AFL Round 16- Gold Coast v Collingwood: Dust From The Distant Suns

And your seven worlds collide

Whenever I am by your side

And dust from a distant sun

Will shower over everyone’

‘Distant Sun’, Crowded House

Make no mistake, the Gold Coast Suns are on the verge of becoming a powerful force. Their dust will be showering over everyone very soon. But it shouldn’t have been tonight. This was Collingwood’s game for the taking. Missed chances in the first half and a totally insipid second half performance have put paid to any chance of a top 4 finish. Top 6 might now be a stretch. I’m as disappointed in a Collingwood performance as I have been in a long time. Yelling at the TV doesn’t make it any better.

It could have been so much different if Clinton Young hadn’t dropped an UNCONTESTED, STRAIGHTFORWARD mark 25m out from goal with a minute and forty seconds remaining. But Young shouldn’t cop all the blame for that moment. He should also take some blame for his missed chances in front of goal in the first half when Collingwood failed to capitlise on it’s dominance. As should Travis Cloke. The big number 32 dominated the first half but wasted opportunities kicking for goal. We should have had a sizeable lead at the main break, 11 points nowhere near reflecting the Pies dominance.

Then came that second half. Gold Coast played well. Matched up, zoned up, pressured Collingwood extremely well. Our disposal, by hand and by foot, was appalling. So many Magpie players work hard to gain possesion then just give it up straight away with either poor skills or decision making. Or both. The turnovers kill us. Apart from Pendlebury, I’m not trusting any Collingwood player’s disposal tonight. Our backline, sorely missing Nick Maxwell, was an unorganised rabble. The Suns had no interchange in the last quarter due to injuries to Ablett, Dixon, Lemmens and Dixon who was subbed out. Yet still finished with more run. Terrible to see G.Ablett dislocate his shoulder, hope the champion number 9 isn’t out for too long. Ablett was being well held by Macaffer before his injury though, and as the Suns evolve they are relying on him less. O’Meara and Swallow are stars, both lifting in their skippers abscence. Sam Day was terrific up forward for Gold Coast with 4 goals.

 Trying to take some positives out of the loss, Jarrod Witts played an excellent game, by far the the dominant ruckman on the ground. Ben Kennedy was very good, his 2 last quarter goals kept us right in it. Pendles and Beams tried hard. That’s about all. Elliot and Maxwell will be big ins next week. Hopefully Ben Reid gets through his VFL game unscathed, he must come straight back in to give Collingwood a desperately needed second tall forward option.

But had C.Young taken that mark and goaled in the dying moments of the game this would have been a joyous report about a narrow win. 5 points was the difference between a great Saturday night and a Saturday night spent sulking on the couch.

GOLD COAST                  2.2     5.3     8.7     11.14         80

COLLINGWOOD            4.3    6.8     6.13    10.15        75

GOALS

GOLD COAST: Day 4, Dixon 2, Lynch 2, Bennell, Hall, Prestia

COLLINGWOOD: Cloke 2, Young 2, Kennedy 2, Goldsack, Sidebottom, Thomas, Seedsman

BEST

GOLD COAST: Swallow, O’Meara, Day, May, Bennell, Lynch

COLLINGWOOD: Pendlebury, Beams, Witts, Kennedy, Sidebottom

UMPIRES: Mollison, Nicholls, Ryan

CROWD: 24,032 at Metricon Stadium

OUR VOTES:

3. David Swallow (Gold Coast)

2. Jaeger O’Meara (Gold Coast)

1. Scott Pendlebury (Collingwood)

About Luke Reynolds

Cricket and Collingwood tragic. Twitter: @crackers134

Comments

  1. Collingwood self immolations are like Anti-Bomber rants by Litza. 17 out of 18 Almanackers adore them. 1 out of 18 sulk.
    Well done for making it to the keyboard to own up to the disappointment.

  2. Nice job Luke. As a Magpie victory would have put the Crows in the eight, I was barracking for you too! I reckon C. Young had a night more miserable than yours.

    Distant Sun is my favourite Crowded House song. Beautiful, poignant. Wonderful harmonies and melody.

    Thanks.

  3. Malcolm Ashwood says

    We’ll done Luke it’s a fine line between pleasure and pain . Maxwell for all the moron knockers is as imp as Pendlebury is .to the pies . Great effort by , Gold Coast tho considering there injuries , not far away from the rest of us hating , Gold Coast and GWS . Thanks Luke

  4. Dave Brown says

    Spot on Luke – a forward line based solely on a bloke that can’t kick straight is a recipe for hairlessness in its fans. It is still hard for me to believe that someone brought up in a footballing family that is paid a small fortune is unable to do a mechanically simple task – drop straight, swing straight and that is the likely outcome.

    No doubt you are hoping Colllingwood better be home soon so they can experience four seasons in one day (apologies)

  5. tony robb says

    Luke the Pies were wasteful and at times just lazy. It was as if they were waiting for Pendelbury to get then out of the shit which is always a worry for any club. Carlton have relied on Judd for 5 years and look at how poor their list is. That said the Suns effort was terrific particularly after Ablett’s injury. They will play finasl this year and might have say in who else does.
    Cheers
    TR

  6. Luke Reynolds says

    Cheers Peter. Was nice to have an outlet after the horrors of last nights game.

    Thanks Mickey. Distant Sun is my favourite Crowded House song too. From by far their best album. CH and quite possibly Neil Finn at their absolute peak.

    Thanks Malcolm. Looking forward to Maxwell’s return this week. Much needed.

    Agreed Dave. Well played with your last line.

    Exactly right Tony, Too much is being left to Pendles. Some older players like Swan and Lumumba just going and have big question marks going forward.

  7. Insipid performance by the Pies. No Ablett and np roations in this day and age should mean no chance. The Gold Coast have proved that they can win tough and without Ablett and away from home so the shoudl play finals. As for Clinton Young waht can you expect from a mate of Atchy’s

  8. Neon Leon says

    I feel your pain Luke. The Travis thing just kills us.

    After Seedsman’s blistering run & bounce down the guts and sublimely weighted delivery, Cloke’s easy miss just deflated the entire team – you can see it, you can sense it even on TV. The Suns took it straight down the other end for a goal, and instead of going into half time 23 points up the margin was only 11. We gave ’em a sniff.

    Same thing happened at the start of the game in Adelaide. Jesse White kicked a miraculous curveball pass off the outside of his boot in the opposite direction to which he was running…. which hit a leading Cloke lace-out, 30m from goal directly in front. Miss.

    You could sense the players’ heads drop then too. What’s the point of busting your backside to get the ball to the big lug if he can’t hit the side of a barn door?

    I don’t think I’m overplaying it to say that in both instances Trav missing a sitter set the tone for the rest of the game.

    Sigh…..

  9. Luke Reynolds says

    Raj it was insipid indeed by the Pies. I’m sure C.Young’s mate Atchy wouldn’t have dropped that mark….

    Spot on Neon Leon. The team, and the man himself can be lifted or deflated by Cloke’s goal kicking. Often wonder if they have the right people working with him on that aspect of his game.

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