2019 Round 12: Collingwood 98 Melbourne 57

THE FACTS

2019 AFL Round 13 - BYE 2019 AFL Round 14 COLLINGWOOD v FOOTSCRAY Time & Place: Sunday June 23, 3:20pm Docklands TV: Fox Footy 3:00pm Weather: Min 4 Max 12 Chance of rain: 66% 7mm Wind: NW 15kph Betting: Collingwood TBC Footscray TBC

COLLINGWOOD   3.5.23   6.8.44   11.8.74   15.8.98
MELBOURNE          1.2.8   3.5.23    5.9.39   7.15.57

GOALS - Collingwood: De Goey 3, Stephenson 3, Hoskin-Elliott 3, Grundy, Mihocek, Sidebottom, Treloar, Cox, Thomas

BEST - Collingwood: Sidebottom, Treloar, Stephenson, Hoskin-Elliott, De Goey, Sier

INJURIES - Collingwood: Nil

REPORTS - Collingwood: Nil

OFFICIAL CROWD - 74,036 at the MCG

What The Pies Coach Said "We felt like we set it up the way we wanted to. We had some time from our last game and we really haven’t liked our last month, to be honest. We just needed to get back to closer to the brand we wanted to execute and the first half was definitely that, there were still elements in the second half we can improve on. You are not going to take those great strides in one step so it was a step in the right direction and a positive outcome for us, more so the way we went about it. If we compare ourselves against where we think we should be, we have still got some work to do. Largely we were just in better shape defensively we looked like we were able to control the game with the shape of our defence mainly." – Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley

Media Clippings Fox Footy Collingwood has returned to the winners list via a 41-point victory over Melbourne on Queen’s Birthday; but this was not a story about Nathan Buckley’s side. While the Magpies looked dangerous at times, and now sit a game clear of the rest of the AFL in second - although still two wins behind Geelong - this wasn’t them at their best. The margin disguised that. Instead, this was a game showing exactly what is wrong with the Demons in 2019, and why they will not play finals footy despite being widely tipped as a flag contender in the pre-season. In the bad old days at Demonland, the Queen’s Birthday game was somewhat condescendingly referred to as ‘their Grand Final’. It wasn’t supposed to be like that this season. But the Dees rolled up to the MCG sitting at 3-8; if there was any hope of a miracle charge towards the finals they were going to need to win almost every game left on the fixture. And in a game of that importance, they simply couldn’t hit a target. It was frustrating even for non-fans. Collingwood News Anything you can do, we can match. That is well and truly the message Collingwood is sending to Geelong. After the flag favourite Cats opened an elongated round 12 with a statement of intent, the challenging Pies closed the weekend with a similar declaration of their own ambitions. Collingwood's 41-point victory over Melbourne on Queen's Birthday Monday wasn't as emphatic as Geelong's over Richmond earlier in the weekend, but it was as necessary. The 15.8 (98) to 7.15 (57) win ensured the Pies remained the Cats' biggest threat for top spot, while it took them a game clear of the Giants in second heading into next week's bye. Wide World Of Sports Collingwood have moved to outright second on the AFL ladder after defeating a wayward Melbourne by 41 points in the annual Queen's Birthday clash at the MCG. The polished Pies were never seriously challenged in a 15.8 (98) to 7.15 (57) win that gives them a four-point buffer over third-placed GWS ahead of their mid-season bye. Jordan De Goey, Jaidyn Stephenson and Will Hoskin-Elliott each booted three goals, Adam Treloar starred in the midfield and Brodie Grundy split the points in a much-anticipated ruck battle with fellow All-Australian Max Gawn. It is 16th-placed Melbourne's fourth-straight loss and they are yet to beat any of the top eight sides this season. The Age Collingwood were belted in the middle of the ground and in the ruck by a rampant Max Gawn, but Nathan Buckley was pleased his team had taken a big step forward in rediscovering its form after a poor month. The Magpies defeated Melbourne by 41 points in front of 74,036 people at the MCG on Queen's Birthday and entrenched themselves in second spot on the ladder, a game clear of third. Having dropped a game against Fremantle last week, other results fell Collingwood's way this round after fellow top four contenders GWS, West Coast and Richmond all lost. Buckley was pleased his side controlled the game defensively even though they were beaten in clearances and contested football. Melbourne had also been unable to punish them on the scoreboard with wayward goal and field kicking.