ben Crocker coming off after copping a knock to his back. Darcy Moore was icing both Achilles tendons in the rooms afterwards but isn't believed to have picked up any fresh concerns. NEXT UP The challenges keep coming for the Magpies with a twilight home clash against Greater Western Sydney booked for next Saturday. COLLINGWOOD coach Nathan Buckley says his side “didn’t handle the heat”, but said he wasn’t feeling any despite a deflating season-opening loss to Hawthorn. Asked if he felt the pressure was already building from an impatient supporter base, Buckley said: “Circumstantially, no. We’ve dropped a game, it was a game we would have liked to have won, but we’re 0-1 and we come up against the Giant next week and we think we can perform better. That’s our job.” Buckley bemoaned poor execution and a failure to deal with the Hawks’ pressure in a 34-point loss highlighted by Tom Mitchell’s staggering 54-possession game. “We didn’t handle the pressure of the opposition,” he said. “We looked like we weren’t able to handle Hawthorn’s pressure. "It’s not something they’re renowned for through the midfield. "We noticed it through the JLT so we were expecting it, but I don’t think we handled it well. “We had the personnel to get the result tonight and the last quarter showed that. We couldn’t have played more poorly for large chunks ... and to still be in the game, it was just a comedy of errors. "We didn’t get the job done so we let one slip.” The Magpies had 19 entries to Hawthorn’s nine in the last quarter, but could only manage 2.7 to the Hawks’ 2.2. “Our execution was particularly poor today. We’d get two hands on it and not mark it and have players out and not hit them. We didn’t play well,” he said. “We played an OK structure game and that’s why we were still in the contest, but we just didn’t execute our opportunities well enough.” Mason Cox failed to take a single mark despite getting his hands to several attempts, with Buckley saying he had a “bad night”. “He’s been gloving them all pre-season. "It is a real test of character now of ours and his as to how does he responds to that,” he said. “He’s getting his hands to them more often than he ever has. I’m pretty confident he will do some damage.” Mitchell’s 54 disposals broke the VFL/AFL record for most touches in a game, less than a year after Buckley said his 50-possession game in Round 9 last season didn’t do much damage. But the Magpies coach said he tried to curb the Hawthorn ball magnet last night, using a combination of Taylor Adams, Jack Crisp and Steele Sidebottom on him after quarter-time. “He’s a good player and he gets his hands on the ball, wins stoppage and is probably one of the cleanest ball handlers in the shoebox,” Buckley said. “He’s proving to be a really good spreader to the next contest.” Buckley said Josh Smith “nicked” a hamstring in the last quarter and would be assessed. |
Last year Hawthorn star Tom Mitchell gathered 50 disposals against Collingwood as the Hawks lost and the value of the 24-year-old's performance was debated. However there was no question about his worth on Saturday night as he set a new AFL record with 54 disposals to lead Hawthorn to victory by 34 points over the same old Magpies at the MCG. If Mitchell picked up where he left off last season becoming the first player to gather 50 touches in a game twice, it only took two moments of brilliance from returning Hawthorn superstar Cyril Rioli to remind everyone how formidable the Hawks might be in 2018. In typical fashion, Rioli, who has not played since round eight last season, pounced upon left-footed Magpie Brayden Maynard midway through the first quarter to smother his kick out of defence. The resulting spill created a chance for Shaun Burgoyne to kick a goal and, as expected, the veteran didn't waste the opportunity. It was vintage Rioli, who repeated the dose the following quarter, intercepting a Tom Langdon handball to create a goal for Ricky Henderson. From that moment on the Hawks never looked like losing, as Mitchell roamed around the ground absorbing any pressure, winning the ball in space or in tight and reading the ball off hands to dominate the game. A roar went up as he gathered his 54th disposal with less than a minute remaining to break the possessions record dual-Brownlow medallist Greg Williams set in 1989 when playing for the Sydney Swans against St Kilda. Gary Ablett equalled that mark against Collingwood in 2012. Having picked up three Brownlow votes in both his games against Collingwood last season on his way to third place in the Brownlow medal Mitchell was once again best on ground. Rioli's pressure set a standard for the Hawks with partners in crime, Paul Puopolo and Luke Breust, equally effective inside 50, the Magpies lack of natural predators for the trio evident as they ran rampant. If the Hawk highlights were familiar enough, then the Magpies failings were, unfortunately for Collingwood fans, equally recognisable as they lost their ninth match against the Hawks under Nathan Buckley from 10 attempts. The effort was good but goals were hard won as Mason Cox could not mark the ball, despite repeatedly getting his hands to the football first in the marking contest. If he was a cricketer he would have been sent to fine leg two overs into the game as his confidence dropped and he failed to take a mark for the game. Ben Reid battled hard but without Jamie Elliott or Alex Fasolo at ground level to mop up Cox's crumbs, Hawthorn ran the ball through the middle with ease. Only the consistent Steele Sidebottom showed enough surety with the ball to change the angles and challenge the Hawks' defence, which had been bolstered by the return of experienced duo James Frawley and Ben Stratton who, like Rioli, had not played since round eight last season. Their returns came in even more handy when emerging star Ryan Burton rolled his left ankle just before half-time and did not reappear. Jaeger O'Meara, who won the game's first two centre clearances and had 12 possessions at quarter-time in just his seventh game with the Hawks, was keeping pace with Mitchell at quarter time and finished the game with 27 disposals, half the number of Mitchell's tally. The Magpies missed the class of injured pair Daniel Wells and Jordan De Goey as time after time they wasted scoring opportunities with a poor kick or a fumble. Taylor Adams, who played in defence during the pre-season played forward for most of the game but was ineffective. Buckley tried to swing changes at the final break pushing Darcy Moore forward after he was relatively good in defence and he kicked a goal. First gamers Jaidyn Stephenson and Sam Murray were promising, showing a willingness to run and take the game on with Murray bringing Collingwood back into the game in the last quarter while Hawthorn recruit Jarman Impey was relatively quiet. However the Magpies were not up to the challenge and Hawthorn look to have already passed them in the rebuild stakes. The "comedy of errors" Collingwood produced against Hawthorn was a direct result of the Magpies' failure to handle the heat of the round one clash, coach Nathan Buckley says. Buckley has also challenged big man Mason Cox to respond to a "real test of character" after he struggled to make an impact as their new forward focal point. The Magpies were wasteful with their forward entries, recording just two less than the Hawks (60-58) despite losing by 34 points, and struggled to hit targets across the ground. Despite missing players likes Jamie Elliott, Daniel Wells, Tyson Goldsack and Jordan De Goey, Buckley said he was confident the Pies went in with a team that could have matched it with the Hawks' talented line up. But, he lamented their poor execution on the night. "We had a lot of blokes that lowered their colours on their normal performance. We didn't have a lot of blokes that I reckon would have played to their normal standard individually," Buckley said. "We looked like we weren't able to handle Hawthorn's pressure, so credit to them for that, it's not something they're renowned for through the midfield. "We were expecting it, but I don't think we handled it well. "We couldn't have played more poorly in larger chunks or had less contributors and yet still be in the game … it was just a comedy of errors. "We actually played an okay structured game, and that's why we were still in the contest. "But we just didn't execute our opportunities well enough and didn't have enough blokes that brought their strengths to the table."Cox appeared set for the new responsibility of the Pies' key forward following the move of Darcy Moore to defence, after kicking four goals against the Western Bulldogs in a pre-season game earlier this month. But the big American struggled to hold a mark in slippery conditions on Saturday night and finished with just six disposals and no score. "He's being gloving them all pre-season, he's had a really strong pre-season," Buckley said. "I suppose it's a real test of character now, of ours and of his, of how does he respond to that. "He's getting his hands to them more often than he ever has. "He's had a bad night. The challenge for him is to make it a bad night and not a normal occurrence. "I'm pretty confident he'll undo some damage." The Pies may need to call up replacements for Josh Smith (hamstring) and Ben Crocker (knock to back) for next Saturday's clash with Greater Western Sydney at the MCG, with both suffering injuries late in the game. “We didn’t handle the pressure of the opposition. We looked like we weren’t able to handle Hawthorn’s pressure. It’s not something they’re renowned for through the midfield. We noticed it through the JLT so we were expecting it, but I don’t think we handled it well. We had the personnel to get the result tonight and the last quarter showed that. We couldn’t have played more poorly for large chunks ... and to still be in the game, it was just a comedy of errors. We didn’t get the job done so we let one slip.” |
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