2019 Round 1: Geelong 72 Collingwood 65

THE FACTS

2019 AFL Round 2 COLLINGWOOD v RICHMOND Time & Place: Thursday March 28, 7:20pm EDT MCG TV: 7mate / Fox Footy 7:00pm EDT Weather: Min 11 Max 26 Chance of rain 50%: <1mm Wind: N 14kph Betting: Collingwood $1.89 Richmond $1.84

GEELONG               2.2.14    3.4.22   7.10.52   10.12.72
COLLINGWOOD     3.5.23    4.9.33   7.10.52     9.11.65

GOALS - Collingwood: Elliott 3, De Goey 2, Cox, Treloar, Beams, Brown

BEST - Collingwood: Treloar, Moore, Pendlebury, Phillips, Elliott, Sidebottom

INJURIES - Collingwood: Nil

REPORTS - Collingwood: Nil

OFFICIAL CROWD - 78,017 at the MCG

What The Pies Coach Said "A consistent theme across our pre-season has been too many turnovers in our back half. That was consistent again tonight. We had 32, most of them in the second half. There was actually a lot in the first quarter, but a lot in the second half as well. We're shooting ourselves in the foot. If we can't work the ball out of our back half as effectively as we'd like to, then we allow the opposition to build pressure. That's an issue from our pre-season and we've carried it into round one." – Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley

Media Clippings Fox Footy Six months after West Coast broke Collingwood’s heart in last year’s Grand Final, the Magpies returned to the same scene only to depart with the same result. It was ugly early, but just like they have many times before, it turned into a vintage game. This time around, Nathan Buckley had Dayne Beams back in his midfield — four years after he left for Brisbane — Darcy Moore back in his defence and Jamie Elliott back in his forward line. But it wasn’t enough to get 2019 off to the perfect start. NEWS.com.au Star Collingwood forward Jamie Elliott returned to the field for the first time since 2017 and played a blinder, kicking three goals, but it was Geelong’s big names who stood tall when it counted to give the Cats an amazing 10.12 (72) to 9.11 (65) round one victory. ... Despite Elliott’s efforts Collingwood routinely shot themselves in the foot with wasted chances in front of goal with Brodie Grundy and Scott Pendlebury missing easy set shots — and Adam Treloar missed a running shot on an open goal, kicking out on the full — he later admitted: “I kick those in my sleep.” Herald Sun Jamie Elliott made a perfect start to his first game since 2017 with two first-quarter goals for Collingwood. The Magpies small forward could not have asked for a better reintroduction onto the big stage, booting two goals in the opening term of Collingwood’s Round 1 fixture against Geelong. ... It was a case of deja vu in many ways for the Pies who controlled the match the last time that were at the MCG and yet lost. They clearly had most of the best players on the ground with Adam Treloar dominant with 34 possessions and Jamie Elliott the stand-out forward for the night in his comeback with three goals. AFL News Jamie Elliott, returning from an 18-month injury nightmare, was Collingwood's standout with three first-half goals, while Adam Treloar (34 disposals, one goal) was prolific. Yet the Pies had too few role players across the field, falling narrowly short. ... Profligacy remained the big issue for Nathan Buckley's side. Having kicked six successive behinds in the second quarter before Elliott's third eventually broke the drought, the Pies butchered more chances to give the Cats an entry back into the contest. Collingwood News Collingwood was made to pay for ‘shooting itself in the foot’ during a disappointing loss to Geelong on Friday night, with coach Nathan Buckley pinpointing costly connection issues as the major crease that his side will have to iron out on the training track this week. The Pies were sloppy by foot throughout the narrow seven-point defeat to the Cats at the MCG, particularly in their defensive side of the ground, with Buckley blaming a lack of cohesion for a series of crucial errors in the dying stages of the game.