| 2018 AFL Round 5 COLLINGWOOD v ESSENDON Time & Place: Wednesday April 25, 3:20pm EST MCG TV: 7mate / Fox Footy 3:00pm EST Weather: Min 11 Max 21 Rain 2mm Wind: N 22kph Betting: Collingwood $2.15 Essendon $1.70 |
ADELAIDE 1.1.7 3.2.20 6.3.39 9.4.58
GOALS - Collingwood: Stephenson 5, Thomas 2, Hoskin-Elliott 2, Grundy, Varcoe, Reid, Phillips, Crocker, Aish, De Goey
BEST - Collingwood: Sidebottom, Grundy, Stephenson, Treloar, Pendlebury, Phillips, Hoskin-Elliott, Dunn
INJURIES - Collingwood: Nil
REPORTS - Collingwood: Nil
OFFICIAL CROWD - 45,495 Adelaide Oval
| 1. Crows pay the price for top heavy forward line The inclusion of Darcy Fogarty meant the Crows entered the clash with five players standing 190cm or taller. The club felt the tall targets would prove menacing despite the forecast wet weather. The decision backfired with one of the most imposing attacks in the competition delivering a rare below-par performance at home. But the slippery first-half conditions weren’t the only reason they struggled - the normally clean supply from the midfield wasn’t there either. There were just four goals between Taylor Walker, Josh Jenkins, Tom Lynch, Mitch McGovern and Fogarty. 2. Stephenson the round four Rising Star frontrunner Collingwood sought advice from a cardiologist before selecting Jaidyn Stephenson with pick No.6 in last year’s draft. But the 19-year-old show plenty of heart against the Crows, proving a match-winner up forward. He kicked five goals, including a 60m bomb which gave the Pies a commanding 52-point lead in the third quarter. He then missed out on another major in the third when he strangely went with a checkside set shot from a slight angle. Stephenson's performance should see him grab the round four NAB AFL Rising Star nomination. 3. Murray v McGovern – bump debate continues Match review officer Michael Christian will be casting his eye over some third-quarter vision from Adelaide Oval after Magpie Sam Murray’s front-on bump left Crow Mitch McGovern stunned. The ball was about 10m from the Crows’ goal and the players were coming from opposite directions when the collision occurred. Murray appeared to be hunting the ball when he floored the Adelaide forward who left the ground holding his jaw. Christian’s ruling is sure to raise more debate about the bump and its place in the game. |
4. Welcome back Jordan It's better late than never but Jordan De Goey’s 2018 season is finally underway. The 22-year-old got caught drink driving during the pre-season and was already facing a club-imposed ban. He then suffered a hamstring injury before finally earning his spot in the seniors after good form in the VFL. While it wasn’t a huge possession game, he showed class in his comeback, finishing with 15 touches and a goal. 5. Drought ends for Pies It’s taken five attempts, but Collingwood has finally recorded a win at Adelaide Oval. The Magpies have been competitive in their previous outings at SA’s home of football, with their biggest losing margin 19 points. It’s also the Pies’ first win over the Crows since 2013, and their biggest winning margin against them since round 21, 1996. Four goals in a row saw Adelaide eat away at a big lead, and brought back memories of last year’s draw, but this time Collingwood was able to absorb the challenge. Collingwood sought advice from a cardiologist before selecting Jaidyn Stephenson with pick No.6 in last year’s draft. But the 19-year-old show plenty of heart against the Crows, proving a match-winner up forward. He kicked five goals, including a 60m bomb which gave the Pies a commanding 52-point lead in the third quarter. He then missed out on another major in the third when he strangely went with a checkside set shot from a slight angle. Stephenson's performance should see him grab the round four NAB AFL Rising Star nomination. |
| THE MEDIA | |
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FOURTH-GAMER Jaidyn Stephenson has booted five goals to lead Collingwood to a famous 48-point victory over Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Friday night. Trailing by 52 points in the third quarter, the Crows threatened to stage another epic comeback reminiscent of last year's thrilling draw with the Magpies, but after conceding four straight goals, Collingwood (2-2) recovered to claim a major scalp on the road and their first win in five attempts at the ground. The crowd of 45,495 who braved the wet conditions were left stunned as the Crows lost to the Magpies for the first time since 2013, going down 16.10 (106) to 9.4 (58). To make matters worse for the Crows, All Australian small forward Eddie Betts injured his left hamstring and didn't finish the game. Stephenson – last year's No.6 overall draft pick – hadn't kicked a goal in his first three games but was dominant in attack, finishing with a bag of five. Steele Sidebottom racked up a career high disposal count (43 possessions, including 26 contested) and continued his rich vein of form, finding plenty of ball while also keeping Crows star Rory Sloane quiet at stoppages. Adam Treloar (36), Scott Pendlebury (30) and Tom Phillips (31) were busy through the midfield, Brodie Grundy (33, 23 contested, 40 hitouts) got the better of Sam Jacobs in the ruck, Sam Murray provided run and carry off half-back and Lynden Dunn shut down Crows skipper Taylor Walker. “It was a significant performance for us," Magpies coach Nathan Buckley said. "Getting some belief about the way you play is an important part of taking the next step. “I thought it was a pretty strong four-quarter performance." Defender Rory Laird (37 disposals), Bryce Gibbs (27), Paul Seedsman (29) and Hugh Greenwood (16 contested) worked hard for the Crows. The Magpies hammered the Crows at the contest, dominating contested possessions 198-165. "A really disappointing night for us overall," Crows coach Don Pyke lamented. "The reality is we only had one change from two weeks ago when we played against Richmond and played really well. "Clearly it wasn't at the level, and credit to Collingwood, they were too good." Rain bucketed down about an hour before the first bounce, with the Magpies adapting better to the surface. They kicked long down the line and worked hard when the ball was up for grabs, while the Crows turned the ball over with risky kicks into the corridor. Big American Mason Cox defied traditional thinking about wet weather footy to impact the game early – tapping the ball cleverly over the top and then displaying a beautiful kick, both leading to Stephenson goals. Grundy's long-range effort continued the Magpies' momentum as they held a 33-point lead at the main break – 8.5 (53) to 3.2 (20). Goals to Will Hoskin-Elliott, Ben Crocker and Stephenson's fourth – a 55m bomb - stretched the margin to 52 points early in the third term. As the game seemed out of reach, the Crows kicked four straight goals to bring the crowd to life. James Aish kicked the steadier for the Pies before Jordan De Goey capped his first game back from a club-imposed suspension with a goal. Murray might have a case to answer for a head clash with Crows forward Mitch McGovern. MEDICAL ROOM Collingwood: The Magpies had a clean bill of health to complete a perfect night. NEXT UP The Magpies have a 12-day break before they take on Essendon in the traditional Anzac Day encounter at the MCG at 3.20pm (AEST). COLLINGWOOD coach Nathan Buckley has hailed his team’s stunning eight-goal upset of grand finalist Adelaide on Friday night as “significant’’. “It’s a significant win, a significant performance and a sample of what I want to see and how I want us to play our footy,’’ he said after the Magpies won at Adelaide Oval for the first time. “I thought it was a pretty strong four-quarter performance and getting some belief about the way you play is an important part of taking the next steps. “This is only one game but it was an important game for us to get right. We thought our planning was strong and that we had the right themes for the players. “But the reality is the players need to go out and get it done and so all credit goes firstly to the leaders and then the group of players to execute it. ‘In terms of ranking it, it’s a significant win for us and one we are very happy with.’’ Buckley, whose side is now 2-2 after losing its first two games, praised fourth-gamer Jaidyn Stephenson for his five-goal display up forward and lead ruckman Brodie Grundy, who was outstanding with 33 disposals, 40 hit-outs, 12 clearances and a goal opposed to Crow Sam Jacobs. “That’s not going to happen every week, is it?’’ Buckley said of teenager Stephenson’s standout display. “The consistent thing with Jaidyn has been his workrate and his pressure and he’s got speed, which is not a commodity that we’ve got an abundance of on our list. “We identified that in recruiting for him in particular and he hasn’t let us down. Even right to the end there when he was pretty knackered he was putting chasedown tackles on and really taking the game on, which was encouraging.’’ Of Croweater Grundy, who became the first ruckman since Brownlow Medallist Gary Dempsey for Footscray in 1980 to have 30-plus disposals, 40-plus hit-outs and kick a goal in a game, Buckley said: “ He’s in a rich vein of form’’. “He has worked really hard, is still a young man and is still developing but I thought our connection between our rucks and mids was stronger this week than it has been through the first three rounds.,’’ he said. “We have been able to connect well from ruckman to first possessions. We had been winning hit-outs significantly but losing clearances, so we’ve done some work in the past couple of weeks and that is coming together. “Tonight was pretty hard to fault, most of the things we wanted to see improve improved.’’ |
Only eight days ago, Collingwood was 0-2 and widely thought to be staring at another bleak season, with Nathan Buckley facing further inquisitions. Today, the Magpies have something they've rarely owned since 2012: momentum. Collingwood’s eclipse of a subdued and inept Adelaide on the grand finalist’s home field is the clubhouse leader for the season’s major surprise. The Magpies built a staggering lead of 53 points by the middle of the third quarter and withstood a brief and unconvincing rally from Adelaide to win by eight goals and square their season at 2-2. Of the many contributions made by Pie players, the most startling came from a young player in his fourth game. Jaidyn Stephenson, whose heart condition had been the subject of considerable discussion prior to the 2017 national draft, booted five goals, including one (his fourth) that sailed almost 60 metres. Otherwise, the catalysts were largely usual suspects. Brodie Grundy continued his arrival as one of the game’s most influential ruckmen and collected 33 possessions, Steele Sidebottom calmly collected 43, while Scott Pendlebury played with his customary poise and Adam Treloar worked hard and drove the ball forward constantly. Collingwood outworked the Crows in the contest, beat them in the spread and were far cleaner with the ball. On a slippery evening that favoured cleanliness, the Crows were beaten in every facet: their attack was lame; their midfield sloppy and their defence made to look sluggish. Adelaide closed the gap to 30 points early in the final term before Sidebottom and Pendlebury combined to set up a goal to James Aish that effectively killed the contest, if it was ever alive. The match concluded with an anti-climactic ambience, unless you were among the Collingwood contingent that made the trek across the border. Eddie Betts, again quiet and without his trademark spark, finished on the bench with what appeared to be a hamstring. For the Crows, this truly was Friday the 13th. Collingwood’s opening half was stunning. If few would have foreseen that the Pies would boot eight goals to three, what was most unexpected was that they played, not just with greater intensity and endeavour, but with superior skill and system. Collingwood handled the slippery ball far more effectively than the Crows, in what was a reversal of the normal pattern of these clubs. Less remarkably, the Pies were also fiercer in the contest, holding an advantage of 30 in the disputed balls in the opening three quarters, while also out-tackling the Crows, who seemed to be stricken with a strange lethargy. Two further surprises were the performances of two players whom you would guess would struggle on a wet night at the Adelaide Oval. The first was the giant American Mason Cox, who was instrumental in setting up two goals to youngster Stephenson – one from a palm down in a marking contest near the goal square, the second from a well-directed kick in which Stephenson outpointed Jake Kelly one out. The other unexpected catalyst was Stephenson himself, whose curling left-foot snap bounced through in the second quarter to make it three goals in a half for a teenager who probably would have been dropped – or merely rested – had Taylor Adams not pinged his hamstring. Jordan De Goey was stationed as a forward and enjoyed some quality touches in his first game since his latest club-imposed suspension. Will Hoskin-Elliott was highly skilled. The most influential player afield, though, was again Grundy, who bested Sam Jacobs in the ruck, but also gathered 25 disposals (16 contested) in the formative first three quarters and booted the most arresting goal of the first half, when he sprinted clear, took a bounce and drilled a shot from 50 metres. Rory Sloane played like he was sore – he did not have a kick until late in the second quarter, and was often matched to Collingwood's sublime Sidebottom, who had his usual clean and effective game. His skipper Taylor Walker had a match much like his grand final: he was invisible. The Crows were lacking in zip and enterprise and were beset by fumbling and – even more uncharacteristically – often missed targets by foot and hand. Adelaide had barely a winner. Rory Laird accumulated possessions , without inflicting much harm. Bryce Gibbs played with some potency, relative to his teammates, and Mitch McGovern was the solitary effective forward. The only mild concern for the Pies was Sam Murray's bump on McGovern in the third term, which will be reviewed by the match review panel. Collingwood’s defensive set up was also impressive, as the Pies constantly outnumbered the Crows, whose forward entries (they actually had more in the opening half) were lacking in conviction and competence. In time we’ll know whether this result heralded a new, re-invented Collingwood, and if the Crows are really sinking. The Collingwood Cheer Squad has embraced its infamous spelling mistake on the round-three banner against Carlton, making fun of the episode on Friday night. The pre-match message against the Blues read "Let's do this Pies, show those Blues, we own tonihgt, #FOREVER" when it was unfurled, and while the mistake was hurriedly fixed, it was not before social media was flooded with images of the offending banner. The Cheer Squad saw the funny side of the error, writing on their round four banner: The hmuan biran Is a wnfoerudl tinhg But eevn btteer Is a Ciollgnowod win You could say the Magpies had the Crows bluffed from the moment they ran out, for the Pies went on to record a 48-point win.  |
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