Cam Hooke’s Collingwood Life 2024: Round 19 Review / Round 20 Preview

 

G’day everyone. After that sort of weekend, a little perspective?

 

The commentary by the experts following this game is matched only by the Facebook, etc comments by people claiming to be Pies’ fans. Very occasionally are the comments by people, also claiming to be Pies’ fans, strongly suggesting you look at the bigger picture – How have the Pies performed since our new coach arrived; not just the last few games? I applaud this. Remember, we are Pies’ supporters. We’ve been there before, and we’ll inevitably be there again. Go Pies.

 

Now, last Saturday we’d worked out our program that allowed us to watch the game at the pub, head back to pick-up our bags and be discharged from the resort and then get to the Airport meeting the timeframe requirements. It didn’t happen that way. The so called accident, applying to IT services world-wide, impacted. An example – Jetstar, our carrier, cancelled all 150 flights on the day before (Friday). We were concerned – who’d want to be stranded in a tropical paradise awaiting rescue, particularly given the reported weather in SE Australia? As such, even with reasonably worded emails on Saturday morning from Jetstar, we decided to head to the Airport earlier than required. That happened and we monitored the game ongoing scores with increasing desperation. And the return flight was as usual.

 

I’ve watched part of the replay since getting home but, quite frankly, would prefer to focus on the future rather than revisit a pretty awful game. More on that below.

 

Anyway, my apologies for the delay.

 

Regardless,

 

Go Pies.

 

 

Round 19

 

Collingwood 9.13.67 were defeated by Hawthorn, 20.13.133.

 

Scoring shots 22 (us) / 33 (them).

 

Possession percentage: 38% (us) / 46% (them).

 

Match Report. www.afl.com.au/afl/matches/6054#match-report.

 

Coach’s interview. www.afl.com.au/video/1176438/full-post-match-r19-magpies?videoId=1176438&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1721470175001&references=AFL_MATCH:6054. The coach is not often in this position answering questions relating to a fourth successive Loss. He acknowledged the difficult conditions but was frank regarding the team’s performance. In an interesting comment, he addressed the Pie fans stating that they will not enjoy watching the game. He got that right.

 

Goals:

• Q1      1 (us) / 3 (them) – an even start worsened by two Hawk goals giving us an 11-Point deficit at the first break;
• Q2      0 / 4 – worse and worse, establishing a 33-Point deficit at Half Time;
• Q3      3 / 5 – more of the same though we, at least, got a couple of majors. The deficit at the final change was, now, 45-Points; and
• Q4      5 / 8 – some shared dominance but an inability by us to take any control of the game. Final result – a deficit of 66-Points. We showed no ability to establish control of the game throughout; and
• Total:   9 / 20; a Loss by 66 Points.

 

Numbers (some statistics taken, with comments). The numbers should be treated with some caution because they are a record across the whole game. In this diin Q1 and Q3; they certainly did Q2 and Q4. However, with some comments, they are interesting:. ?i’m just going to mention a few critical statistics:

 

Statistic	Numbers Us / Them	Comments
Disposals	288 / 434	Normally not included, but here the difference was, again, so substantial. Of note, something we pride ourselves on, the handball component – 109 / 203 was a huge part of this.
Hit Outs (HO)	41 / 46	Isn’t Cameron doing well, generally, but particularly around the ground? The relevance is highly suspect because it is not a measure of the effectiveness of the rucking – that would be HO to advantage.
Clearances	43 / 48	Includes: 13 / 12 Centre clearances and 30 / 36 stoppage clearances. This is potentially, hugely significant, but given the closeness of the numbers, not so much. ‘Clearance to Inside 50 to Goal’ is the ideal progression. Here, our Midfield is marginally deficient. See Next.
Inside 50s	37 / 69	33 deficit. This is critical because of the flow-through of the Clearance dominance. Given the numbers are a comparison of the number of times the ball is in a position from where a score can result it usually flows from these Clearance numbers. The challenge? How effectively did each side use it? See below.
Disposal Efficiency (DE)	59.7% / 72.4%	Not too different. Not particularly useful, anyway, across the whole game.
DE inside 50	64.9% / 49.3%	This is the critical difference relating to Clearances and Inside 50s, identified above. This is where you see how effectively the teams use their entry into the 50 – and we somehow recorded a huge advantage. Their advantage of Inside 50 numbers is therefore supposedly cancelled by these numbers.
Goals scored	9 / 20	The fundamental result.
Players with DE of 80%	2 / 8	A significant difference reflecting how they were playing the game, compared with us. And how many of our passes went directly to an opponent?
Contested Possessions (CP)	127 / 156	The measure of how hard each team is working – CP, Tackles and Turnovers combined.
Uncontested Possessions (UCP)	135 / 251	This was a huge measure of how they played the game passing the ball between uncontested players – boring ‘keep’ens off footy’.
Time in Possession?	36% / 46%	Ownership of the ball across the whole game. Possessions win games.
Turnovers	76 / 65	Really important – see above, though not materially different.
Marks (M)	51 / 61	Across game. See comments above re UCP.
M inside 50	13 / 5	Impacts on DE inside 50 numbers. Substantial dominance by Essendon.
Tackles (T)	75 / 63	Across game.
T inside 50	8 / 10	Also impacts on DE inside 50 numbers. Same Essendon dominance.
1 %’ers	47 / 35	Really important. This also something we pride ourselves on.
Free kicks	14 / 15	This number comparison surprised me. I thought the umps did a poor job, principally because of the lack of consistency .

 

The Game

 

So, Hawthorn won every Quarter. Hawthorn looked more motivated and fitter. They deserved the Win.

 

We looked both tired and a bit slow. I’d be tempted to ‘rest’ some players, selections based, firstly, on motivation. No names. This is what I wrote last week – more so, now. We were also unlucky – it’s a funny-shaped ball and can frequently do funny things. We did not benefit much.

 

Our ball handling was okay but our decision-making regarding where and when to pass was very ordinary. Far too frequently our passes went directly to an opponent. And people were spinning out of tackles. An observation – when our players received the ball particularly close-in, there was almost a total disregard to anyone following, about to tackle. Note the difference in numbers with DE of 80% or higher. It wasn’t a highlight for us.

 

The result: The Pies are now sitting 13^th on the Ladder well outside the Eight, though getting in is a distinct possibility. We really need two Wins and percentage. I note that betting on winning the Premiership by us is currently $101. Might be worth a flutter. See below for our next games.

 

Best: The AFL website identifies the following as Best – Cameron, NickD, JoshD and De Goey. Don’t disagree their inclusions but I might have added Crisp – 22 Disposals, 5 Tackles, 6 Clearances and 351 mGained.

 

Injuries: Krueger. I am not confident Cameron is not carrying an injury?

  .

Crowd – 74,171.

 

---

 

 

Round 20

 

Sunday, 28^th July  – Collingwood versus Richmond at the MCG; bounce at 1.10pm.

 

Richmond has had a shocker of a season and are placed at the bottom of the Ladder. They started the year okay with a Win over Sydney and a couple of close Losses to Carlton and St Kilda, but since their Loss margin has been substantial. The sole exception was their second Win, against Adelaide, by 8-Points. Their 2 Wins and 17 Losses has contributed to their 63.3% percentage. Our current status on the Ladder of 8 Wins, 8 Losses and 2 Draws, with a current 98.4% percentage should see this game as routine.

 

Of course, it won’t be. But it is the opportunity to reestablish our confidence and boost our percentage before our final games; and get back into the Eight.

 

Current betting is $1.25 / $4.00. Interestingly, these odds have compressed from $1.19 / $4.75 from before our last game. Just to clarify, we are favourites.

 

Them

 

The list of Players to Watch, below, indicates their reliance on their Midfield plus a couple of individuals. As always, win the Midfield battle, win the war.

 

They come into this game following hidings by Port, GWS, FReo and Carlton. Not sure what that means regarding their motivation.

 

Injuries. They have a long Injury List including a number of key players in doubt – Taranto, Martin and Prestia.

 

Players to watch:

 

• Nankervis – Ruck;
• Prestia – Centre, if playing;
• Taranto – Rover, if playing – concussion in R18, so unlikely;
• Hopper – RR / Rover;
• Bolton – FF;
• Rioli – CHB / HF / Wing (?);
• Baker – Centre;
• Vlastuin – CHB; and
• Martin – FF, also if playing.

 

Us

 

Not too much needs to change from last week except some changes to replace the injuries; maybe a rest or two:

 

• Team? Replace Krueger and, potentially, Cameron. I also thought that Quaynor and Markov might benefit from a rest.  Who to replace?Your thoughts?
• Application? Possession of the ball lets you win the match – lose possession and you are fighting backwards. No change.
• Game Plan? No change to the current plan. Work on kick-in plan. Work on a Plan that runs for four Quarters. Work on coordination of the Forward line and the Backline. Avoid disrupting the Backline to ease the burden on the Forwards – leave Frampton back and leave Howe there. Continue to better arrange and coordinate delivery into and across the 50 – plans. Speed up the movement out of the Backline – establish plans to execute this.
• Practice tackling.
• Be happy? Much improved.

 

Necessary Actions?

 

• Close attention to the Midfield noting the absence of key Geelong players (without Dangerfield; with him, tag him); Win the Midfield battle – use the measures of Clearances and Inside 50s to assess;
• Close attention to their CHF (Stengle) and CHB (Stewart); and
• Enjoy the Win.

 

1. TV.     No free to air coverage on TV. But on Kayo, whose commentators I prefer.

 

Weather. Rain is forecast the day before the game. It will be slippery. Get the boots with ‘stops’ out. No slip sliding.

 

My prediction.          Collingwood to Win by 63 Points.

BOG – NickD with 37 Disposals @ 91.0% DE, 16 Cl and 3 GA.

Richards scores 4 goals; Elliot and Hill get three each.

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The Future

• Round 20. Sunday, 28^thJuly Collingwood versus Richmond at the MCG; bounce at 1.10pm. Same – no FTA coverage. Go Kayo or head to the nearest pub / Club
• Round 21- Saturday, 3rd August Collingwood versus the olde enemy, Carlton, at the MCG; bounce at 7.30pm. FTA coverage on Channel 7; and

• • Round 22 – Friday, 9th August Sydney versus Collingwood at the SCG; bounce at 7.40pm. FTA TV coverage on Channel 7.

 

VFL. Still a couple to go, still. Last weekend Carlton beat us by 83 Points. Next weekend, Round 18, is versus Richmond at the Swinburne Centre on Sunday, 28^th July; bounce at 10.05am. Anyone attending? Briefs please? Go Boys.

 

VFLW. No more, ladies.

 

Games. Remember for those who can’t get to the VFL / VFLW games, you can watch them live at www.afl.com.au/stream-your-team?utm_source=aflcomau&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=state_league_streaming. 

 

Ground Reports? Now I’m not sure who went to the last game. Is anyone going to the next? I’d like to hear from the armchair warriors watching from afar?  More please.

 

Always believe. Never give up. Go Pies.

 

Cam

 

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