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.