2019 Round 14: Collingwood 82 Footscray 73

THE FACTS

2019 AFL Round 15 COLLINGWOOD v NORTH MELBOURNE Time & Place: Saturday June 29, 7:25pm Docklands TV: Fox Footy 7:20pm Weather: Min 12 Max 18 Chance of rain: 80% 5-10mm Wind: NNE 22kph Betting: Collingwood $1.28 North Melbourne $3.45

COLLINGWOOD   4.1.25   5.2.32   10.4.64   13.4.82
FOOTSCRAY        4.3.27   5.7.37    7.11.53   10.13.73

GOALS - Collingwood: Reid 3, De Goey 2, Phillips 2, Grundy 2, Cox 2, Brown, Mihocek

BEST - Collingwood: Grundy, Treloar, Crisp, De Goey, Sidebottom, Reid

INJURIES - Collingwood: Howe (calf)

REPORTS - Collingwood: Nil

OFFICIAL CROWD - 39,836 at Docklands

What The Pies Coach Said "That's clearly the worst we've played for a long time. It's not representative of our year. We didn't go anywhere near the way we wanted to play. We want to find out more about ourselves. We want to explore our best football. There's plenty of growth and opportunity within us. I used all my harsh words in the coaches box and at half time." – Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley

Media Clippings AFL COLLINGWOOD has made a habit of winning games this year when not at its best. Of all the habits for a football team to have, this is one you'd choose. And again, that proved the way for the Magpies on Sunday as they eventually shrugged off a persistent and plucky Western Bulldogs outfit to win by nine points. But it wasn't easy. Just when the Pies looked in control of the contest in the second half, the Bulldogs would find a way to strike back. The 13.4 (82) to 10.13 (73) scoreline underpins a tight contest, in one of the Bulldogs' most impressive games of the season, despite the result. It was the outstanding showing of Magpies ruckman Brodie Grundy that perhaps separated the sides, with the star big man collecting 25 disposals and 50 hitouts in a complete performance. He also booted two important goals, including one midway through the last quarter from long range that sealed the Pies' 10th win of the season and should see him awarded another best-afield three votes on Brownlow Medal night. Fox Footy Collingwood’s defence has copped a bad injury blow with interceptor Jeremy Howe limping off against the Western Bulldogs. Howe went off with a suspected calf injury during the second quarter of Sunday’s game and at halftime was ruled out for the remainder of the contest. It’s a case of bad timing for the Magpies with fellow intercepting defender Tom Langdon on the sidelines for an indefinite period. Collingwood News Not many first-year players instantly alter the way their team attacks. For Collingwood, Jaidyn Stephenson was the exception. However, the young Pie's 10-match suspension for betting on AFL matches has forced his club into another reshuffle inside 50 – this one not as welcome as the change he affected when he was recruited to the club with pick No.6 in the 2017 NAB AFL Draft. While the popular opinion had suggested Josh Daicos would claim Stephenson's place in the side, offering the Pies the most like-for-like switch, the club's match committee instead opted for Ben Reid and a three-pronged tall forward line that it had long neglected. Reid's inclusion alongside Mason Cox and Brody Mihocek – as well as Jordan De Goey, who plays above his 188cm frame – might have been decided in large part by the opposition. The Western Bulldogs have an undersized backline and last week struggled against the contested marking of Carlton key forward Charlie Curnow, who kicked seven goals. Regardless, Sunday's nine-point victory – while rather unconvincing – would have given Collingwood's coaching department reason to be optimistic for the future. The Age If Brodie Grundy is playing hurt, the mind boggles at what he might be able to achieve when fully fit. A neck injury almost kept the Collingwood star out of the Queen’s Birthday game against Melbourne a fortnight ago, a match in which he was beaten by fellow ruck ace Max Gawn. But the mid-season freshen-up seems to have done Grundy the world of good. For the second time this season he was the architect in a workmanlike Magpie win over the Western Bulldogs. For what felt like the umpteenth time this season, the Pies only sporadically hit great heights but were defensively resolute enough to withstand a plucky but fundamentally flawed Dogs outfit, who only cut the margin back to single figures with a couple of goals deep into time-on of the final quarter.