2020: LADDER ROUND 4 + REVISED DRAW ROUND 5

Revised Round Five: changes *

Thursday, July 2	STADIUM (NETWORK)	EST	LOCAL
*Carlton vs. St Kilda	Marvel Stadium (SEVEN)	7:40pm	7:40pm
Friday, July 3	STADIUM (NETWORK)	EST	LOCAL
Collingwood vs. Essendon	MCG (SEVEN)	7:50pm	7:50pm
Saturday, July 4	STADIUM (NETWORK)	EST	LOCAL
*West Coast Eagles vs. Sydney Swans	Metricon Stadium (FOX)	1:45pm	1:45pm
Geelong Cats vs. Gold Coast SUNS	GMHBA (FOX)	4:35pm	4:35pm
Western Bulldogs vs. North Melbourne	Marvel Stadium (SEVEN)	7:40pm	7:40pm
Brisbane Lions vs. Port Adelaide	The Gabba (FOX)	7:40pm	7:40pm
Sunday, July 5	STADIUM (NETWORK)	EST	LOCAL
Adelaide Crows vs. Fremantle	Metricon Stadium (FOX)	1:05pm	1:05pm
*Melbourne vs. Richmond	MCG (SEVEN)	3:35pm	3:35pm
GWS GIANTS vs. Hawthorn	Giants Stadium (FOX)	6:10pm	6:10pm

2020 Round 4: GWS 66 Collingwood 64

THE FACTS

2020 AFL Round 5 COLLINGWOOD v ESSENDON Time & Place: Friday July 3, 7:50pm AEST MCG TV: 7mate / Fox Footy Weather: 9° Chance of rain: 25% 0mm Wind: W 13kph Betting: Collingwood $1.44 Essendon $3.30

GWS                         1.3.9   4.4.28   8.6.54   10.6.66
COLLINGWOOD    2.2.14   4.4.28   8.5.53   9.10.64

GOALS - Collingwood: Stephenson 2, Mihocek 2, Phillips 2, Daicos, Crisp, Cox

BEST - Collingwood: Moore, Pendlebury, Howe, Maynard, Crisp, Wills

INJURIES - Collingwood: Howe (right knee)

REPORTS - Collingwood: Nil

OFFICIAL CROWD - 487 at the Sydney Showground

What The Pies Coach Said "His (Jeremy Howe) knee hasn't come out of it that well. We won't see him for a while, I don't think. He's been great, he's a great leader, great player. I'm devastated for him. He puts a lot into his footy, he invests all of himself into it. You are going to lose people as you go along through a season from different times and we will have to cover, and we will. It happens in footy, happens in life - things don't go your way and Howie's pretty devastated at the moment. These guys have been sitting on their heels for quite a while. We've all been taken away from doing the things we love in some shape or form and Howie loves his footy. He wears his heart on his sleeve and he invests everything of himself. We're pretty flat at the moment." – Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley

Media Clippings 7news | AAP Collingwood star Jeremy Howe faces the prospect of months on the sidelines and a complex recovery from two damaged ligaments after suffering a serious injury in Friday night's AFL clash. Howe's right knee twisted in horrible fashion when he clashed with a diving Jacob Hopper at Giants Stadium, souring the Magpies' two-point loss. GWS defender Phil Davis described the incident as "sickening" and he wasn't alone. Teammates and opponents both immediately called for assistance as it became clear that something had gone horribly wrong. Magpies coach Nathan Buckley suggested the in-form defender, who had extended his bright start to the year and was threatening to drag his team to victory on Friday, had likely damaged his medial collateral ligament (MCL) and posterior cruciate ligament (PCL). NEWS.com.au Blood was spilt and hearts were broken after Collingwood once again suffered a nail-biting defeat to the Greater Western Sydney Giants. Last year, Collingwood’s season came to an abrupt end after suffering a narrow four-point loss to the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the preliminary finals. It was a tough pill to swallow for the Magpies, having already defeated minor premiers Geelong in the qualifying final. Fast forward nine months, Collingwood were yet to register a loss in the 2020 season leading into Friday’s match at Giants Stadium, are were eager for revenge. But in a cruel twist of fate, history seemingly repeated itself, with Collingwood conceding another single-digit defeat to the 2019 finalists. The Pies desperately searched for a late winner in the dying moments, but once again, the Giants prevailed, securing a nail-biting 10.6 (66) to 9.10 (64) victory. AFL GREATER Western Sydney has inflicted Collingwood's first defeat this year and avoided a third straight loss to put its season back on track. In a fitting follow-up to their gritty preliminary final clash last year, GWS again withstood a last quarter onslaught to hang on for a 10.6 (66) to 9.10 (64) victory at Giants Stadium. Only four points separated the sides last time as the Giants booked their maiden Grand Final berth, and there was deservedly even less between them on Friday night. The returning Toby Greene was best afield with a match-winning three goals in another entertaining duel with Magpies defender Brayden Maynard, who still did his part for the black and white.  The Age It came right down to the final seconds – just like last year's classic preliminary final between these two teams, although the stakes and the spectacle didn't compare this time around. ... It was Collingwood's first loss of the season and the only blemish on their 2020 record so far, aside from their eerie round-two draw with Richmond. Worse still for Pies fans is the prospect of losing Jeremy Howe for an extended chunk of the season. Howe was involved in a bone-rattling collision with Jacob Hopper in the final term, his knee bending at all sorts of unnatural angles. Howe was helped off the field and took no further part, with coach Nathan Buckley declaring the early diagnosis was that the star backman had injured both his medial and posterior cruciate ligaments.

AFL 2020 Round 4: The Team

2020 AFL Round 4 COLLINGWOOD v GWS Time & Place: Friday June 26, 7:50pm AEST Sydney Showground Stadium TV: 7mate / Fox Footy Weather: Min 9 Max 18 Chance of rain: 60% <1mm Wind: SSW 18kph Betting: Collingwood $1.77 GWS $2.05

B: Jack Crisp, Jordan Roughead, Jeremy Howe

HB: Brayden Maynard, Darcy Moore, John Noble

C: Josh Daicos, Scott Pendlebury, Will Hoskin-Elliott

HF: Jaidyn Stephenson, Brody Mihocek, Callum Brown

F: Jordan De Goey, Mason Cox, Jamie Elliott

Foll: Brodie Grundy, Taylor Adams, Steele Sidebottom

Int: Chris Mayne, Rupert Wills, Tyler Brown, Tom Phillips

Emerg: Jack Madgen, Josh Thomas, Darcy Cameron, Brayden Sier

In: Mason Cox
Out: Darcy Cameron (omitted)

Collingwood News Collingwood has made one change ahead of the round four clash against GWS at Giants Stadium on Friday night. Mason Cox will line-up for his second game of the season, after clunking 13 marks and a goal in a scratch match last week. The 211cm American will provide significant aerial presence down forward against the Giants. Darcy Cameron has been omitted from the side after two games in the black and white. Josh Thomas will travel with the team as emergency, with Jack Madgen, Darcy Cameron and Brayden Sier rounding out the 26-man squad. Senior coach Nathan Buckley will celebrate a milestone on Friday night. Buckley will notch 450 games with the Pies as a player and coach. His record is made up of 260 games as a player and 189 games so far as a coach. He will become the seventh person in VFL/AFL history to notch this mark. The likes of Adam Treloar, Travis Varcoe, Brayden Sier and Isaac Quaynor will contest a scratch match against the Bulldogs over the weekend.

2020: LADDER ROUND 3

NOTE: The Essendon v Melbourne round 3 game was postponed after Bombers defender Conor McKenna returned a positive COVID-19 result on Saturday.

2020 Round 3: Collingwood 81 St Kilda 37

THE FACTS

2020 AFL Round 4 COLLINGWOOD v GWS Time & Place: Friday June 26, 7:50pm AEST Sydney Showground Stadium TV: 7mate / Fox Footy Weather: Min 9 Max 18 Chance of rain: 70% 5-10mm Wind: SW 16kph Betting: Collingwood  $1.88 GWS $1.92

COLLINGWOOD    5.3.33   10.4.64   11.7.73   12.9.81
ST KILDA               2.1.13     4.2.26     5.6.36     5.7.37

GOALS - Collingwood: Stephenson 2, Elliott 2, Mihocek 2, T. Brown 2, Adams 2, Sidebottom, De Goey

BEST - Collingwood: Sidebottom, Grundy, Crisp, Pendlebury, Adams, Maynard

INJURIES - Collingwood: Nil

REPORTS - Collingwood: Nil

OFFICIAL CROWD - 0 at the MCG

What The Pies Coach Said "All I know is he's (Brodie Grundy) playing great footy for us, and really consistent footy. To have won our ‘B and F’ (best and fairest) a couple of years in a row, in really good seasons for the football club, stands as testament on its own. But he's still a relatively young ruckman in ruckman terms, so he's been able to perform pretty well pretty early in his career as a ruckman and he's still got a lot of footy in front of him. That's why we signed him to such a long deal." – Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley

Media Clippings 7news | AAP Collingwood have brought St Kilda back down to earth, with Steele Sidebottom starring in a 44-point AFL win at the MCG. The Saints carried impressive form into Saturday's clash, having humbled the Western Bulldogs last week, but the Magpies led by 20 points at quarter-time and eased to a 12.9 (81) to 5.7 (37) win. Sidebottom led the way with 31 possessions and a goal in a powerful midfield performance, with Scott Pendlebury (26 disposals) and Taylor Adams (19) also important. Brodie Grundy took on Rowan Marshall and Paddy Ryder in the ruck and clearly took the honours with 20 touches and 31 hit-outs.   NEWS.com.au Jaidyn Stephenson returned to the Collingwood line-up on Saturday after missing the first two games of the season and showed just how important he is to the Magpies’ premiership hopes. Stephenson was thrust into the media spotlight last season due to a betting scandal that saw him handed a 10-week suspension, but it was a bout of glandular fever that put his return to the team in doubt as the AFL season returned. After the Magpies struggled during their round two clash against Richmond with only five goals on the scoreboard, the return of Stephenson ignited the powerhouse team who ran in five goals in the opening quarter. AFL COLLINGWOOD has avoided the fate of several other fancied teams in round three, crushing St Kilda by 44 points on Saturday to remain undefeated in season 2020. The Magpies fought out a low-scoring draw with reigning premier Richmond nine days ago but returned to the winner's circle in a 12.9 (81) to 5.7 (37) result at the MCG. On a day rocked by Irish Bomber Conor McKenna's positive COVID-19 test, leading premiership contender Collingwood restored some normality with a largely dominant performance. The Age Collingwood rediscovered their groove to reinforce why they are a premiership threat, delivering a brutal reality check to St Kilda with a 44-point win at the MCG on Saturday. ... Ruckman Brodie Grundy may have been double-teamed by Paddy Ryder and the emerging Rowan Marshall but the superstar Magpie was dominant, particularly in the second term. The Saints booted the opening two goals of the second quarter but the Magpies went on a tear from that moment to turn the contest and open up a 38-point lead that their opponents never recovered from.Grundy had a 22-17 advantage in the ruck by half-time and generated run around the ground. He finished with 20 touches and is a man almost impossible to stop. Typically, Scott Pendlebury (26 touches) and Steele Sidebottom (31) thrived in the midfield as a result of Grundy's brilliance and their own, while Taylor Adams, Jack Crisp and Brayden Maynard also found plenty of the ball.

AFL 2020 Round 3: The Team

2020 AFL Round 3 COLLINGWOOD v ST KILDA Time & Place: Saturday June 20, 4:35pm AEST MCG TV: Fox Footy Weather: Min 11 Max 16 Chance of rain: 80% 1-5mm Wind: N 13kph Betting: Collingwood  $1.45 St Kilda $2.75

B: Jack Crisp, Jordan Roughead, Jeremy Howe

HB: Brayden Maynard, Darcy Moore, John Noble

C: Josh Daicos, Scott Pendlebury, Will Hoskin-Elliott

HF: Jaidyn Stephenson, Brody Mihocek, Callum Brown

F: Jordan De Goey, Darcy Cameron, Jamie Elliott

Foll: Brodie Grundy, Taylor Adams, Steele Sidebottom

Int: Chris Mayne, Rupert Wills, Tyler Brown, Tom Phillips

Emerg: Jack Madgen, Josh Thomas, Mason Cox, Brayden Sier

In: Jaidyn Stephenson, Rupert Wills

Out: Josh Thomas, Jack Madgen (omitted)

Collingwood News Collingwood has made two changes ahead of the round three clash against St Kilda at the MCG on Saturday. Jaidyn Stephenson will make his long-awaited return to the senior side after missing the opening two rounds of the season. Coach Nathan Buckley credited the electric forward's value to the team in a press conference on Thursday. "He's (Stephenson) definitely in our best mix when he's up and about and I think he's ready to go," Buckley said. Unlucky to not feature yet this season, Rupert Wills will provide depth to the midfield with his work around the contest and physical strength. "Rupe's done extremely well, his last month's been really strong. He was probably a little bit stiff to miss round one and was one of the players who came back in really good order off the isolation period,” Buckley said. Brayden Maynard is set to play game 100 on Saturday, with the senior coach applauding his discipline since being drafted to the club in 2014. "He's a great young man. You don't come in as a finished product and you've got to find different ways as you go along and I've been so impressed with his capacity to improve himself gradually and consistently as he's gone along his 100 games,” Buckley said. "His teammates love him, we love his physicality, sometimes his elite skill gets overlooked, he's legitimately tough and he just loves playing for his teammates. He's one of the boys the rest of the group just loves to get around."

2020: LADDER ROUND 2

2020 Round 2: Collingwood 36 Richmond 36

THE FACTS

2020 AFL Round 3 COLLINGWOOD v ST KILDA Time & Place: Saturday June 20, 4:35pm AEST MCG TV: Fox Footy Weather: Min 8 Max 16 Chance of rain: 8% 0mm Wind: WNW 9kph Betting: Collingwood  $1.29 St Kilda $3.50

COLLINGWOOD   4.1.25   5.3.33   5.4.34   5.6.36
RICHMOND             0.1.1   3.1.19    5.2.32   5.6.36

GOALS - Collingwood: Phillips 2, Adams, Sidebottom, C.Brown

BEST - Collingwood: Howe, Pendlebury, Adams, Sidebottom, Phillips, Daicos

INJURIES - Collingwood: Nil

REPORTS - Collingwood: Nil

OFFICIAL CROWD - 0 at the MCG

What The Pies Coach Said "Draws are a hollow feeling at the best of times, but draws in front of no crowd is an interesting feeling. It was that bizarre. 'Dimma' (Damien Hardwick) and I ended up walking side by side through the empty car park basically talking about how crap that feeling is and how we probably are not going to review it and go straight to round three.... Maybe our expectations should be suitably adjusted. The footy will get better as the year progresses. You feel like you are a little bit dumber after watching a game like that don't you?.... We were good early and saw everything we wanted to see and I suppose if you start like that the expectation is you are going to continue. After that] there's a lot that we saw that we don't see as us. It wasn't us executing our brand or playing great footy." – Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley

Media Clippings 7news | AAP AFL heavyweights Collingwood and Richmond played out their first draw in more than 100 years as football made a welcome return at the MCG. Almost three months since the competition went into shutdown, the traditional rivals produced a dour slugfest on Thursday night in slippery conditions. Tigers speedster Shai Bolton had a chance to win the match in a frantic final few minutes, but his kick on the run from 50m dropped short and was knocked through for a behind. The teams finished locked on 5.6 (36) apiece in what was only the second draw of their long and illustrious history - the first was in 1917. Fox Footy The footy is back. Well, some form of it, anyway. For a while, Thursday night’s AFL season relaunch game between Collingwood and Richmond felt fine. Normal, even. The Magpies were impressive in the opening quarter, playing their ball control, kick-mark game and earning a four-goal lead at the first break. Then they stopped - and still took premiership points from the night. Perhaps the best summation of it all came from Collingwood midfielder Taylor Adams on K-Rock radio post-match. “The game was too short,” he said. AFL EIGHTY-ONE days had passed since an AFL game was last played but there will have to be at least one more to celebrate a winner. Flag fancies Collingwood and Richmond had to settle for a draw at the MCG on Thursday night in a 10-goal slugfest that saw both sides enjoy periods of domination. It was just the second draw between the mighty clubs, with the first 103 years ago – arguably a fitting result in this unique, COVID-19-impacted season.. The Age Football was not supposed to be about attrition when the games like the season were abbreviated. Shorter quarters, shorter games be damned, what a welcome back for football. This was a low scoring, patient, tactical, tight, gritty, desperate game and deserving of 100,000 people. In the event it had everything but a crowd. It still felt in the ground like a TAC Cup game at 8am. Collingwood led from the third minute of the game until the third last when a rushed behind drew scores level. For three desperate minutes the teams rolled and fought. If "iso" wasn't frustrating enough, a draw must have felt desperately unsatisfying. Richmond were unable to score for one quarter, Collingwood unable to score for nearly three quarters. A game of just 10 goals between them.

AFL 2020 Round 2: The Team

AFL 2020 Round 2 COLLINGWOOD v RICHMOND Time & Place: Thursday June 11, 7:40pm AEST MCG TV: 7mate / Fox Footy Weather: Min 6 Max 15 Chance of rain: 5% <1mm Wind: W 2kph Betting: Collingwood $2.30 Richmond $1.62

B: Jack Crisp, Jordan Roughead, Jeremy Howe

HB: Brayden Maynard, Darcy Moore, John Noble

C: Will Hoskin-Elliott, Scott Pendlebury, Chris Mayne

HF: Tom Phillips, Brody Mihocek, Callum Brown

F: Jordan De Goey, Darcy Cameron, Jamie Elliott

Foll: Brodie Grundy, Taylor Adams, Steele Sidebottom

Int: Josh Daicos, Josh Thomas, Tyler Brown, Jack Madgen

Emerg: Jaidyn Stephenson, Rupert Wills, Mason Cox, Jay Rantall

New: Darcy Cameron

Collingwood News Eighty days too long, but we’re finally back. Collingwood will blood a new Magpie in round two with Darcy Cameron pulling on the black and white against Richmond at the MCG on Thursday night. It will be the 24-year-old’s second AFL game, after featuring in one outing for Sydney before being traded to the Magpies last season. Coach Nathan Buckley revealed on Tuesday that Cameron would be a confirmed starter after Mason Cox had been battling a knee issue leading into round 2 and missed vital match simulation in recent weeks. “It provides the opportunity for Darcy, who has come to us and been enormous in the ruck a lot against Brodes, but has challenged our key forwards as well,” Buckley said. “We love the way that he’s gone about it and the boys are pumped that he’s going to get his chance. “Darcy’s major attribute is his aerial strength. His ruck work is definitely something that’s clear to see, and coming along into our program and seeing Brodie and Darcy go head to head in the ruck has really lifted Brodie’s standards.” The moment @ncb_cfc announced to the group that Darcy Cameron is making his debut in the black and white. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/Rl78e2gQQv — Collingwood FC (@CollingwoodFC) June 9, 2020  COVID-19 restrictions mean that Scott Pendlebury's usual match day preparations will be slightly different ahead of the blockbuster clash. "It's a little bit different. Usually after training today a few of the boys would grab lunch at a café and sit there and chill out," Pendlebury said. "That usually signifies the game is the next day so those little habits that you're used to over 15 years of time changes. Today I'll probably go home and have lunch at an empty house by myself." Collingwood's four emergencies are Jaidyn Stephenson, Rupert Wills, Mason Cox, Jay Rantall. Adam Treloar and Tom Langdon were unavailable for selection.