Cam Hooke’s Collingwood Life: Round 16 – Review / Round 17 – Preview

G’day to all.

 

This game was also important because the Suns were being talked about regarding a Finals’ appearance. I think that is probably unlikely now. And, as I said last week and the week before, I can do without a repeat of the last two minutes of the game each week. Too much stress.

 

Onward and upward. Next game – North Melbourne. See below.  Go Pies.

 

Round 16

 

Collingwood 9.13.67 defeated the Gold Coast 8.14.62. Close. Sure was in the end.

 

A couple of comments first:

 

• Okay, 6 in a row; comfortably inside the Eight with the potential to make it 10 straight – go to Beveridge & Cornes at www.afl.com.au/video/792156/goalkicking-woes-cost-two-contenders-dearly-pies-eye-10-in-a-row?videoId=792156&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1656802846001. Next – North, Adelaide in Adelaide, Essendon and Port at the MCG. Of these Essendon are playing well but none should be discounted or viewed as easy. Because of our relatively low percentage we need to look at winning all of them. Then? The final three H&A games are against Melbourne, Sydney in Sydney and Carlton. We should approach them as finals-style games. But do watch Richmond and the WB, sitting at 9^th and 10^th, each with better percentages, remembering the lesson each of them gave us a few weeks back.

 

 

• One game at a time. Be sensible, but be prepared to dream.

 

Go Pies.

 

Game Timeline. Have a look at the Timeline at www.afl.com.au/afl/matches/3936#timeline. It shows the dynamic nature of the game – the Suns’ great start in Q1 and their dominance in late Q3 / early Q4 leading to us trailing by 14 Points well into Q4, and then, our recovery to Win in Q4. The game, Goals scored by Quarter:

 

• Q1                   3 (us) / 3 (them).
• Q2                   3 / 2;
• Q3                   0 / 1;
• Q4                   3 / 2; and
• Total               9 / 8. And we Won.  Note the Scoring Shot differential – 22 (Us) / 22 (Them).

 

Match Report: www.afl.com.au/afl/matches/3936.

 

Coach’s Comments: www.afl.com.au/video/792125/full-post-match-r16-magpies?videoId=792125&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1656767807001. McRae apologised to the fans at home for the stress of the game. I appreciate that. He acknowledged the need to focus on the ‘little things’ but highlighted the group belief within the team. Worth watching.

 

Statistics & Lessons:

 

Watching at home I was able to catch the statistics during the game, identifying the numbers by Quarter as they are entered progressively on the AFL website. On this occasion I have recorded the progressive numbers of some categories (This is not going to happen every week, trust me) with some comments:

 

Statistic category	Q1	HT	Q3	FT	Comments
Hit Outs	13(us)/11(them)	22/17	27/23	39/33	This surprised me. Witts is one of the best Rucks in the competition. For us, Cox is better than Cameron.
Clearances	9/11	17/21	19/29	30/41	HO dominance did not translate into Clearance or Inside 50 numbers (after HT for I50s) or goals scored. We lost the Midfield battle.
Inside 50s	16/12	26/26	34/40	46/54
Goals scored	3/3	6/5	6/6	9/8	There was a litany of wasted opportunities of goal scoring. Fortunately for us, GC were similarly afflicted.
Contested possessions	32/39	74/77	99/115	134/153	Progressive domination by the GC.
Tackles	17/16	32/26	36/32	53/54	Up and down.
Disposal effectiveness	66.7/61.0%	70.1/65.4%	70.4/67.3%	68.8/67.9%	Not too important. See next.
Inside 50 – DE	43.8/41.7%	50.0/30.8%	44.1/37.5%	45.7/35.2%	These are the critical numbers. Our DE and Marks inside 50 were substantially better than theirs. If you had to pick a statistic that took us over the line, the DE inside 50 is it. This won us the game.
Inside 50 – Marks	6/2	13/3	15/11	17/13
1%’ers	11/16	28/37	39/46	55/57	A measure of application, particularly by defence.
Frees	2/5	6/8	9/10	13/12	Always the location and timing and the failure to award some Frees.

 

Application. The sum of Contested Possessions and Tackles, as a final measure of application, gives – 187 (us) / 207 (them). For periods, each side was dominant. You can do the sums if you want.

 

So, what is going on? McRae lamented the lost opportunities. He reported Mihocek had apologised to him at HT following ‘that incident’. His acknowledgement of the need to do, and value, the ‘little things’ is both acknowledged and supported. I thought we missed Howe, but expect him back. Watch how we go with Moore. And note the number of players in the VFL competition doing well; just looking for an opportunity.

 

Best. Listed Best were: N. Daicos, J. Daicos, Sidebottom, Ginn, Moore and Noble. It was a great ‘team effort’ but I would have added Quaynor. Well done.

 

Ground Reporting. Now, did anyone go? The Gold Coast is, unfortunately, some way away. Ground Reports please? Or I’d love to hear from those of us who simply watched it on TV;  please?

 

 

Round 17

 

Collingwood versus North Melbourne.

Saturday, 9 July 2022 at the MCG; bounce at 1.45pm.

 

North Melbourne sit at the bottom of the Ladder with one Win (against the WCE in Round 2) and 14 Losses. Their percentage is 49.5%. Ours? 6^th place on the Ladder with 10 Wins and 5 Losses and a percentage of 106.1%. Current betting – we are favourites – $1.02 / $15.00.

 

So, North’s season, so far:

Round 1 – Loss against Hawthorn by 20 Points;

Round 2 – Win over WCE by 15;

Round 3 – Loss against Brisbane by 108;

Round 4 – Loss against Sydney, in Sydney, by 11;

Round 5 – Loss against WB by 68;

Round 6 – Loss against Geelong in Hobart by 60;

Round 7 – Loss against Carlton by 50;

Round 8 – Loss against Freo by 78;

Round 9 – Loss against Port by 69;

Round 10 – Loss against Melbourne by 47;

Round 11 – Loss against St Kilda by 53;

Round 12 – Loss against the GC in Darwin by 62;

Round 13 – Loss against GWS by 49;

Round 14 – Bye;

Round 15 – Loss against Adelaide by 57; and

Round 16 – Loss against Geelong by 112 Points.

 

Not a happy picture. Their solitary Win was in Round 2. Their average losing margin since Round 3 is nearly 65. They are coming to the game following their Loss to Geelong by 112 Points. I usually expect some kick-back in response to that but am not sure.

Injuries: Go to  www.nmfc.com.au/teams/afl/injury-news. Check later in week.

 

Deductions?

 

The Best from each game gives me the Deductions and the list of players to watch. This is an opportunity to play ‘our game’ and to work on our percentage.

 

Who to watch?

 

• Davies-Uniacke – Ruck Rover;
• Simpkin – Centre;
• Horne-Francis – Rover;
• Zurhaar – FF; and
• McDonald – BP.

 

Also keep an eye on Stephenson, just for old-times’ sake.

 

Anything else, people? Your views?

 

Us

 

Injuries:

 

• Out? Moore injured?
• In? Not sure. Your thoughts?

 

Team: Very hard to change a winning team after a couple of Wins. Change only for Moore.

 

Things to do – same as previous weeks:

 

• Focus on the ruck battle – very important for the next step – Clearances, then the Inside 50s;
• Seek to shark the Clearances in the Centre bounces and at stoppages around the ground;
• Better establish Forward targets – a variety is essential;
• Maintain the speed of movement; avoid stoppages or delays (particularly amongst the Backline) – open the game up;
• Continue to enjoy your footy; and
• Pursue the execution of the high-intensity Game Plan for the entire four Quarters.

 

Your thoughts would be welcomed.

 

Result

 

• My Result. Collingwood to Win by 117 Points. BOG – De Goey with 34 Disposals, 9 Clearances and 3 Tackles; Ginnivan, Henry and Mihocek each get 5. Your thoughts? 

 

 

Go get em, boys.

 

1. No FTA coverage. So Kayo or head to the pub to watch.

 

Weather. Rain is not forecast, unlike the days leading up to it, when it is. Likely to be very slippery. Get out the boots with stops. If you don’t trust me, watch last week’s game and the amount of slip sliding.

 

Round 18

 

Saturday, 16 July 2022; bounce at 1.45pm.

Adelaide versus Collingwood, in Adelaide.

 

Other

 

• Footy Almanac. Go to www.footyalmanac.com.au. More specifically go to www.footyalmanac.com.au/?s=Hooke for the history. Readers can make comments at the end – interesting reading. Highly recommended.

 

Go Pies

 

 

Cam

 

To return to the www.footyalmanac.com.au  home page click HERE

 

Our writers are independent contributors. The opinions expressed in their articles are their own. They are not the views, nor do they reflect the views, of Malarkey Publications.

 

Do you enjoy the Almanac concept?
And want to ensure it continues in its current form, and better? To help keep things ticking over please consider making your own contribution.

 

Become an Almanac (annual) member – CLICK HERE
One-off financial contribution – CLICK HERE
Regular financial contribution (monthly EFT) – CLICK HERE