2019 Round 4: Collingwood 78 Western Bulldogs 64

THE FACTS

2019 AFL Round 5 COLLINGWOOD v BRISBANE Time & Place: Thursday April 18, 7:35pm The Gabba TV: 7mate / Fox Footy 7:30pm Weather: Min 18 Max 27 Chance of rain 90%: 1-5mm Wind: SSE 22kph Betting: Collingwood $1.55 Brisbane $2.35

COLLINGWOOD              1.2.8   4.6.30   6.9.45   11.12.78
WESTERN BULLDOGS   0.3.3   2.7.19   7.8.50     9.10.64

GOALS - Collingwood: Phillips 2, Thomas 2, Stephenson 2, Elliott 2, De Goey, Varcoe, Cox

BEST - Collingwood: Phillips, Grundy, Roughead, Adams, Pendlebury

INJURIES - Collingwood: Beams (illness) replaced in selected side by Brown, Mayne (corked glute)

REPORTS - Collingwood: Mihocek (Collingwood) reported for striking Liberatore (Western Bulldogs) in the second quarter

OFFICIAL CROWD - 59,257 at the MCG

What The Pies Coach Said "The Bulldogs were able to move the ball too easily from our front half into their forward line and they scored from it. That's something for us to have a look at. You don't want that. .... I thought we were too careful with the ball. We are still finding that right balance between looking after it (the ball) in the right parts of the field and then taking the game on. There is still a lot of growth in us. We've still got a lot of bedding down on what the opposition are doing. 2019 is very different from 2018 and very different from the year before that. You need to find that balance and that synergy. Tonight was an upward curve on getting the right balance, of looking after it at the right times and taking the game on at the right times." – Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley

Media Clippings Collingwood News Collingwood has escaped with a 14-point victory after wearing down the Western Bulldogs in a tough battle at the MCG on Friday night. In a tight match where neither team could grab the contest by the scruff of the neck, it was the Bulldogs who clung to a five-point lead at three-quarter time. But in a scrappy affair that was populated by mistakes and slow-tempo footy, the Magpies' forward options eventually awoke from their slumber to kick four of the last five goals of the game to emerge with the 11.12 (78) to 9.10 (64) victory. The win in front of 59,257 fans squares Collingwood's season at two wins and two losses, an important achievement considering the inconsistency it has displayed in the first month of the season. Fox Footy They got there. Finally. Just. But if the Magpies persist with their keepings-off game style, it could backfire big time against more experienced and bigger-bodied sides that will know their method off by heart. After a scratchy first three quarters, the Pies found a way to win ugly in the final quarter when they eventually clicked and vaguely resembled the side that made the Grand Final in 2018. In a classy final-term display, the Pies booted five goals to the Bulldogs’ two to seal a 14-point victory, 11.12 (78) to 9.10 (64). The Age Collingwood did everything they could to lose to the Western Bulldogs in a Friday night thriller at the MCG but somehow emerged with the four points. They fumbled, they bumbled, they rushed kicks, they dropped marks and missed targets, but when the siren went they found themselves in front by 14 points having battled their way to 11.12 (78) to the Western Bulldogs 9.10 (64). In truth they dominated the final quarter winning territory and the contested possession count with Steele Sidebottom, Travis Varcoe and Brodie Grundy lifting the team, which made hard work of things. Mason Cox was lucky to be paid a mark (one of six contested marks) when Hayden Crozier appeared to touch the ball in the marking contest to put the Magpies back in front midway through the quarter. Goals from within 10 metres to Josh Thomas and Jaidyn Stephenson followed to break the game open before Jamie Elliott sealed the game with a snap with three minutes remaining. ABC News Collingwood have eked out a scratchy 14-point win over Western Bulldogs, lifting late on the back of Brodie Grundy's ruck heroics to improve their record to 2-2. The Magpies lost milestone man Chris Mayne in the opening minutes of Friday night's clash at the MCG, while star midfield recruit Dayne Beams (migraine) was a late withdrawal. But after trailing by five points at three-quarter time, the Pies finished strongly to secure an 11.12 (78) to 9.10 (64) win after a scrappy and low-scoring first half. Ruck-forward Mason Cox's strong mark and set shot handed the Pies a match-winning lead midway through the final term before late goals to Josh Thomas, Jaidyn Stephenson and Jamie Elliott put the result beyond doubt.