2020: LADDER ROUND 8

2020 Round 8: West Coast 111 Collingwood 45

THE FACTS

2020 AFL Round 9 COLLINGWOOD v FREMANTLE Time & Place: Sunday August 2, 6:10 PM AEST Perth Stadium TV: Fox Footy Weather: 9°-18° Chance of rain: 0% 0mm Wind: ENE 26kph Betting: Collingwood TBC Fremantle TBC

WEST COAST          2.0.12    7.2.44   13.2.80   18.3.111
COLLINGWOOD      4.2.26    5.3.33     5.6.36       6.9.45

GOALS - Collingwood: Cameron 2, Hoskin-Elliott 2, Elliott, Daicos

BEST - Collingwood: Adams, Treloar, Crisp, Quaynor

INJURIES - Collingwood: Pendlebury (quad) replaced in selected side by Bosenavulagi

REPORTS - Collingwood: Nil

OFFICIAL CROWD - 24,824 at Perth Stadium

What The Pies Coach Said “I commented in the box, we played our Washington Generals role really well today to the West Coast Globetrotters. They looked like they grew in confidence and in dare. They were really clean in everything they did and we were the opposite. That’s an outlier performance for us as a team and an outlier performance for the games we’ve seen in 2020. They’ve rarely been that one-sided and it only happens when one side is right on and one side is right off.” – Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley

Media Clippings Daily Telegraph West Coast re-emerged as a leading premiership threat on Sunday night, slicing through Collingwood’s vaunted defence to win by 66-points in a ruthless performance at Optus Stadium. The injury-hit Magpies conceded their highest score of the season, giving up an early 20-point lead before losing 18.3 (111) to 6.9 (45) as the Eagles burst into the top four. West Coast made their move in a scintillating third quarter, kicking six unanswered goals as their star-studded midfield made short work of the Magpies’ onball brigade, which was missing captain Scott Pendlebury, who suffered calf tightness minutes before the first bounce. West Coast produced their best football this season on the back of champion forward Josh Kennedy, who booted an AFL season-high seven goals, ruckman Nic Naitanui, and star recruit Tim Kelly (30 disposals and six clearances). It was a reality check for the Magpies, whose only goal for the second half came with two minutes to play. Fox Footy West Coast have put in a masterful display to defeat Collingwood by 66 points, 18.3 (111) to 6.9 (45), at Optus Stadium on Sunday. Collingwood got off to a flying start in the first quarter, but a superb performance from Nic Naitanui in the ruck and a seven-goal performance from Josh Kennedy in the forward line overwhelmed the Pies. The Pies were hit by the loss of skipper Scott Pendlebury just minutes before the opening bounce due to quad tightness, while the Eagles were without Jeremy McGovern after a late change. The Pies brought in Atu Bosenavulagi, who had to complete a warm-up in the changerooms before emerging onto the sidelines to get ready to go onto the field. Darcy Cameron booted the first goal for the Pies after a 50-metre penalty, before a roving Nic Naitanui snapped and scored for the Eagles. Cameron scored again for the Pies as part of a four goal opening term against West Coast, who managed just two. The Eagles roared back into the contest in the second quarter, with Josh Kennedy kicking his fourth goal of the half to give his side the lead. Picking up where they left off in the third quarter, the Eagles kicked a couple of quick goals to extend their lead, before piling on the next four goals, keeping Collingwood to just three behinds and entering three-quarter time with a 44-point lead. AFL Brodie Grundy must have felt like he was on the receiving end of another West Coast double act… just like the 2018 Grand Final. Well beaten by Scott Lycett and Nathan Vardy that day, the dual Virgin Australia All-Australian was taken apart by Nic Naitanui and Oscar Allen on Sunday. The Eagles won the clearances 32-24 and Grundy collected just 10 disposals – well down on his season average of 17. As Nic Naitanui pulled out the party tricks in the third term, it forced the Pies to throw its team around and start Grundy in attack in the fourth quarter. With the Pies' next four games inside 14 days, it will be interesting to see how they manage their star big man.  The Age The injury–ravaged Pies were dealt a cruel blow in the lead up to opening siren, losing captain Scott Pendlebury to a quad injury. Already missing Jordan de Goey, Jeremy Howe and Steele Sidebottom (among others), Collingwood could ill afford to lose the class of Pendlebury in the midfield. He completed the warm up, but went down to the rooms just before the teams started to spread out to start the game. The late swap for Atu Bosenavulagi must have been very close to the end of allowed time that a change could have taken place.

AFL 2020 Round 8: The Team

2020 AFL Round 8 COLLINGWOOD v WC EAGLES Time & Place: Sunday July 26, 3:35pm AEST Perth Stadium TV: 7mate / Fox Sports Weather: 12°-23° Chance of rain: 30% <1mm Wind: NNW 10kph Betting: Collingwood $2.25 WC Eagles $1.65

B: Jack Crisp, Jordan Roughead, Isaac Quaynor
 
HB: Brayden Maynard, Darcy Moore, John Noble

C: Tom Phillips, Scott Pendlebury, Chris Mayne

HF: Jaidyn Stephenson, Brody Mihocek, Callum Brown

F: Josh Daicos, Will Hoskin-Elliott, Jamie Elliott

Foll: Brodie Grundy, Taylor Adams, Adam Treloar

Extended Int: Josh Thomas, Rupert Wills, Matt Scharenberg, Ben Reid, Brayden Sier, Atu Bosenavulagi, Jack Madgen, Darcy Cameron

In:  Josh Thomas, Matt Scharenberg, Ben Reid, Brayden Sier, Jack Madgen, Darcy Carmeron
Out: Jordan De Goey (finger), Travis Varcoe (ribs)

Collingwood News Collingwood will make at least two changes for the blockbuster clash against West Coast on Sunday. Jordan De Goey comes out of the line-up after having finger surgery on Friday, while Travis Varcoe will miss round eight with a rib issue. Among the possible inclusions are Josh Thomas, Matt Scharenberg, Ben Reid, Brayden Sier, Jack Madgen, Darcy Carmeron. The Magpies’ team of 22 will be finalised on Friday at 5pm.

AFL 2020: Revised Season Rounds 9 - 12

Collingwood is to play four games in 13 days under the AFL's revised schedule for rounds 9 to 12.

Round 9 Collingwood v Fremantle Sunday 2 August 6.10pm AEST Perth Stadium TV: 7mate / Fox Footy	Round 10 Collingwood v Sydney Thursday 6 August 5.40pm AEST The Gabba TV: 7mate / Fox Footy
Round 11 Collingwood v Adelaide Tuesday 11 August 7.10PM AEST Adelaide Oval TV: Fox Footy	Round 12 Collingwood v Melbourne Saturday 15 August, 5.10PM AEST The Gabba TV: Fox Footy

2020: LADDER ROUND 7

2020 Round 7: Collingwood 57 Geelong 35

THE FACTS

2020 AFL Round 8 COLLINGWOOD v WC EAGLES Time & Place: Sunday July 26, 3:35pm AEST Perth Stadium TV: 7mate / Fox Sports Weather: 10°-19° Chance of rain: 66% 4mm Wind: SW 20kph Betting: Collingwood TBC WC Eagles TBC

COLLINGWOOD    2.2.14   4.3.27   5.7.37   8.9.57
GEELONG               1.1.7     1.3.9    3.5.23   5.5.35

GOALS - Collingwood: De Goey 5, Adams, Daicos, Hoskin-Elliott

BEST - Collingwood: De Goey, Treloar, Moore, Pendlebury, Maynard, Adams

INJURIES - Collingwood: Nil

REPORTS - Collingwood: Nil

OFFICIAL CROWD - 22,077 at Perth Stadium

What The Pies Coach Said "We were looking for a little bit of legs in our midfield late in the game because 'Jordy' (Jordan De Goey) was so dangerous forward of the ball. That decision worked in our favour in both ways. 'Crispy' (Jack Crisp) got going and Jordy was able to finish for us. But [De Goey] and Jamie Elliott have given us that bite around clearance and centre bounce and we know they can do midfield minutes but they're both really dangerous forwards as well. Jordy's probably a frustrated midfielder. And he'd like to be there ultimately, and I think we see him in that capacity in the medium term. But right now, when he's kicking five goals in a shortened game in a low scoring year, we'll take that."  – Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley

Media Clippings Daily Telegraph No team has scored more than Geelong in 2020, but the attacking Cats were strangled by Collingwood, which cemented its status as the best defensive team in the AFL. The Magpies made defence exhilarating to watch on Thursday night in their 22-point win at Optus Stadium, attacking the ball-carrier ferociously and restricting the Cats to their lowest score this season. Nathan Buckley’s midfielders were prolific, led by Adam Teloar, Scott Pendlebury and Taylor Adams, and superstar forward Jordan De Goey was sharp on return, kicking five goals. But it was the 66-47 tackle count, and rock-solid defence that showed these Magpies really mean business. Prime mover Treloar said the Pies were prepared for wet-weather footy and had a little help from a De Goey special. “The whole day it was raining, we knew it was going to be wet-weather footy, and in the past couple of games we’ve played when it’s been wet, we’ve been prone to overhandballing the ball and not taking yardage,” Treloar said on Fox Footy. “From the get-go, the aim was to win the yardage battle, get the ball going forward, especially to our forwards one-on-one, and you can see what guys like Jordan De Goey can do when he is out one-on-one. He comes down and kicks five goals, so the boys are really pleased with the win tonight." Fox Footy Two-time North Melbourne premiership player David King believes the writing could be on the wall for Mason Cox after he was dumped ahead of the Magpies’ clash with Geelong on Thursday night. With star Jordan De Goey stepping up in his absence to boot five goals in Collingwood’s victory, King believes Buckley may have found the perfect formula to success inside forward 50. Cox has booted four goals from four games this season, struggling with poor form and injuries in 2020. “Sometimes you stumble across things by accident, are they better off just having him as a deep forward target and not going back to the well with Mason Cox?” King said on Fox Footy’s The First Crack. “I think so. Bucks said ‘De Goey is a frustrated midfielder’, but they’ve got enough mids. They don’t need him in the midfield,” St Kilda great Leigh Montagna added. AFL HIS FIRST goal came in the opening two minutes and his fifth came in the last of the game. And in between, Jordan De Goey led Collingwood to a comprehensive win over Geelong to once again underline the Magpies' premiership credentials. Geelong entered Thursday night's clash at Optus Stadium as the competition's highest scoring team, but it was the Magpies who put on the afterburners, running away with the 22-point win in the final term. De Goey was central to things after returning to the Collingwood line-up for his first game since he was charged with indecent assault relating to an incident in 2015. The out-of-contract forward was the difference between the sides, but not the only facet of the Pies' 8.9 (57) to 5.5 (35) win given their control of the midfield and backline.The Pies are the AFL's  best defensive team and again their backline stacked up by keeping the Cats to their lowest score since 2001.  The Age The great wall of Collingwood has claimed another victim. The Pies moved to second on the ladder on Thursday night, beating Geelong in front of more than 22,000 at Perth's Optus Stadium and restricting their opponents to fewer than 40 points for the fifth time in seven matches this season. Back after missing a match following his indecent assault charge, Jordan De Goey was the difference, while the Cats' pain was worsened by the loss of captain Joel Selwood (hamstring) and youngster Jordan Clark (shoulder). After an indifferent start to the season, De Goey played easily his best match of the campaign.

AFL 2020 Round 7: The Team

2020 AFL Round 7 COLLINGWOOD v GEELONG Time & Place: Thursday July 16, 8:10pm AEST Perth Stadium TV: 7mate / Fox Footy Weather: 12°-21° Chance of rain: 90% 5-10mm Wind: NW 28kph Betting: Collingwood $1.74 Geelong $2.10

B: Jack Crisp, Jordan Roughead, Isaac Quaynor

HB: Brayden Maynard, Darcy Moore, Chris Mayne

C: Tom Phillips, 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, Adam Treloar

Int: Travis Varcoe, Rupert Wills, Atu Bosenavulagi, Josh Daicos

Emerg: Darcy Cameron, Josh Thomas, John Noble, Jack Madgen

In: Jordan De Goey, Josh Daicos
Out: Will Kelly (elbow), Matt Scharenberg (ribs)

Collingwood News Collingwood has made two changes against Geelong. Jordan De Goey returns to the Pies line-up after dealing with off-field matters that saw him miss round six. De Goey replaces the injured Will Kelly, who had elbow surgery in Melbourne on Tuesday. Nathan Buckley believes the 24-year-old is in a good head space to attack the Cats. “Physically he's in great shape and mentally and emotionally he seems good,” Buckley said. Josh Daicos returns after an ankle sprain saw him pull out of the clash against Hawthorn. After an impressive return to senior football, Matt Scharenberg will miss the blockbuster clash after sustaining a knock to the ribs in the final stages of the fourth term against Hawthorn.

2020: LADDER ROUND 6

2020 Round 6: Collingwood 59 Hawthorn 27

THE FACTS

2020 AFL Round 7 COLLINGWOOD v GEELONG Time & Place: Thursday July 16, 8:10pm AEST Perth Stadium TV: 7mate / Fox Footy Weather: 10°-19° Chance of rain: 90% 10-20mm Wind: NNW 27kph Betting: Collingwood $1.75 Geelong $2.10

COLLINGWOOD    5.1.31   6.5.41   7.8.50     8.11.59
HAWTHORN            1.0.6   2.1.13   2.2.14       3.9.27

GOALS - Collingwood: Mihocek 4, Hoskin-Elliott 2, Kelly, Cox

BEST - Collingwood: Treloar, Moore, Mihocek, Elliott, Wills, Pendlebury

INJURIES - Collingwood: Kelly (left elbow), Elliott (shin), Scharenberg (ribs)

REPORTS - Collingwood: Nil

OFFICIAL CROWD - Sydney Showground Stadium TBC

What The Pies Coach Said "Coming to Sydney and being away from families is not easy for all our people, players and staff, but it came at a pretty good time for us. We were really literally in a bubble and a lot of the focus and speculation and opinion that has taken place back in Melbourne didn't really get to us. And with Steele and Jordy over in Perth, those guys are already there and preparing to contribute as best they possibly can It was a good solid week for us just to knuckle down on what's important for us on he field. The fact that the boys were able to spend more time together. We were around each other's space a little more than the last couple of weeks since coming back to training: it felt more normal." – Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley

Media Clippings 7news | AAP Brody Mihocek has produced a career-best equalling goalkicking effort as Collingwood returned to the AFL winners list against an inept Hawthorn side, with the luckless Jon Patton making a miserable return to his old home ground. Coming off consecutive losses, and dealing with off-field distractions, the Pies kicked the first three goals and dominated a horribly out-of-sorts Hawthorn to win 8.11 (59) to 3.9 (27) at Giants Stadium in Sydney on Friday. The Hawks scored just 2.1 in the first half and had only 14 points by three-quarter time. It was the lowest score Hawthorn have kicked in coach Alastair Clarkson's lengthy tenure as coach, which stretches back to 2005. The win lifted Collingwood six places to fourth while Hawthorn remain outside the top eight. Mihocek bagged a four-goal haul for the eighth time in his career as Collingwood moved the ball better than they have managed in recent weeks, especially in the first half. NEWS.com.au Hawthorn has sent AFL historians reaching for their record books after the club crashed to a 94-year low in a nightmare loss to Collingwood. Hawthorn has crashed to its lowest score since 1964 after they were belted on and off the field against Collingwood on Friday night. The Hawks failed to turn up and registered their lowest three-quarter time score since the 1926 season, 94 years ago. The Pies ran rings around the sluggish Hawks and appeared to put the cue in the rack in the fourth quarter before the siren sounded on an 8.11 (59) to 3.9 (27) thumping. The Hawks were just 2.2 (14) after three quarters — the second lowest total shots on goal after three quarters in the history of the club. AFL Now that's how you put a difficult fortnight behind you. Off-field controversies have besieged Collingwood, which couldn't even fall back on the team's form, given a pair of losses dampened what was a bright start to this strangest of seasons.  Throw in Jeremy Howe's potentially season-ending injury and it's been a rough period for Nathan Buckley's team, which has designs on the premiership.  None of it mattered in Sydney on Friday night as the new-look Magpies roared out of the blocks with five of the first six goals to put an impotent Hawthorn line-up to the sword.  The Hawks' response never came and the match was effectively over by half-time, with Collingwood posting an 8.11 (59) to 3.9 (27) victory that temporarily propels them inside the top four. The Age If Collingwood are supposedly experts at attracting scandal off the field then it checks out they are good at responding to them on the field. With Jordan De Goey facing indecent assault charges, Steele Sidebottom breaching COVID-19 restrictions and the Heritier Lumumba investigation ongoing (not to mention president Eddie McGuire's penchant for speaking out), fans of the black and white were desperate for positive headlines. Luckily for them the 22 players that ran out in those colours on Friday night released the pressure. Nathan Buckley's Magpies got a vital win over Hawthorn and displayed firstly a marked improvement from the pitfalls that cost them the week before and secondly, notched a rare win over the Hawks, who before Friday had defeated the Pies 12 of 13 times since the 2011 preliminary final. Collingwood did well at pushing the game into the contest and refusing Hawthorn enough opportunity to meaningfully control the ball on the outside with their kick and mark style. Then, when Collingwood had the ball, they were far more direct with it as opposed to the patchy and handball-heavy game that got them into trouble against Essendon last week.

AFL 2020 Round 6: The Team

2020 AFL Round 6 COLLINGWOOD v HAWTHORN Time & Place: Friday July 10, 7:50pm AEST Sydney Showground Stadium TV: 7mate / Fox Footy Weather: 10° - 19° Chance of rain: 80% 1-5mm Wind: NNE 13kph Betting: Collingwood $1.65 Hawthorn $2.25

B: Jack Crisp, Jordan Roughead, Matt Scharenberg

HB: Brayden Maynard, Darcy Moore, Isaac Quaynor

C: Tom Phillips, Scott Pendlebury, Will Hoskin-Elliott

F: Jaidyn Stephenson, Brody Mihocek, Callum Brown

F: Will Kelly, Mason Cox, Jamie Elliott

Foll: Brodie Grundy, Taylor Adams, Adam Treloar

Int: Travis Varcoe, Rupert Wills, Chris Mayne, Atu Bosenavulagi
Emerg: Darcy Cameron, Josh Thomas, Brayden Sier, John Noble

In: Will Kelly, Isaac Quaynor, Atu Bosenavulagi
Out: Jordan De Goey (unavailable), Josh Daicos (ankle), Tyler Brown (omitted)

New: Will Kelly, Atu Bosenavulagi

Collingwood News Collingwood will blood promising forwards Will Kelly and Atu Bosenavulagi against Hawthorn on Friday night. Kelly will follow in his famous father Craig's footsteps, who was part of the 1990 premiership and played 122 games for the club between 1989 and 1996. The 19-year-old was bound for the Pies as a father-son selection at No.29 in the 2018 draft. Senior coach Nathan Buckley has been rapt with his development since moving down forward last year. "Moving him forward late last year we think has been a good move, and his form’s been that consistent that he’s warranted his opportunity on Friday night," Buckley said. "A player who although he’s got good size moves around really well, very agile, work rate through the roof, a young fella that’s earned his opportunity. "The players are pumped to see him get his chance." It will be a historical moment for the club, with father-son selections in Callum Brown, Darcy Moore and Kelly lining up together for the first time. The Magpies picked up Bosenavulagi with selection No.77 in the 2018 draft, the exciting small forward has impressed in recent scratch matches with his defensive pressure and ability to hit the scoreboard. Born in Fiji, the former Australian rugby sevens junior representative was a member of Collingwood’s Next Generation Academy. Performance and Strategy Manager, Marcus Wagner applauds the the club's efforts within the program that focuses on targeting multicultural or Indigenous backgrounds. "It's a credit to our Next Generation Academy program in Craig Black and Mitch Cook who have put in considerable work to have these players ready for AFL standard." After playing four games in his debut season, defender Isaac Quaynor comes back into the side for Tyler Brown. Josh Daicos will miss Friday night with an ankle sprain sustained at training during the week. Our emergencies for the clash are Darcy Cameron, Josh Thomas, Brayden Sier, John Noble.

Fox Footy Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley has insisted his side is “not going as bad as what you guys are telling us”, confident the club has been able to separate its off-field issues from its on-field performance. The Pies take on Hawthorn at GIANTS Stadium on Friday night, with Collingwood coming off two losses in a row and facing external focus after Steele Sidebottom’s Covid-19 breaches, Jordan De Goey’s indecent assault charge and a review of Héritier Lumumba’s racism claims. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Buckley said the club was a far more cohesive unit internally than was being portrayed externally. “It might seem from the outside there’s a lot going on but I would say we are addressing all of these issues," he said. “We constantly are addressing how we can be better and how we can provide a better environment... at various times in a cycle you’re going to be more exposed than other times and there’s going to be more commentary around you. “All we can do is make the next best decision as we go on. The group that we’ve got around us here are trying to make the next best decision, trying to support each other as best we can and see if we can increase our performance on-field in the short term and be a better club for ourselves and for our supporters as we go on.” The Collingwood coach also said the side’s on-field form was not as poor as some may think after a two-point loss to GWS and 15-point loss to Essendon. “We’ve lost two games of footy in a row but if you break it down, I think the criticism that we’re facing for our on-field performances blends into a little bit the off-field issues, but we’re able to separate that,” he said. “We understand that our performance last week wasn’t what we wanted but we’re not going as bad as what you guys are telling us we are, but in the end we’ve got to perform on Friday night, that’s all that matters.” Asked for his thoughts on club president Eddie McGuire’s comments around Covid-19 breaches, Buckley said McGuire was fully entitled to his views. “Ed, as the president, is entitled the make whatever comments he wishes about the football club at any time,” he said. “He does find himself in front of a microphone or camera quite often given his role but the actual football program ... we operate quite separate to the board.”

2020: LADDER ROUND 5

2020 Round 5: Essendon 63 Collingwood 48

THE FACTS

2020 AFL Round 6 COLLINGWOOD v HAWTHORN Time & Place: Friday July 10, 7:50pm AEST Sydney Showground Stadium TV: 7mate / Fox Footy Weather: 10° Chance of rain: 0% 0.0mm Wind: SW 4kph Betting: Collingwood $1.78 Hawthorn $2.05

ESSENDON            3.0.18   5.0.30   8.2.50   10.3.63
COLLINGWOOD    3.0.18   3.1.19   3.5.23     7.6.48

GOALS - Collingwood: Stephenson 3, Brown, Daicos, Mihocek, Varcoe

BEST - Collingwood: Treloar, Maynard, Daicos, Stephenson, Pendlebury

INJURIES - Collingwood: Nil

REPORTS - Collingwood: Nil

OFFICIAL CROWD - 0 at the MCG

What The Pies Coach Said "We didn’t play like we did in the first 10 minutes for the whole game. We got smacked at clearance … we got out-worked inside and Phillips battled well against Brodie and at ground level we weren’t able to win those 50-50 contests and the general momentum of play was inevitably going Essendon’s way. The last few months we have scored in chunks and haven’t scored for large parts of the game but that is nearly consistent with what we see across the comp. Cold comfort thought. The opposition brought more energy than we did … they out-tackled us, out-worked us inside and that generally gave their backs a little more time."  – Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley

Media Clippings 7news | AAP Nathan Buckley refused to make excuses after Collingwood's off-field week from hell was compounded by a 15-point defeat to fierce rivals Essendon on Friday night. The Pies' week got off to a horror start when vice-captain Steele Sidebottom and Lynden Dunn were suspended for breaches of AFL coronavirus protocols. And it got worse when they wasted a three-goal head start against the Bombers at the MCG and were held goalless for two and a half quarters before falling short in a final-quarter comeback. But Magpies coach Buckley said the external focus on Sidebottom, in particular, and the events that saw the All-Australian midfielder cop a four-week ban had no effect on the team's preparation or performance. "There's a fair bit happening in the environment and we've been pretty good at drawing the line between what happens during the week and what happens off-field and then what we do on-field," Magpies coach Buckley said. "So there's no excuses from our behalf in regards to that, we just weren't good enough tonight." NEWS.com.au Essendon’s see-sawing win over Collingwood has been overshadowed by a boiling score review farce that saw Jordan De Goey robbed of a goal. There were fears the controversial call could have proven decisive as Collingwood made a late fightback in a tense final quarter. The Bombers eventually responded to the Pies late charge by kicking the last two goals of the match after there had been less than a kick in it with five minutes to play. Essendon talls Jake Stringer and Andrew Phillips starred for the Dons as they held on for a 10.3 (63) to 7.6 (48). With the Pies desperately needing a spark in a barren third term, De Goey appeared to have given it to them when he found some space and kicked long to an open goal square. His kick saw the Sherrin land on the goal line before it took a rude turn sideways straight towards the goal posts. Unfortunately, the goal umpire was backtracking in the same direction and found himself wedged between the ball and the post. The ball eventually bounced into the goal umpire before it dribbled to the ground and back out of the goal mouth. The tough decision was sent to the score review after the goal umpire claimed he believed the kick was a goal if not for his interference. However, replays proved inconclusive with the ball failing to cross the line completely before it made contact with the official. AFL FOR SO long Essendon has been a side full of style. But its win over Collingwood on Friday night was one of substance. After last week's lacklustre defeat to Carlton, the Bombers struck back by beating Collingwood by 15 points at the MCG in a boilover. The Bombers didn't do it without a scare, though, having led by 28 points early in the last term. That was whittled back to three points midway through the last term after a flurry of Collingwood goals, however late majors to Jacob Townsend and Dylan Shiel sealed the 10.3 (63) to 7.6 (48) win. The Age Essendon, pipped by one ancient foe last weekend, have scored the club's most significant and satisfying victory of the season to date, surviving a belated Collingwood surge to win a critical game. In their first victory over the Magpies in three seasons, the Bombers withstood a Magpie fightback in the final quarter to move to 3-1 and will enter the "hub'' period with buoyant spirits. Dealing with a three-goal deficit and a rampant opposition, the Bombers transformed their fortunes by reeling off the next eight consecutive goals to set up their most impressive and important win of 2020. Essendon, underwhelming against the Blues, took control from the latter stages of the first quarter, wiping off that three-goal deficit to build a 27-point three-quarter-time lead, as an impotent and indirect Collingwood remained anchored on the same goal tally from the first term. The Pies, finally taking a direct route to goal rather than going via the cape, then booted four consecutive goals to edge within three points, one from a terrible decision that handed a goal to Callum Brown via a not-very-dangerous tackle. Challenged, the Dons booted the next two goals to secure victory – Jacob Townsend converting from a holding-the-ball free against Darcy Moore, and Dylan Shiel, probably best afield, adding the sealer from a snap to make the final margin 15 points. The Bombers were cleaner, more purposeful and had a greater hunger for the ball, while applying heat for the majority of the game. They had an unexpected hero in Andrew Phillips, the former Carlton ruckman, who rose to the challenge against Brodie Grundy to help the Dons gain an edge in clearances.

AFL 2020 Round 5: The Team

2020 AFL Round 5 COLLINGWOOD v ESSENDON Time & Place: Friday July 3, 7:50pm AEST MCG TV: 7mate / Fox Footy Weather: Min 7 Max 11 Chance of rain: 80% 5-10mm Wind: WSW 14kph Betting: Collingwood $1.39 Essendon $3.00

B: Jack Crisp, Jordan Roughead, Matt Scharenberg

HB: Brayden Maynard, Darcy Moore, Chris Mayne

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, Adam Treloar

Int: Travis Varcoe, Rupert Wills, Tyler Brown, Tom Phillips

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

In: Matt Scharenberg, Adam Trealor, Travis Varcoe
Out: Jeremy Howe (knee), John Noble (omitted), Steele Sidebottom (suspended)

Collingwood News Collingwood has made three changes ahead of the round five clash against Essendon at the MCG on Friday night. Adam Treloar will make his first appearance of 2020, with senior coach Nathan Buckley declaring the star midfielder “ready to go” in his press conference on Tuesday. “He’s been in good form and we asked him to play that extra game last week to bulletproof him going forward,” Buckley said on Tuesday. “He hasn’t missed a step so he’s ready to go.” Matt Scharenberg and Travis Varcoe are set to play their first game of the season, with the pair replacing the injured Jeremy Howe and John Noble (omitted). Steele Sidebottom comes out of the side after being suspended for breaching the AFL's Return to Play protocols. Our emergencies are Josh Thomas, Brayden Sier, Darcy Cameron, Jack Madgen.

ABC News The AFL has banned Collingwood's Steele Sidebottom for four matches after he breached the league's COVID-19 protocols last weekend. His Magpies teammate Lynden Dunn received a one-match suspension. Sidebottom and Dunn broke AFL protocols by taking an Uber late on Saturday night following a visit to the house of injured defender Jeremy Howe. After dropping off Dunn, Sidebottom then took the Uber to the house of Magpies staff member Daniel Wells, which was another breach given that Wells is not part of Collingwood's COVID-19-compliant bubble. Police then found Sidebottom intoxicated in the Melbourne suburb of Williamstown on Sunday morning, which was factored into his sanction, before he was driven home.