Cam Hooke’s Collingwood Life: Round 12 Review / Round 13 Preview

 

Greetings True Believers.

 

Well, we’re one game away from the halfway mark of the home & away Season. Sitting on top of the Ladder we are everyone’s target. Great, isn’t it?

 

To be a little premature, the All Australian team selections and suggestions have been interesting. I checked, in 2010 we had 4 players in the AA team; 6 in 2011. Current discussion at All-Australian team – Wikipediaand  www.espn.com.au/afl/story/_/id/37644952/afl-2023-espn-mid-year-all-australian-team-makes-cut-misses-out  (3 Pies) plus Mihocek ,elsewhere, makes for interesting reading.

 

What else? We didn’t have any involvement in the Mid-Season Draft last week – fundamentally we didn’t have a vacant List position and we’d have had to sit, waiting, a long time until our turn. I do, however, note that my pick, Sam Naismith, didn’t get picked by anyone. Maybe he’ll still be available at the Annual Draft. Go to www.sportingnews.com/au/afl/news/afl-mid-season-draft-2023/e3gwymnwaesq7vlhilhtw9va.

 

And, finally, just to demonstrate how ‘balanced’ we are regarding the Umps, go to www.sen.com.au/news/2023/05/31/why-ray-chamberlain-doesnt-expect-players-to-stop-staging-for-free-kicks/ to read Razor’s comments about ‘staging’.

 

Back to the games.

 

Round 12

 

Collingwood18.12.120 defeated West Coast 8.9.57.

 

Goals scored by Quarter:

 

• Q1       4 (us) / 0 (them). Giving us a substantial lead at the first change;
• Q2       4 / 4;
• Q3       4 / 4;
• Q4       6 / 0; and
• Total:  18 / 8. We Won.

 

Match Report: www.afl.com.au/afl/matches/4886#match-report

 

Coach’s Report: www.afl.com.au/video/942460/full-post-match-r12-magpies?videoId=942460&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1685785828001&references=AFL_MATCH:4886. He highlights the improved Eagles’ performance and the influence of the supportive Perth crowd. He noted the importance of dominating the game throughout.

 

Numbers:

 

Statistic	Numbers	Comments
	(us / them)
Hit Outs	52 / 23	Not important by itself. See next.
Clearances	33 / 43	Centre – 12 / 17 Stoppage – 21 / 26 Note: -10. The transition of HO to Clearances is a huge deficit reflecting the importance of comparing HO to advantage (which I don’t have); not simply HO numbers. Broadly speaking we were ‘sharked’; our Midfield were beaten across the game. Where it mattered, Q1 and Q4, as acknowledged by the Coach, we took control of the stoppages, particularly Q4.
Inside 50s	56 / 55	Note: +1. A better transition from Clearance to Inside 50, returning our Clearance deficit to even.
Scoring shots	30 / 17	Look at the number of scoring shots resulting from Inside 50 numbers. The factor distinction here is substantial –  0.54 / 0.31.
Goals Scored	18 / 8	And for Goals scored, even more marked – 0.32 / 0.15; more than twice their effectiveness; and if you’d collected the numbers by Quarter you’d see our domination in Q1 and Q4 with close comparison in Q2 and Q3.
Disposal Efficiency	74.3% / 75.3%	Across the game.
Team Members with DE > 80%	12 / 9	A bit of a difference. We moved the ball better between players.
DE Inside 50	58.9% / 32.7%	Game winning statistic. We were very nearly twice as effective in scoring from Inside the 50.
Tackles Inside 50	12 / 5	Enhances the DE Inside 50 differential.
Marks Inside 50	14 / 5	As above.
Contested Possessions	124 / 132	Note: -8. Probably not significant across the game but, certainly we didn’t run away with it – two sides dominating half the game each. Certainly both sides worked hard.
Score from turnover	11.5.71 / 1.4.10	Critical – another match-winning statistic. We turned ‘turnovers’ to our advantage.
1%’ers	50 / 29	Another key comparison – particularly relating to our Back 6 (or more), it was evident even during the game that ‘punching’ was preferable to competing pack-marks.
Free Kicks	22 / 24	Whatever. It’s always those missed Frees that are most annoying. Interesting the differences in size – Cox – 5 FF / 1 FA; Ginnivan – 0 FF / 1 FA.

Best: The AFL website identifies N.Daicos, Mihocek, Hill, Adams, Mitchell, Cameron and Johnson as the team’s Best. As always, I’d be tempted to add a couple more – Noble (466mG, 17 D, 1 T, 4 IP), Quaynor (452mG, 18 D, 2 T, 6 IP and 2 I50) and De Goey (401mG, 19D, 4T and 6 IP).

 

Game. A solid result against a committed opponent, noting we Won it substantially in two Quarters with the balance being shared. This will not be good enough when we head into the Finals. Impressive aspects – ball handling – very good; and tackling. I loved the multiple tacklers commitment. Not so good? Clearances, particularly out of the Centre – Midfield work? However, I would acknowledge the Win is far less stressful on we, the poor long-suffering supporters.

 

Injuries. McCreery, Hoskin-Elliott and Johnson. Not sure how serious or how long out.

 

Deductions / Lessons? General application was fantastic. Kicking / handball was very good. And kicking to a better placed kicker inside the 50 was also excellent. All, well done. Your comments?

 

Round 13

 

Monday, 12 June – Collingwood plays Melbourne at the annual King’s Birthday Holiday bash at the MCG; bounce at 3.20pm. Actually, the “annual” nature of the game only works if you look forward, not backwards, seeing as we haven’t had a King, until recently, for a very long time.

 

This game is between 1^st (us) with 11 Wins and 1 Loss on 138.4% percentage against 3^rd (them) with 8 Wins and 4 Losses on 134.1%.

 

Betting? Well here’s a change – fairly close, for once: We are favourites – $1.73 / $2.12. No surprise there.

 

Them:

 

Melbourne have maintained a reasonably low profile throughout the Season, so far, winning against teams lower on the Ladder and Losing against some higher. Of consequence, their Losses were against Brisbane (Round 2), Essendon (R5), Port (R10) and Freo R11). Their Wins have included WB, Sydney at the MCG, WCE, Richmond, NM, GC and Hawthorn – no surprises in any of the results, at the time they played. I’m not sure I’d rate North, WCE and Richmond as ‘easy-beats’ now. But, Melbourne are coming off Losses to Port and Freo and most recently a Win over Carlton. I think this last result reflects Carlton’s performance rather than Melbourne’s. I have seen it described as a “grinding Win” though the scoring shots differential – 21 (Melbourne) / 14 (Carlton) would seem to indicate it could have been much higher. Melbourne have demonstrated the ability to take control of the game for periods and even to close a deficit. Unfortunately for them, this has rarely led to them winning the game.

 

Game Plan? Melbourne get their drive out of the Midfield, particularly Petracca, Viney and Oliver, connecting with Gawn or Grundy. They tend to make greater us of the Wings pushing the ball forward. You’ll not the ‘watch list’, below, doesn’t include any Forwards.

 

Significance? So, we need to win the Midfield battle. Simple, as always.

Players to Watch?

 

• Petracca – Rover / HF;
• Oliver – Centre (Injured; may not play);
• Viney – RR;
• Brayshaw – Wing / HF;
• Rivers – HB / BP;
• Gawn – Ruck; and
• Lever – BP / CHB.

 

Also, from a ‘family’ perspective, watch Grundy – Ruck / FF. He and Gawn seem to be alternating between the Ruck and FF positions. While Grundy hasn’t been heavily recorded in Melbourne’s Best, so far, we all know just how talented he is.

 

Roles?

 

• Petracca is sitting 3^rd in the Coaches’ assessment; Oliver is sitting 10^th. Petracca warrants tagging; maybe even Oliver if he is playing, – Adams?
• Close defence on Gawn or Grundy up Forward.
• Watch for attempts to tag our players / implement counter-tagging plan, accepting the logic that this, generally, removes an additional effective opponent from the opposition.

 

Us:

 

Maybe a suspension absence? A few new injuries – McCreery, Hoskin-Elliott and Johnson, but not sure of their seriousness / their availability this Round? Maybe N.Daicos into De Goey’s Midfield role? Importantly, there are a number of players nearly ready to return from injuries:

 

• Team? Subject to the significance of the injuries, minimal change (plus De Goey). Anyone need resting – McRae was pretty damning about the suggestion he should have rested some players before the WCE game. Your choices?

• Application? No change. Application for four full Quarters. Hold the tackles. Establish and maintain control of the game (possessions).

• Game Plan? No change to the current plan. Use varied entry to the 50 and be willing to move the ball to a better-placed goal scorer than delivering to packs. Crumb around packs.

 

My Picks: On the basis of my pick last week of a 73 Point Win, the 63 Point outcome guess was close’ish. This time? Collingwood to Win by 19 Points. BOG – Pendles – 33 Disposals, 8 Clearances, 3 Tackles, 2 Goal Assists and 1 Goal. Mihocek grabs another 5; Jack & Bobby get two each; importantly, Jack’s goals come from two Frees for ‘head high’ tackles.

 

Ground Reports. Loved the Reports from attendees. Let’s see some reporting, please, from those who couldn’t attend but watched the game on TV – all views are welcome. Do we have any people going? Could you report please?

 

Weather.  Likely very light rain. Get the boots with ‘stops’.

 

TV:     Kayo or FOXTEL – Best for every game.

 

Free to Air TV on 7mate.

 

Future:

 

• Round 14 – Bye;
• Round 15 – Sunday, 25 June Collingwood versus Adelaide at the MCG; bounce at 1.10pm;
• Round 16 – Saturday, 1 July GC Suns versus Collingwood at the Heritage Bank Stadium, Queensland; bounce at 4.35pm; and
• The Ladder. Keep an eye on the Ladder as we approach the midpoint of the Season (yes, still a couple of weeks off) leading to some big moves on the Ladder. Have a look – GC beat Adelaide; Richmond beat GWS. Where are Freo and Port      sitting? Your thoughts?

 

Other:

 

• VFL –   After a good Win over the Northern Bullants by 51 Points, the VFL side take on Casey Demons at Casey Fields on Sunday, 11 June; bounce at 1.05pm. Anyone going?
• Anything that you would like to inform our members of, just Reply to all or send it to me.

 

Believe always. Go Pies.

 

Cam

 

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