Round 14: Collingwood 79 Carlton 59

THE FACTS

2018 AFL Round 15 COLLINGWOOD v GOLD COAST Time & Place: Saturday June 30, 7:25pm EST Carrara Stadium Gold Coast Fox Sports 7:00pm EST Weather: Min 13 Max 22 Chance of rain 0% Wind: SSE 11kph Betting: Collingwood $1.15 Gold Coast $5.50

COLLINGWOOD     3.2.20   5.8.38   8.12.60   11.13.79
CARLTON               3.2.20   4.3.27     7.4.46       9.5.59

GOALS - Collingwood: Stephenson 3, Hoskin-Elliott 3, Pendlebury, Mihocek, Treloar, Cox, De Goey

BEST - Collingwood: Pendlebury, Sidebottom, Stephenson, Phillips, Grundy, Treloar, Hoskin-Elliott

INJURIES - Collingwood: Greenwood (concussion), Treloar (hamstring)

REPORTS - Collingwood: Nil

OFFICIAL CROWD - 53,706 at the MCG

TALKING POINTS

1. Captain Fantastic leads from the front Scott Pendlebury was used as a tagger the last time Collingwood played Carlton. But on Sunday, the Magpies skipper was let off the leash and was back to his best. Delivering a typically classy performance, Pendlebury made the difference out of the middle of the ground. A cut above every time the ball was in dispute, his quick hands and composure with the footy was the defining factor in an otherwise scrappy encounter. He finished with 29 disposals, a goal and a goal assist in his side's 20-point win. He was well and truly the cream on top for Collingwood in a trying, yet satisfying victory. 2. Charlie provides Blues with a beacon of hope Just days after signing with Carlton for a further five years, Charlie Curnow again gave Blues fans plenty to smile about. The athletic forward delivered the type of performance reflective of why many believe he could be the game's most exciting young player. Taking spectacular grabs and pushing forward to impact on the scoreboard, the 21-year-old was a standout on a tough day for the Blues. He finished with 19 disposals, 10 marks, five contested marks and three goals in another standout display. ... the Magpies skipper was let off the leash and was back to his best. Delivering a typically classy performance, Pendlebury made the difference out of the middle of the ground. A cut above every time the ball was in dispute, his quick hands and composure with the footy was the defining factor in an otherwise scrappy encounter.

3. Break glass in case of emergency There was a little bit of everything about Sam Rowe on Sunday. He started the game as a defender, soon turned into a forward and then finished as a ruckman. A late change forcing Levi Casboult from the match meant Brendon Bolton had to improvise. He flipped the magnets, sending late inclusion Cameron O'Shea down back and throwing Rowe forward. Then Matthew Kreuzer went down. With the 199cm Rowe the last man standing, he was asked to compete with Brodie Grundy. Ultimately, he gave a pretty good effort. Though it largely went unrewarded as Collingwood comfortably came out on top. 4. Arrive early for an early pick Carlton fans might have thought about arriving at the MCG a couple of hours early to see under-18 guns Sam Walsh and Bailey Smith in action. The pair of likely early draft picks were among the best as Vic Metro took on Vic Country in Sunday's curtain-raiser. Walsh finished with 29 disposals and five clearances, while Smith racked up 20 touches to go with his three goals. Carlton will almost certainly have a top-three pick in next year's NAB AFL Draft and both could be right in the club's sights. 5. Should the traditional rivals go untraditional? Is it time for the traditional rivals to don untraditional jumpers? Both the Pies and the Blues wore their home jumpers on Sunday, though the predominantly dark uniforms meant there was some confusion – both in the stands and on the ground. The biggest differentiator between the two was their shorts, with Carlton wearing white and Collingwood black. It led to a couple of stray kicks into contests and a few mix-ups from fans at the ground. Perhaps it's time for the AFL to suggest the away side wears its away jumpers the next time they meet.

THE MEDIA

SUPERFOOTY THE old push and shove after the halftime siren is frowned upon by most as a waste of time and energy. But when you’re Carlton these signs of spirit can take on more meaning. Remember, we’ve been told by Brendon Bolton to look for green shoots in the worst team in the competition. Standing up and flying the flag for mates during an extended halftime scuffle at least gets a tick. As does standing up when the odds are stacked against you which the Blues did extremely well in the opening 10 minutes of the third term. When the ball was bounced to start the second half Carlton had just two players on the bench — teenager Lochie O’Brien and Cam O’Shea. O’Shea wasn’t even in the Blues extended squad of 26 on Thursday night and was only at the MCG as a back-up. He was called into action just minutes before the opening bounce after Levi Casboult broke a finger in the warm-up. The reason for the two empty seats on the bench was Lachie Plowman had done his knee early in the second quarter and then ruckman Matthew Kreuzer hadn’t reappeared after halftime because of an ankle problem. So the scenario wasn’t pretty — two men down, trailing by nine points against a red-hot Collingwood who were eyeing off a top four spot. At the eight-minute mark the Blues were in front. Stand-in skipper Patrick Cripps had kicked his second goal of the day two minutes earlier after some sloppy defending from the Pies gave him space 35m out. And then Charlie Curnow, who is the greenest of all the shoots, took an impressive one-on-one mark in the goalsquare. The Blues ball movement had been slick, they were running and gunning like a good side with bucketloads of spirit and dare. Adam Treloar, who had been strangely absent for most of the day, got the steadier for the Pies a couple of minutes later after a Brodie Grundy hanger had set it up. Then came the reminder. The reminder that Carlton are sitting 18th on the ladder with just one win. Liam Jones had the ball in the back pocket and for reasons that only he is aware of he decided to try and centre the ball. This was a peculiar given there were three Collingwood players in the vicinity with the ball landing in the arms of Jaidyn Stephenson. It was a mind-blowingly stupid decision that good teams just don’t make. One thing we’ve learnt about Stephenson is he doesn’t miss. He nailed the shot and you could hear the air start to leak out of the Blues tyres. You don’t have to be a genius to guess what happened next. The Pies went through their gears like a top four team does and comfortably kept at bay a pesky opponent who’d run out of soldiers and ideas. Grundy was having a picnic without Kreutzer while the unconventional forward line structure kept producing with Stephenson and Will Hoskin-Elliott kicking three goals each. There was nothing stunning about the midfield stats of the Pies — Steele Sidebottom led them with 31 possessions and nine clearances. In the end it was a performance that smelt of a team who ensured they did enough to get the win but nothing more. Once again it was the excitement of Curnow and Cripps, plus the amazing resilience of 299-gamer Kade Simpson, which was the story for the Blues. The younger Curnow certainly produced all the highlights of the game with several hangers and three goals from 19 touches which included six inside 50s and five contested marks. While they’re probably sick of hearing this, if Carlton fans can get themselves through this horror period then Curnow and Cripps will give them plenty to cheer about at some stage. Cripps did what he does collecting 29 disposals which included 20 contested possessions, six clearances and three goals while Simpson led the Blues with 31 touches. The gallant 20-point loss means Bolton will once again get to talk about his green shoots but in reality the one thing which will be going through his mind on repeat when he puts his head on the pillow: “Why Liam? Why Liam? Why Liam?” AFL COLLINGWOOD has moved into the AFL's top four for the first time this season after accounting for arch-rival Carlton by 20 points at the MCG on Sunday afternoon. After surrendering the lead briefly to an injury-hit Carlton in the third term, the Magpies regathered their composure in the last quarter to hold the Blues at bay and close out the 11.13 (79) to 9.5 (59) victory. The win did not come as easily as some expected, with the Blues, whose list rebuild was widely questioned after the demoralising 57-point loss to Fremantle last weekend, bringing a much-improved effort and discipline to the contest. Young Magpie Jaidyn Stephenson was a lively force in the Collingwood forward line, booting three goals and providing a constant hit-up target. Stephenson, one of the favourites for this year's NAB AFL Rising Star award, has now kicked 21 goals in his last nine games after going goalless in his first three matches at AFL level. Scott Pendlebury was asked to run with Patrick Cripps for much of the afternoon, and although he did not quell his influence entirely, the Magpies skipper was able to work off the Blues star in transition and do damage that way. Pendlebury gathered 29 disposals and kicked a goal, while Steele Sidebottom (31 and nine clearances) and Tom Phillips (28) worked overtime in the midfield. Brodie Grundy's influence increased the longer the afternoon went on, with the Magpies ruckman benefitting from a Matthew Kreuzer ankle injury that saw the Blue take little part in the game after half-time. Coach Nathan Buckley said his team "won ugly". "We just didn't defend as well as what we have. We didn't control the field or the pace of the opposition ball movement as much as we would have liked," Buckley said. "We just did enough to win on the day against an opposition we thought played some pretty good footy." The Blues were reduced to two men on the bench after the major break after Lachie Plowman injured his right knee and was stretchered from the field, while Levi Casboult broke his finger in the final warm-up and was replaced by Cam O'Shea in the starting line-up. After a series of spot fires through the second quarter, tempers flared at half-time as a melee broke out, with former Pie Dale Thomas and Mason Cox among the chief participants. Thomas is likely to face match review scrutiny for a shepherd on the mark that saw Levi Greenwood sidelined with concussion. Clearly affected by a lack of rotations (62-80), the Blues hung in the contest thanks largely to the impact of Cripps (28 touches, including 19 contested) in the midfield, the steadiness of Kade Simpson (31) down back and the highlight reel that is Charlie Curnow. "I was pleased all game that they dug in," Blues coach Brendon Bolton said. "With limited rotations and some injuries, they gave their all. But I think by and large, there is a lot going right if we look at the last month of footy versus a half (against Fremantle)." If Blues fans wanted some affirmation for the direction the club was heading in, they needed only look to Curnow, who signed a four-year contract extension during the week, to give them hope for the future. The superstar in the making was simply outstanding against the Magpies, booting three goals from 19 disposals, hauling in 10 marks (five contested) and constantly sparking his team when they needed him most. Former Giant Matthew Kennedy (21 touches) also played his best game for the club, providing Cripps with much-needed support on the inside of the contest. MEDICAL ROOM Collingwood: Collingwood is hopeful Adam Treloar has escaped a serious hamstring injury after the midfielder went down grabbing his leg and writhing in pain. The Magpies believe the onballer succumbed to a severe bout of cramp. Defender Levi Greenwood was placed in the concussion protocol after a high hit from Blue Dale Thomas, with coach Nathan Buckley saying he would be assessed during the week. NEXT UP Collingwood will travel to Metricon Stadium to take on Gold Coast next Saturday night. REAL FOOTY Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley refused to weigh into debate about his side's top four credentials, after the Pies won five consecutive matches for the first time since 2012 by defeating Carlton at the MCG on Sunday. The Pies finished round 14 in fourth position on percentage following the scrappy 20-point victory, with the lowly Carlton causing Collingwood's defensive set up problems throughout the afternoon. Star midfielder Adam Treloar had a quiet day, but in better news escaped serious injury after he looked to have strained both hamstrings in the final quarter. Buckley said the fact that he only suffered cramp was due to the former GWS player's professionalism. "We didn't set a [ladder position] goal at the beginning of the year," Buckley said. "I was asked last week whether we re-assessed them, well our goal is to play as well as we can every week. "I think every side would like to finish as high on the ladder as they possibly can and to do that you've got to win as many games as you can ... that's out goal." Buckley also wouldn't be drawn on the fitness of the hamstrung Darcy Moore. Collingwood's latest injury update listed the swingman as being 1-2 weeks away from a return, but Fairfax Media understands that could be closer to 3-4 weeks. The same goes for the hamstrung Jamie Elliott. Buckely said the out-of-contract Moore was "progressing well" and that he would return through the VFL in due course. The former Pies captain also said it was a mark of Collingwod's progress - they have endured an underwhelming few seasons under Buckley - that they could win "ugly". "[The] opposition were motivated and pretty well structured and we said leading into the game we expected more the Geelong, Sydney game [contested and defensive] than we did the Freo game [free flowing, high scoring]. "We were able to eventually wear it away and did enough right to get the win. "We didn't control the field or the [slow] pace of the opposition ball movement as well as we would have liked ... we have got some work to do on that." After biding his time as an assistant Buckley took over as Collingwood coach in 2012. Some say Collingwood is playing as good as they during the Buckley tenure, but the coach sounds as if he will be careful to keep his side on their toes, despite their form. "We are playing some good footy, but what we have done up to now is going to count for naught. Clearly we'd like to be a little bit more consistent on the way we go about it on today's form. "If you don't get the chemistry right if you actually don't play well together as a side then you open yourself up a little bit, so that's the take out from today." Young gun Jaidyn Stephenson also came in for praise from the coach, with Buckley admitting he judged the dangerous goalkicker with similar harshness as he did his two sons. Stephenson kicked three goals for the match. "As far as the rising star and his capacity to impact as a first year player there's not many guys that are going to be able to do what he is doing. "Above all that we love the fact he plays his role in our structure ... his speed in defence is crucial."