COLLINGWOOD 6.2.38 12.6.78 16.10.106 21.14.140
ST KILDA 6.3.39 7.4.46 8.6.54 10.6.66
SCORERS - Collingwood: Cloke (5.4), Elliott (4.0), Dwyer (2.2), Swan (1.1), Varcoe (1.1), White (1.1), Blair (1.0), Broomhead (1.0), Crisp (1.0), Gault (1.0), Grundy (1.0), Karnezis (1.0), Oxley (1.0)
BEST - Collingwood: Swan, Elliott, Oxley, Pendlebury, Grundy, Crisp, Cloke
INJURIES - Collingwood: Adams (foot) replaced in selected side by Karnezis
SUBSTITUTES - Collingwood: Nathan Brown replaced by Patrick Karnezis in the third quarter
REPORTS: Nil
OFFICIAL CROWD: 45,197 at the MCG
| 1. A week is a long week in football Just over a week ago, the Magpies were made to look like an amateur team by Adelaide and desperately struggled to hit targets. On the same day, the Saints demolished Gold Coast – a team heavily tipped to break into the top eight this season. After managing to stick with the Pies in the first quarter on Friday night, the Saints were in a different league with their midfield dominated in the second, leaving them to watch their opponents motor away to a 32-point lead that grew sizeably as the game wore on, the Pies finishing with a whopping 77 inside 50s and 13 individual goal-kickers for the night. Which begs the question – how bad were the Suns last week? 2. Cloke's calamity Levi Casboult's kicking dominated footy talk last weekend after the big Blue's erratic, unattractive kicking left his coach Mick Malthouse at a loss for words to describe one of his shots at goal. A week later, it might be Travis Cloke's turn to hog the headlines. Cloke terrorised opponents ranging from Luke Delaney to Sam Fisher to Sean Dempster on Friday night with his size and strength, but he had a challenging night, with five goals and four missed sitters. In true Cloke form, he showed how well he can kick when he relaxes outside the 50m arc or when he doesn't have time to think about it in close, but also how badly he can battle when he lines up well within range. 3. Not St Paddy's day No.1 draft pick Paddy McCartin's call up for his first AFL game after Nick Riewoldt withdrew was so unexpected that his parents Matt and Jo had to make mad dashes to the MCG to be there for their son. Matt told ABC Radio he abandoned his car at Southbank and ran to the ground after hearing the news, while Jo jumped in the car with other sons Charles and Tom and hotfooted it from their Geelong home, having to encounter Melbourne-bound traffic over the West Gate Bridge. Matt made it to the rooms for McCartin's jumper presentation and Jo and co. got to the ground soon after. Unfortunately, it wasn't the highly-touted forward's night as he struggled to get himself into the right positions and found it hard to maintain a cohesive forward set up with Tim Membrey and Josh Bruce. He ended with nine disposals and three marks, was rotated heavily, and will no doubt remember Jack Frost giving him plenty of physical attention away from the ball. |
4. No Nick There were three players going into the game under injury clouds – Riewoldt, Scott Pendlebury and Taylor Adams - but when the team sheets were lodged 90 minutes before the bounce, Adams was the only scratching. But about half an hour later, the left calf that Riewoldt so diligently tested out at training on Thursday afternoon began to trouble him to the extent he pulled out of the game. The Saints' captain, who hasn't missed a game through injury since 2012, was given until the last moment to declare himself fit but rather than risk tweaking the calf and making it worse, he opted out and joined Alan Richardson in the coaches box. 5. Was it a mark? Everyone knows Jamie Elliot has one of the best leaps in the competition, and he demonstrated his high-flying skills late in the first quarter when he came in from the side and planted his knees on Cam Shenton's shoulder. It was a nice jump but the ball spilled free from Elliot's hands as he hit the ground, which indicated he didn't have full control over it. There was much confusion as it was called a mark by the umpire running through the midfield, while the one closer to the play didn't signal. It's hard to see how it could be considered as a mark of the year contender this week – despite its height - when debate is sure to continue over which umpire made the right call.
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| THE MEDIA | |
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Collingwood has burst St Kilda's early-season bubble and spoiled the debut of No.1 draft pick Paddy McCartin, beating the Saints by 74 points at the MCG on Friday night. In a return to form for the stuttering Magpies, they swarmed around a young St Kilda team and kicked their highest score since round 14, 2011 to win 21.14 (140) to 10.6 (66). The win was Collingwood's seventh in succession over St Kilda, and the Magpies have now won every head-to-head meeting with the Saints since the drawn 2010 Grand Final. The Pies also topped 100 points in a game for the first time since beating St Kilda by 86 points at Etihad Stadium in round 11 last season. Midfielder Dane Swan was back to his prolific best, dominating in the dry and when the rain came to finish with 38 disposals, 15 inside 50s and seven clearances as best on ground. Young forward Jamie Elliott was electric in the forward line, kicking four goals and taking six marks inside 50, including a spectacular pack grab in the first term that was controversially paid after he appeared to fumble it to ground. It could have been a great night for Travis Cloke, but it ended with the wayward key forward laughing and shaking his head after his fifth goal. Cloke finished with a bag, but he missed several seemingly simple set shots to finish with 5.4, three of his goals coming in the last term with the pressure off. Captain Scott Pendlebury (30 possessions) overcome an ankle issue to play and help the Magpies' midfield take the points, but St Kilda's skipper Nick Riewoldt had to be withdrawn dramatically late with calf soreness. Riewoldt's absence was keenly felt on-field, but it paved the way for the 18-year-old McCartin to make his anticipated debut, escaping the hype that would normally accompany a No.1 draft pick's first game. It was a quiet night early for McCartin, who was kept statless by Jack Frost in the first half. He worked into the game in the second half, however, and finished with nine possessions. The Saints' brightest period of the night was the first five minutes, which saw them kick three unanswered goals, including a running effort from Jarryn Geary from 50 metres. Quick movement and long kicking was paying off for the young team, which was still riding a wave of confidence after its away win over Gold Coast in round two. But St Kilda's ascendancy was short-lived. The Magpies reset and went on a nine-goal-to-one run, ramping up their tackling pressure and appearing to rattle the Saints' youngsters who had been so adventurous early. The turnaround started in the midfield, where the Magpies convincingly won the contested possessions (55-33), clearances (17-8) and inside 50s (25-5) through the second quarter. Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley said he was pleased with his senior players' ability to wrest back control of the match after a sluggish start. "We weren't happy with the way we came out … no pressure, didn't tackle, didn't defend, and accordingly St Kilda hit the scoreboard," he said. "The leaders on field were able to control that … we slowly and steadily turned the contested possessions and clearances around, and got a better contest and started defending "We got the game on our terms, which was good for the rest of the day. Ruckman Brodie Grundy, who finished with 30 hit-outs and 23 possessions, also turned the tables on opponent Billy Longer and started to get first hands on the ball in the middle. The Magpies had a massive 66 inside 50s across the final three quarters, with St Kilda coach Alan Richardson admitting his team had unraveled after a bright start. "We were just really poor in the contest, we fumbled terribly and they broke our pressure," Richardson said. "It was disappointing, we were pretty positive coming off the back of the game at Metricon Stadium. "What happened tonight far too often, we'd trust that we'd have one-v-one and at times even have an out-number at a scrimmage or the spill that came from a contest, and blokes would leave based on trust. "It wouldn't get done and we'd get burnt out the back, so that was disappointing … we need to trust we're going to be good in contests." Midfielder Taylor Adams (foot) was a late withdrawal for the Magpies, allowing Patrick Karnezis to play his first game for the club as the substitute, the former Brisbane Lion kicking a late goal. Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley says his side are still honing the defensive side to their game, after the Magpies overcame a slow start to crush St Kilda by 74 points in wet conditions at the MCG on Friday night. Concerned about the lack of early defensive pressure, which allowed St Kilda to kick five of the first seven goals of the match, Buckley made it clear in his quarter time address to his players that they had to lift their intensity. The Saints led the tackle, clearance and contested possession counts at quarter time before Collingwood gained control through the middle of the ground. "The leaders on field were able to control that," Buckley said. "Early stages, after their third goal we just took the gas out of it a little bit and then slowly and steadily turned the contested possession and clearances around. Got a better contest, started defending and then got the game on our terms which was good for the rest of the day." Once the Magpies had control of the ball, they then attacked with frightening regularity. Collingwood's dominance was told in their final inside 50 count, which they won 77 to 42. An astounding 66 of those entries came after quarter time. Buckley was particularly happy with the spread of contributors across the ground, reflected in the 13 separate goalkickers the Pies had during the night. Buckley said the Pies wanted to add attacking firepower outside their traditional forwards Travis Cloke and Jamie Elliott. "In the first fifteen minutes we had very few that were playing the way we want to play," he said. "But by the end of the game very few would have said that they didn't contribute." If it was an equal performance, then some are more equal than others. Midfielder Dane Swan was clearly the best on ground for Collingwood, collecting 39 disposals and 15 inside 50s. It was a dominant performance from the 31-year-old that showed his doubters he still has plenty left in the tank. Buckley said it was as "clean" as he'd seen Swan play for some time: "He's a talented player, he's pretty hard on himself and he does draw a lot of focus. But that was a very solid game by him, I'm not surprised to see him do it though." Collingwood will now face a big test on ANZAC Day to see if they can maintain their defensive game against an Essendon side which has been manic in its attack on the footy against Hawthorn and Sydney. St Kilda coach Alan Richardson said he was frustrated at the drop in the pressure, after his players showed lots of intensity in last week's 28-point win against the Gold Coast. Despite a strong defensive start to the game, the Saints ended up losing the tackle count to Collingwood 74-70. "We fumbled terribly, our pressure they broke our pressure, given that we're reasonably aggressive with the way we defend if they break that first line then we're going to be vulnerable out the back," he said. The unveiling of number one draft pick Paddy McCartin was a bit more low key than the usual fanfare attributed to such moments. The Saints youngster was told less than an hour before the game that he would be a late inclusion for skipper Nick Riewoldt, who hurt his calf in the warm-up. McCartin's call-up came as such a surprise that his mother had to rush to the ground from Geelong. His dad Matt left his car at the Arts Centre to make it in time for the pre-game jumper presentation. Unsurprisingly with such a last-minute debut, McCartin looked a bit shell-shocked early. The big forward struggled to get into the game, ending with nine disposals and no goals. Richardson said it was an awkward way to prepare for a game: "In an ideal world he wouldn't have played Rooey [Riewoldt] would have played, he's probably not quite ready but I thought his last quarter was reasonably positive." |
NATHAN Buckley must have felt crook in the guts. When former defender Josh Bruce cleanly took a grab on the lead and speared through St Kilda’s sixth first-quarter goal his side was in strife. The margin was only 12 points but the stats sheet read like a pantsing was under way. The guts of Buckley’s side couldn’t win the ball but eight scores from just 11 inside 50s denied the Saints the lead they needed. Buckley demanded improved ball use to match last week’s intensity and his players were at least delivering on the efficiency front. But the bulk of Collingwood’s sick midfield — including late withdrawal Taylor Adams — was watching from the MCG stands and warrior Scott Pendlebury took his place in the centre with a crook ankle. So when Buckley turned to the healthy components of his engine room — Pendlebury and Brownlow winner Dane Swan — and ordered the medicine his club desperately needed there were few guarantees. Thirty minutes of sizzling footy later and the Pies were safely on their way to the Anzac Day blockbuster with a positive win-loss ledger. Pendlebury and Swan bullied the youngest side the Saints have fielded in 11 years and the most inexperienced in 13. Swan’s performance was simply extraordinary. The oldest player on the park kick-started a freakish night with a lovely snapped goal and ended with his most productive outing in two years. The centre-square domination of Pendles and Swan led to an inside-50 discrepancy of 25-5 in the second term as the Magpie again pinged through six goals but restricted the Saints to one. Debutant Paddy McCartin could have been Tony Lockett and failed to get a kick in that situation. When Travis Cloke was awarded a free kick right in front of goal Buckley sarcastically clapped, believing it was well overdue. When the men in green handed the Pies 11 free kicks to one for the quarter it was Saints fans banging their hands together in fists of rage. Six of Pendlebury’s possessions before the main break came from the umps as the Pies’ bigger bodies flexed their muscle as rain began to fall. The free-flowing match wasn’t pretty at times and lacked the fierce pressure which been a highlight of the first two rounds. But would Buckley have given two hoots? Not a chance. A loss to the lowly Saints would have made the blowtorch shined on rival Carlton last week appear dim. Cloke became the first multiple goalkicker halfway through the second term, killing a streak of 16 individuals inking themselves on the scoresheet. Late inclusion McCartin wasn’t among them. He missed out in the first term and with the Saints managing just four more majors from limited entries he was never going to get on the end of one. A sore Nick Riewoldt withdrew after the final team sheets were entered and the skipper handed the No. 1 draft pick his jumper in front of dad Matt but with his mum still zipping along the highway. Mr McCartin ditched his car at Southbank and sprinted to the ‘G for the special moment but Paddy’s first game ended with a stats sheet not too dissimilar to Jonathan Brown’s ineffective debut. Saints fans will take plenty out of the first 30 minutes as Tim Membrey, in his fourth game, showed clean hands and feet, Shane Savage used his pace and pizzazz and Jack Newnes gave the grunt and drive from defence. The goal-fest handed Buckley’s side its first triple-digit score in 15 games — dating back to its last encounter against St Kilda. Cloke ended with the bag he has long craved as the Pies broke their inside 50 record with 15 coming from Swan. But unless he can replicate that against the Bombers, that queasy feeling might be back for Buckley next week. Nathan Buckley has applauded Travis Cloke for maintaining a positive attitude on Friday night despite an erratic goalkicking display that featured his best and worst in equal measure. Cloke kicked five goals in Collingwood's 74-point win over St Kilda but missed a brace of seemingly easy shots to add four behinds to his bag. Buckley said afterwards the forward, who has battled accuracy issues in the past, impressed with the way he didn't let his kicking form dictate the way he played out the game. "The most encouraging thing was he didn't drop his head at any stage," Buckley said. "Technically, there's some things that 'Clokey' can go away and work on, but his effort was first class. "At no stage did he allow the goalkicking issues to affect his contest or the way he played his role beyond it. "I think there's times when that has been the case, so he'll get a big pat on the back from his coach for that." Dane Swan was back to his devastating best with 38 disposals and 15 of the Magpies' astounding 77 inside 50s. Buckley said it was the most efficient he'd seen the Brownlow Medallist for some time. "He's still building. I thought he was pretty clean tonight, probably as clean as he's been for awhile, he ran the game out as well as anyone," he said. "He's a talented player and he's pretty hard on himself and he does draw a lot of focus, but it was a very solid game by him. I'm not surprised to see him do it." Scott Pendlebury led from the front after a week where he managed an ankle injury that left him highly limited at training. But Buckley was also pleased with the younger midfielders who have started to stand up in the absence of Steele Sidebottom, Taylor Adams and Levi Greenwood. "I think ultimately our spread of contributors was the most encouraging thing," he said. "The first 15 minutes we had very few who were playing the way we want to play but by the end of the game I think very few would have said they didn't contribute. "Our midfield, clearly 'Swanny' and 'Pendles' needed to stand up and we thought Jack Crisp and Tim Broomhead, Tom Langdon off the wing at times and off half back, Adam Oxley, Jarryd Blair spent some time in the midfield as well. "We needed to find those fresh legs through the mids and they were led well but we had an even spread." Buckley said he backed Pendlebury, who had 30 touches despite the close attention of Mav Weller, to make the right call on his fitness. However, he admitted he was the type of player who was capable of contributing despite a physical limitation. "There's some blokes that if they're 90 per cent fit you wouldn't support them, but there's some guys who are 75 and you would because they've got the capability and mentality to be able to handle it. 'Pendles' is one of those guys," he said. Buckley said there was no injury issue with Nathan Brown, who was subbed out in the third quarter. The coach said Adams was expected to be available for the ANZAC Day clash with Essendon, but could find it hard to break in after such a strong team performance.
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