Cam Hooke’s Collingwood Life 2025: Round 17 Review / Round 18 Preview

 

G’day everyone, True Believers, all.

 

There are days when it is a real pleasure to be a Pies’ supporter. Friday night was one of those occasions. In a competition reflecting the equal spread of the competition, our enmity for our traditional foe, in front of a huge crowd at the home of footy, the team performed as high a standard game that I can remember. Can you identify any better performances?

 

The challenge, now that we’ve accepted we are in the Finals, is to prepare for those – player rest and rotation, tactics – the Finals are a different game, and fitness, getting the players ready.

 

But, of course, the H&A season is not yet over. Expect a number of the opponents, below, to figure in the Finals. Pencil in the games:

 

• R18     GC at the GC – Friday night game;

• R19     Freo at the MCG – Sunday afternoon game;

• R20     Richmond at the MCG – Sunday afternoon game;

• R21     BL at the MCG – Saturday night game;

• R22     Hawthorn at the MCG – Thursday night game;

• R23     Adelaide at Adelaide Oval – Saturday night game; and

• R24     Essendon at the MCG – TBC.

 

Go Pies.

 

Round 17

Collingwood 17.13. 115 defeated Carlton 8.11.59.

 

Scoring shots: 30 (us) / 19 (them). That reflects pretty good kicking by us, but fairly poor kicking by them. See Disposal Efficiency, below, around the ground during the game but more importantly, when inside the 50 – some verry important differentials.

 

Match Report – www.afl.com.au/afl/matches/7097.

 

Coach’s comments – www.afl.com.au/video/1357054/mcrae-post-match-r17-we-set-a-goal-at-the-start-of-the-year-to-qualify-for-the-finals?videoId=1357054&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1751637199001. Always worth watching. It’s hard to be humble in such circumstances.

 

Goals scored:

Q1       4 (us) / 3 (them). Up and down throughout the Quarter. Margin at QT + (positive) 6Points;

Q2       4 / 1. Added four goals early in the Quarter; they responded with one late. Margin at HT + 24 Points;

Q3       8 / 2. Total dominance throughout the Quarter even allowing for their two. Margin at the Final break + 60 Points;

Q4       1 / 2. Okay our score in Q4 was 1.4.10; theirs 2.2.14, so technically they Won the Quarter, but they had some cause to relax just a bit given their Q2 and Q3 performances; and

 

Total    17 / 8. Winning with a margin of 56 Points. This score pretty much reflected the broad difference: ‘Our team was twice as good as theirs!’.

 

Statistics

Some numbers to seek to identify where there was a substantial difference and how this impacted on the game:

 

Statistic	Sum numbers at times (us / them)						Comments
	Q1	to HT	to Q3	Final
Disposals	85 / 97	173 / 180	280 / 255	390 / 350			A simple comparison of possession of the ball between the two sides, particularly the change during the game.
Hit Outs (HO)	11 / 11	21 / 21	32 / 35	36 / 45			A not-useful number decided by whichever ruck touches the ball first. A better assessment is ‘HO to advantage’, which I don’t have. And a much, much better measure is under Clearances, below. This number surprised me – routinely beaten in 2H; it wasn’t evident watching.
Clearances   Centre clearances: Stoppage clearances:	9 / 9     3 / 4   6 / 5	19 / 18     6 / 6   13 / 12	26 / 34     10 / 13   16 / 21	33 / 42     11 / 15   22 / 27			Their domination of Clearances is evident, particularly in 2H. This should be of concern. This is a much better measure than the HO and should have indicated a disadvantage to us in the next steps – Inside 50s and, ultimately, our scoring. Broadly speaking, this didn’t happen – – we took control of the Inside 50s and scoring.
Inside 50s	12 / 14	32 / 21	47 / 33	60 / 49			Their Clearance advantage, above, was not reflected in an Inside 50 advantage. We took this positively reflecting that we had more entries into goal-scoring positions. See DE regarding how we used them.
Disposal Efficiency (DE)	67.1% / 74.2%	71.1% / 72.8%	73.3% / 71.8%	74.4% / 72.0%			Across the whole game. Note the overall trends – up for us; down or steady for them.
DE Inside 50	58.3% / 42.9%	43.8% / 42.9%	55.3% / 45.5%	51.7% / 38.8%			This difference is critical. Here the numbers reflect a significant team advantage to us throughout the game. It is a measure of how well we could use the ball (scoring) once it was delivered into the 50. This reflects hugely on both our Forwards using the ball effectively and our Backs denying Carlton the same. So, linking Inside 50s and DE inside 50 mean we got the ball into the 50 (broadly, into a scoring position) and we used it more effectively (scored). This represents the game-Winning achievement.
Player numbers with game DE of 80%				9 / 8			Not too different.
Free Kicks	4 / 2	7 / 6	11 / 8	14 / 11			Didn’t see this. Had a focus on the offences not identified rather than those that were. Remember last week a comment following the accepted assessment of NickD’s four Frees – there were several more for which he did not benefit. Inconsistencies continue – incorrect disposal, caught with the ball, in the back, etc.
Contested Possession (CP)	41 / 30	72 / 58	107 / 87	135 / 113			Interesting progression – we dominated both CP, throughout, and UCP late in the game. As a measure of commitment, it reflects well on us, particularly when you add Tackles into the comparison. Our advantage reflects poorly on Carlton’s effort and commitment – widely acknowledged in the media. I like it when the ball is locked in our attacking half, of course.
Uncontested Possession (UCP)	41 / 66	97 / 122	162 / 164	242 / 224
Possession	44% / 37%	44% / 37%	50% / 35%	48% / 35%			Reflects the above.
Marks   Marks inside 50 Contested marks	15 / 25   2 / 4	51 / 49   7 / 6	75 / 62   13 / 9 19 / 5	111 / 89   16 / 13 22 / 7			We owned the sky, particularly Inside 50s, contributing to scoring. Contested marks just identified to show the overall dominance.
Tackles   Tackles inside 50	15 / 17     3 / 1	28 / 23     10 / 1	45 / 36     11 / 2	60 / 46     13 / 2			Highlights our boys’ application. Importantly, the numbers Inside 50s contribute to scoring.
1%’ers	13 / 13	24 / 21	30 / 33	43 / 44			Spoils and defensive actions. Fairly even throughout.

 

Best:

The AFL website identifies Collingwood’s Best as:

 

• Cameron
• NickD
• Pendles,
• JoshD,
• Quaynor, and
• Moore.

 

I’ll be interested to see the Coaches’ Votes. Not available yet.

 

In addition to those identified above, whose inclusion I strongly agree, I’d suggest adding Maynard, Mitchell and Crisp to the list. Each had very high Disposal numbers with high DE (Crisp’s was a little bit ordinary), Crisp & Maynard had both exceptional metres Gained and Goal Assist numbers and Mitchell had very high Score Involvement, while Maynard had terrific Intercept Possessions. And Crisp had very solid Inside 50 numbers. A final point – it’s a rarity to leave Forwards (or anyone) out of the Best when they’ve done their job scoring four goals each? .

 

Your thoughts?

 

Crowd: 75,827.

 

Result: From a Collingwood supporter’s perspective this was a great game. Against a traditional foe, who always lift against us, it was however disappointing. How influential was their coach – best mate of our’s? Go to www.msn.com/en-au/sport/rugby_league/collingwood-coach-reaches-out-to-michael-voss-as-poor-scenes-drive-dagger-into-blues-boss/ar-AA1I0rsL?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=LCTS&cvid=b0293063044b4c6eaa0957f84b97eb8e&ei=21. This disappointment was principally from their perspective – their effort and application were missing.  This was not solely their decision – it reflected our application, effort and great teamwork. So, it was not a simple ‘training run’. It was a game in which our team dominated against an opponent that you’d have expected more from. Things to like about our performance include:

 

• Even though we Lost the Clearances, the impact of a dominant Defence and great Forward options turned the Inside 50’s around;

• Great effort noted for nearly all Back 6; some listed, some not, but equally deserving of recognition;

• Same applies to the Forwards, providing concurrent alternative avenues towards goal (and pretty good kicking too);

• Application across the ground, particularly my favourite – multiple tacklers, and the active pursuit of intercepts to disrupt their ball movement; and

• The ball-handling flow on multiple occasions from the Centre or our Backline through multiple hands to score. This is a demonstration of why we love this game. It is spectacular.

 

In summary, we Won because we established control of the game with dominant Forwards and Backs exploiting this. The Margin as reflected in the scores was about right – we were twice as good as Carlton.

 

Round 18

Friday, 11^th July – Gold Coast versus Collingwood in the GC; bounce at 7.40pm.

 

This game is between 1^st place with 14 Wins 2 Losses with a 139.0% percentage, us, on the Ladder and them in 7^th place with 10 Wins and 5 Losses with a 122.5% percentage.

 

Them

The GC finished last year in 13^th place on the Ladder with 11 Wins and 12 Losses and a 99.1% percentage. They’ve done better this year placing 3^rd to 6^th on the Ladder for all but the last two weeks (R15  and R16). Their Wins and Losses are a mixed bag including a Win over Adelaide by 1 Point in the GC, a Loss to Richmond at Marvel, a Win over Sydney in GC, a Win over the WB in Darwin, a Win over Hawthorn also in Darwin and a Loss to Freo at home. What this indicates is strong performance at home (and Darwin), but success is not guaranteed. And they don’t get to play on the MCG often. Their last five games included Wins over Essendon and Melbourne (most recently) and Losses to GWS, Geelong and Freo further back. This game will be hugely ‘telling’ in relation to their competitiveness in the Finals. The only advantage they have is it is to be played on their home ground and in an environment slightly warmer than Melbourne.

 

Players to watch for:

 

• Anderson – Rover;
• Miller – Wing / HF / CHF / RR;
• Rowell – Centre;
• Rioli – HB;
• Humphrey – HF / FP / RR;
• Witts – Ruck; and
• Noble – HB.

 

Pay special attention to two of our boys – Witts and Noble. We know the history and wish them well, always except when they are playing us.

 

This collection from their Best listings is indicative of a focus particularly on their Midfield plus Rioli and Noble amongst the Backs. So, win the Midfield battle. Maybe tag Noble for a bit of fun.

 

Us:

 

Context?    We are now two plus games clear at the top of the Ladder. Given the coach’s oft stated objective to make the Finals, I think he’s claiming success. We need to start getting ready for the Finals, which are, as stated previously, a different game.

 

Changes? No change, Your ideas?

 

Game Plan – No changes of substance from last week. A couple of points, as usual:

 

• Application. Nothing is more important. Well demonstrated in our last few games. And Attitude is King.

• Taggers. Tagging roles might be useful, including an occasional hard lock-down role on their Forwards / Midfield? And protecting our players? That should also be key.

• Midfield Management. Pendles guidance / on-field coaching to the collective Midfield.

• Passing. Accuracy of passes by foot and hand much better. Critical.

• Drive. Drive out of the Backline is a key part of our game plan. Be prepared to cross the field, even to kick backwards to change the direction. Kick-ins are an issue – we need to have a plan that everyone knows.

• Kicking for Goal. This is critical. Ball delivery needs to be to the best goal-kicking position. Be prepared to acknowledge difficult shots on goal and be willing to pass the ball inside the 50 to a better placed teammate. I value GA (goal assists) more highly than actual goals  scored. This continues to need improvement – the question should be “Why didn’t you pass it rather than seeking to score the ‘impossible goal’?”.And, to get the best from your Forward ‘talls’, get them to lead to different parts of the 50; don’t compress into packs; and
• Tackles. A major success but still some opponents are spinning out of tackles. Love the multiple tacklers. The perennial complaint: “Hold your tackles!”, “never stop chasing” and be aware of who’s behind you before you ‘play-on’.

 

Our Aim? Be happy.

 

Summary? Again, this is our game to Win when we decide that and implement our Game plan throughout the four Quarters. Note, we’ve been producing Wins but not by the margins we should have. We need to Win, throughout the game, not letting up, particularly as we start heading to the Finals.

 

Winning Selection. Collingwood to Win by 27 Points. BOG – JoshD with 37 touches, including 8 Clearances. Goal kickers include two’s from Mihocek, Hill and Elliott. Other notable action (suggested previously, too): Maynard tags NickD’s tagger – some very solid tackling but no Reports. Well done.

 

TV: FTA returns – on 7+ and 7mate, plus the usual Kayo and Fox Footy.

 

Weather: Dry and hot. Plastic soled boots okay.

 

Ground Reports? Reports please (after or before)? I’d especially like to hear from the armchair warriors watching from afar?

 

Other:

 

• AFLW – Pencil the start date in – Thursday, 14 August, including getting to the competition’s first game: Carlton versus Collingwood at Ikon Park; bounce at 7.15pm. The draw? Go to www.afl.com.au/fixture?Competition=3&Season=84&Round=1301.
• VFL – Last game we Lost against Carlton by 4 Points. Next on Friday, 11 July is against the GC in the GC; bounce at 3.35pm. This game is between us placed 7^th and them placed 17^th, on the Ladder. Critically, the Top 10 places go through to the Finals.
• VFLW team – A disappointing Loss to Carlton also by 4 Points. Next on Saturday, 12 July is against Casey Demons at Victoria Park; bounce at 10.05am. This game is between us, placed 4^th on the Ladder, and them, placed 12^th. In this competition, the Top 6 go into the Finals.
• US AFL Combine – 20 – 22 June at Dallas, USA. Apparently the principal qualification is to be at least 206 cm tall. Geelong, Hawthorn, GC and St Kilda are joining us at the event. Cox, reflecting his selection at the 2014 Combine at Los Angeles, has very big boots to fill –  211 cm, 135 games, 125 goals, 2023 Premiership and, perhaps most importantly, Australian citizenship. Any outcomes seen?None yet?
• Do you favour the return of a State of Origin series? Why?
• Anything else, everyone else?

 

Next:

• Round 19. Sunday, 20^th July – Collingwood versus Fremantle at the MCG; bounce at 7.20pm.

 

This is our year. Always believe; never, ever give up! Go Pies.

 

Cam

 

 

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