Cam Hooke’s Collingwood Life: Round 13 Review and Round 14 Preview

 

G’day to all.

 

Well, good things don’t always last forever. And, if you visit such things, there was a fair amount of Facebook chatter suggesting (even before the game) that this was ‘the loss we needed to have to go all the way’. Not sure about that. Indeed given how poorly we played, the fact that Melbourne won by a paltry four Points was quite remarkable.

 

And well done to the people at the ground recognising Grundy for his ability, regardless of his jumper.

 

Whatever. A few days off, then Adelaide at the G followed by the GC.

 

 

Round 13

 

Collingwood 9.8.62 were defeated by Melbourne 8.18.66.

 

Goals scored by Quarter:

• Q1       3 (us) / 1 (them). Giving us a lead at the first change;
• Q2       2 / 2;
• Q3       1 / 3. Giving them a lead at the final change;
• Q4       3 / 2; and
• Total:  9 / 8. And we Lost.

 

Match Report: www.afl.com.au/afl/matches/4897#match-report

 

Coach’s Report: www.afl.com.au/video/949456/full-post-match-r13-magpies?videoId=949456&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1686559854001&references=AFL_MATCH:4897. Worth watching. Importantly he considered Melbourne to be the better team (wouldn’t disagree), apart from the final few minutes (also agree that). He would have liked the team to be ‘braver’, earlier. He emphasised “Walk away after a Loss with optimism. The best is still in front of us”.

 

Numbers:

 

Statistic	Q1 / QT	Q2 / HT	Q3 / 3/4T	Q4 / FT	Total Game Numbers	Remarks
	(us / them)
Hit Outs	5 / 10	5 / 10	10 / 19	5 / 8	25 / 47	Mostly irrelevant, but in this case, where we were confronted with two top-line rucks, the effect on the next two steps (Clearances and Inside 50s) is important. It is difficult to understand their domination of the Clearances and Inside 50s without factoring in ‘HO to advantage’ (which I don’t have).
Clearances	6 / 10	6 / 8	11 / 9	5 / 7	28 / 34	As above. Our Midfield is amongst the best in the competition. The numbers here don’t reflect that. And, yes, we missed De Goey.
Inside 50s	15 / 13	13 / 14	8 / 17	13 / 16	49 / 60	As above; only more so. This figure has reflected our strength in many games; not so today.
Scoring shots	4 / 5	5 / 6	2 / 6	6 / 9	17 / 26	A critical statistic. Fortunately for us, Melbourne wasted numerous relatively simple scoring shots. Imagine what the scoreline might have read if the usual equivalence between Goals and Behinds had applied.
Goals Scored	3 / 1	2 / 2	1 / 3	3 / 2	9 / 8	Therefore. In some ways, Melbourne’s scoring kept us in the game. And we only took control of the game in the final 5 minutes.
Disposal Efficiency	74.1% / 72.7%	74.0% / 73.0%	73.6% / 70.5%	74.3% / 70.1%	74.3% / 70.1%	DE assessment at the end of each Quarter as a progressive statistic.
Team Members with DE > 80%					8 / 8	This equivalence surprised me. Watching, I was sure their delivery and marking was much higher than ours. There were periods when they simply were unable not to mark the ball; we, unfortunately, seemed to frequently give the ball straight to our opponents.
DE Inside 50	33.3% / 46.2%	39.3% / 48.1%	36.1% / 45 5%	38.8% / 46.7%	38.8% / 46.7%	Critical, match-winning numbers, again recording only the value progressively to that point of the game. So, they got it into the 50 more frequently and used it better when there. Just imagine what the numbers would have looked like if they’d kicked straight?
Tackles Inside 50	1 / 4	1 / 6	0 / 5	2 / 2	4 / 17	Both contribute to the better use once in the 50.
Marks Inside 50	1 / 3	4 / 5	0 / 3	2 / 4	7 / 15
Contested Possessions	31 / 31	25 / 26	31 / 49	32 / 33	119 / 139	A measure of commitment and application. We were beaten.
1%’ers	8 / 9	12 / 7	17 / 14	13 / 13	50 / 43	Also a measure of application, going some way of offsetting the above.
Free Kicks	3 / 3	5 / 3	1 / 5	4 / 4	13 / 15	Whatever.

Best: The AFL website identifies Mitchell, Pendles, Crisp, N.Daicos and Maynard.

 

Game. This was not a great performance. It was a strange game in which, even though I’d suggest Melbourne were in control nearly throughout, we led well into Q3. They established a 20+ lead mid Q4 which we reduced to the winning margin of four Points. We let Melbourne take control of the game, apart from the last few minutes and some other isolated periods. Much can reflect the vagaries of the bouncing ball and the extraordinary coincidence of where an opponent happened to be standing when the ball arrived, but not all; and our game planning needs to reflect the requirements of circumstance – kick-ins, progress forward and defensive measures against up-and-under kicks to packs, for example. Too many times there was too much delay in moving the ball forward, particularly out of the Backline, and too many ‘impossible’ shots were attempted rather than seeking a better placed goal-kicker up Forward. Note the identification of four Midfield players in the Pies’ Best, above. I know Nick D was busy in the Midfield in Q4 and was hugely influential. Can anyone tell me was he there before then? Good application throughout; well done to all. I love the multiple-tackles.

 

Injuries. Ginnivan (sick; left out), Moore, Johnson, Hoskin-Elliott (again) and Cameron all spent time off the field. Not sure how serious or how long out.

 

Deductions / Lessons? A couple of specific comments following our performance:

 

• General – Great application. Seek to get control of the game. Be brave, as encouraged by the Coach;
• Defence – Plan for pack defensive measures – including punching when appropriate rather than all trying to out-mark opponents, and crumbing. Move the ball more quickly;
• Midfield – Nick D. into the Midfield. Seek to shark the Midfield and look at tagging opponents; and
• Offence – Look seriously at internal 50 passes to better placed goal-kickers.

 

Your comments?

 

Round 14

 

A Bye. Anyone off to Bali?

 

Future:

 

• 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 – so much for my view of Brisbane, Sydney, Freo and North? Your thoughts?

 

Other:

 

• VFL –   From 13^th place on the Ladder, it was a good Win (by 14 Points) over the 5^th placed, Casey Demons. The VFL side had a list of their Best including Kreuger, Bianco, Ruscoe, Kelly and Begg. They also have a Bye this coming weekend. Their next game is Round 14 versus Sydney (sitting 20^th on the Ladder) at the AIA Centre on Saturday, 24 June; bounce at 10.05am. 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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