Cam Hooke’s Collingwood Life: Round 14 Review, Round 15 Preview

True Believers, g’day.

 

This year is not over; not by a long shot. Before this Round I was pretty ‘comfortable’ (actually, that’s a lie; ‘accepting’ would be a better word) that Port were best closely followed by Geelong and the Eagles. I was already thinking of a Geelong / Eagles GF and not looking forward to ‘family dealings’ as a consequence.

 

Richmond appeared to have dropped off their game and we were fighting to stay in the Eight. Now? Well, Geelong got over the Bulldogs at the death. For most of the game they looked anything but Premiership material. Andrew & John, comments? And Richmond taught the WCE a footy lesson in spite of Nic Nat’s total ruck dominance (actually Soldo did okay) – how does Martin get into the right position so frequently? And St Kilda and Melbourne have been duelling down the bottom of the Eight. So now, after just another Round all bets are off. The field is wide open, again.

 

We can win this. We, simply, have to play at our best at the appropriate time. Go Pies. Believe!

 

Round 14: Collingwood versus Carlton

 

Collingwood 10.12.72 defeated Carlton 7.6.48.

 

A pretty fair performance that started well in Q1, lost the plot a bit in Q2 but then reasonably dominated for the rest of the game. Frequently criticised, I thought the movement of the ball into the 50 and scoring was good in Q3 and Q4 and players did their jobs; eg. Cox attracted defenders away from other targets and took an occasional mark and scored a goal. Well done. Goals scored by Quarter were:

 

  • Q1- 2 (us) / 2 (them);
  • Q2 – 3 / 5;
  • Q3 – 1 / 0;
  • Q4 – 4 / 0; and
  • Total: 10 / 7.

 

Match Report. Go to https://www.afl.com.au/matches/2882#match-report.

 

Buck’s comments. At https://www.afl.com.au/video/492894/bucks-he-s-probably-fractured-his-cheekbone?videoId=492894&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1598776926001. Also worth watching Bucks challenge the allegation that “He was empty because he didn’t have a Flag“. Well played, Bucks.

 

Statistics. The Match statistics for the team and individuals are at https://www.afl.com.au/matches/2882#team-stats and https://www.afl.com.au/matches/2882#player-stats. Always worth a browse. Again, the total game numbers don’t give us the quarter by quarter breakdown. Regardless, some comments, looking for ‘telling statistics’:

 

Passage to Goal:

 

  • Hit Outs – 39 (us) / 23 (them). Well done, Brodie. The past couple of weeks I’ve suggested resting him – he was appearing tired. I think we’ve run out of time. We need him for us to win against Brisbane; same re his old partner Witts in the GC. And his Q4 against Carlton was terrific;
  • Clearances – 31 / 22. Better. Elliott and Adams are doing really well in the middle;
  • Disposal Efficiency – 74.1% / 67.6%. This is a bit of a difference. Inside 50 it was greater – 57.5% / 46.5%;
  • Inside 50s – 40 / 43. Interestingly. Marks inside 50 were very even (8 / 7). Again, many of our goals were ‘crumbed’ rather than a neat pathway to Goal through a marking Forward;
  • Scoring Shots – 22 / 13; and
  • Goals – 10 / 7;

 

Application, something we’ve always prided ourselves on.

  • Contested Possession – 123 / 113;
  • Contested Marks – 10 / 5. Good domination;
  • Tackles – 60 / 65. And Tackles Inside 50 were 9 / 12. Both numbers were a surprise to me. Watching the game gave me a very different impression;
  • Turnovers – 59 / 64. Again, a surprise to me; and
  • 1%’ers – 40 / 37. I value this number as a first-order comparison of team effort; and

 

And individual performance:

 

  • Player numbers with an individual Disposal Efficiency equal to or over 80% – 8 / 6. Very big improvements in individual Disposal Efficiency across the paddock – Adams – 73.9%, Crisp – 88%, Grundy – 75% and Roughead – 88.9%. Still some room for improvement but, understandably, mostly seen in the Midfield – Elliott 45.1%. A comparison – Eddie Betts – 38.5%.

 

In summary:

 

  • Pressure. We were very impressive. I don’t think the numbers give an accurate view;
  • Disposal Efficiency. Much improved individual Disposal Efficiency;
  • Scoring. Still need to set in place ‘the process’ linking the Mids and the Forwards; and
  • Basic Mistakes. Again, still too many.

 

And Free Kicks – 14 / 13. I think the AFL needs to address the “caught with the ball” and “incorrect disposal” rules.

Best: The AFL website identified Elliott, Adams, Daicos, Crisp, Maynard and Moore as Best. I thought you could fairly add Quaynor. Your thoughts?

 

The Future (after Brisbane):

 

  • Round 16 – Bye;
  • Round 17 – 14 September at the Gabba – Gold Coast; bounce 7.10pm; and
  • Round 18 – 30 August – Port Adelaide. Detail TBA.

 

Round 15: Collingwood versus Brisbane

 

Friday, 4 September at the Gabba; bounce at 7.50pm.

 

Them

 

Firstly, Brisbane have an Injury List second to none (actually Geelong, GWS and the GC are all pretty good; and Port’s is not bad). It is extraordinary compared to ours. Secondly, they have a 12-day break between games before they play us, compared with our 5-day break (looking forward to our break before the GC game). Make of that what you will – I always saw the week off after a Semi-Final going into a Preliminary Final as a questionable advantage. However, what few injuries they have can be recovered. Maybe it is an advantage – who knows?

 

Okay, remember 2002 and 2003. Other history between the Pies and Brisbane is at https://www.afl.com.au/matches/2892.

 

Brisbane has not beaten the Magpies at the Gabba since 2010 and fell well short when the teams met on Easter Thursday last year.

 

Brisbane have been the promised ‘improver’ over the last several seasons. They are currently sitting 3rd on the Ladder with 10 Wins and 3 Losses, interestingly their two most recent Wins were against North and St Kilda and they Won by 1 and 2 Points respectively. Further back they Won against Melbourne by 4 Points. And much further back, they beat the Eagles by 30 Points (R3), Port by 37 Points (R5) and GWS by 20 Points (R7). Life was looking pretty good for a while. They’ve also Lost to Geelong by 27 Points (R6) and Richmond by 41 Points (R10). So, their most recent form is highly questionable.

 

Brisbane rely on their Midfield and use of the corridor with key players in the Centre, CHF and CHB. Scoring is frequently from ‘crumbing’ Forwards.

 

Who to watch for?

 

  •  Midfield:

Neale – Rover;

McLuggage – Wing;

Zorko – RR; and

Berry – off the Interchange;

  • Backline: Lyons – CHB; and
  • Forwards: Charlie Cameron – FP.

 

Also keep an eye on Starcevich in various positions (including Ruck) – a famous Collingwood name.   .

 

Your thought??s?

 

Us

 

Okay, mostly the same as every week. To do list:

 

  • Control the game. We need to be the team winning the Midfield battle, keeping control of the ball until, really importantly, we have an easy kick at Goal – be willing to pass the ball within the 50 to a better placed goal kicker;
  • Get control of the Clearances to match HO;
  • Reduce load on Grundy with inclusion of Lynch, rotating Forward;
  • Tag Cameron or Neale – Greenwood;
  • Pendles can have Zorko; and
  • Speed and variety of entry to the goal-kicking position. Stop the ‘up and under’ big kick into the 50. Kick to a leading Forward.

 

Team:

 

  • Ins: Lynch, Greenwood, Varcoe and Scharenberg; and
  • Outs: Mayne (injured), C. Brown, Cameron and Madgen. Your thoughts?

 

 Pre-game Brief? Go to https://www.afl.com.au/matches/2892 (eventually).

 

Weather. Sunny with a very low chance of light rain.

 

  1. TV. Not clear. Go to https://www.afl.com.au/broadcast-guide-premiership.

 

 Anyone Going? Anyone in Brisbane? I’d still really like to hear others’ views before, during and after the game?

 

 Expert Predictions? Look around here at http://whotippedwhat.com/. It is interesting to note a Win by Carlton was supported by 51% of the ‘experts’ last week. This week 83% of the same ‘experts” are predicting a Brisbane Win including Caro, Dermie and Mick McGuane.

 

My Picks

 

  • Pies to Win by 17 Points. BOG – Adams (36 Disposals @ 89.2% DE; 7 Clearances and 1 goal). Cox, Grundy Lynch each kick two. Your prediction and selections?

 

Other

 

 

This is our year, people. C’mon, be positive. Let’s hear your views?

 

Go Pies.

 

Cam

 

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