Cam Hooke’s Collingwood Life: Round 23 review / Week 1 Finals preview

True Believers, Greetings to all. What a turnaround after last week, particularly the enthusiasm and application. Well done by all, especially those patient, long-suffering Pies’ fans (especially those who were there; I look forward to Your Ground Reports).

What did I like?

 

  1. Beating Carlton;
  2. Beating Carlton by 1 Point;
  3. Removing Carlton from the Eight for the first time this Season; and
  4. The chant at the conclusion.

 

There was a lot to like about how we played. More below.

 

And the benefits of being a True Believer, especially when the odds are down? An unnamed member of our family (not Krista or me) earned $160 from a $20 bet at ¾ Time. Just goes to show the benefits of confidence. Nice goal ‘Billy’, well shepherded by ‘the kid’.

 

Onward and upward. Next game – my nemesis, Geelong, at the MCG. See below.  Go Pies.

 

Round 23

 

Collingwood 11.9.75 defeated Carlton 10.14.74.

 

A comment or two:

 

  • AFL website: Another narrow win for the Magpies ends the season of the Blues. Both teams had six scoring shots in the final quarter, but Carlton scored 0.6 and Collingwood scored 5.1 including three goals from defensive 50 chains (AFL average is 13 points per game from these chains).
  • Things I liked from this game:
  • Pendles, in charge and directing traffic in the Midfield (and elsewhere). The very hide of a junior opposition player taking him on, off the ball? “That’s Mr Pendlebury, to you, son.” Well done all, in responding.
  • I love the passage of the ball through the corridor, especially when it’s directed to a goalkicker.
  • Ginnivan’s three goals but, more importantly, his other work including the passage of the ball and the effective shepherd of Elliott for that last goal.
  • Contributions by everyone, particularly the defensive intercepts.
  • Them. Carlton were quite awesome in Q2 and 3. I have to admit to some pessimism at ¾T (perhaps more than a little). Their twin-tower Forwards are illustrative of their wastefulness:
  • 5 from 17 Disposals and 8 Marks;
  • 3 from 16 Disposals and 10 Marks;
  • But the numbers, below, illustrate their broad dominance, except on the scoreboard.
  • One game at a time. Dream. The Finals are very different to H&A.

 

Go Pies.

 

Game Timeline. Have a look at the Timeline at www.afl.com.au/afl/matches/3998#timeline. It shows our scoring dominance in Q1 and Q4, but just how dominant their Q3 was. The Goals scored in each Quarter were:

 

 

  • Q1                   3 (us) / 0 (them);
  • Q2                   2 / 2;
  • Q3                   1 / 8;
  • Q4                   5 / 0; and
  • Total               11 / 10. And we Won. The Scoring Shots – 20 (Us) / 24 (Them).

 

Match Report: www.afl.com.au/afl/matches/3998#match-report

 

Coach’s Comments: www.afl.com.au/video/828587/full-post-match-r23-magpies?videoId=828587&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1661071322001&references=AFL_MATCH:3998.Worth watching, particularly his comments on the team – “an extraordinary layer of belief” and Ginivan’s recovery from the week before. Importantly, he stated that Collingwood is winning games that the numbers say they shouldn’t – Contested ball: -54; Disposals: -22; Inside 50s: -21; Clearances: -12. In response to this he emphasised their ability to challenge the opposition when they need to – see this demonstrated during the game, rather the misleading single game figure, below.

 

Statistics & Lessons:

 

Progressive statistics by Quarter (representing the major shifts in the game at QT and 3/4QT. We dominated Q1 and Q4; they dominated Q3. Look at the numbers, below, with some comments:

 

Statistic category QT HT 3/4T FT Comments
Hit Outs 7 (us) / 7 (them) 16 / 13 34 / 20 43 / 23 Our HO dominance was not reflected in either Clearances or Inside 50s.
 
Clearances 5 / 11 13 / 23 26 / 38 34 / 46

 

The fact that our HO dominance is not reflected in the subsequent statistics means we are being sharked, losing the Midfield battle.

Progressive Clearance shift in Carlton’s favour, with some drop-off in Q4, reflected in Inside 50s. Note Carlton’s Q4 Inside 50 numbers (65–45) compared with ours (44-33). They still dominated.

The relative Goals scored should broadly reflect Inside 50s which should reflect the Clearance numbers differential, which should reflect the HO.

Clearances – Centre bounce 2 / 2 4 / 4 8 / 8 10 / 11
Clearances – Stoppages 3 / 9 9 / 19 18 / 30 24 / 35
Inside 50s 15 / 12 24 / 29 33 / 45 44 / 65

 

Goals scored 3 / 0 5 / 2 6 / 10 11 / 10

 

 
Contested possessions 29 / 38

 

59 / 83 90 / 137 123 / 177 Application, broadly reflected in the CP and Tackles numbers (191 / 241) reflects a very substantial dominance by Carlton. They did well.

Marks – 82 / 80, with Disposals – 328 / 350 and UCP – 193 / 179 (which I don’t usually bother with), tend to cancel out any possession dominance.

1%’ers reflect both team’s defence, perhaps noting our increased Q4 number.

Tackles

 

17 / 16 30 / 30 50 / 45 68 / 64
Marks

 

22 / 26 50 / 41 62 / 57 82 / 80
1%’ers

 

13 / 13 26 / 26 44 / 44 65 / 55
 
Disposal effectiveness 71.6% / 70.3% 72.7% / 70.3% 71.1% / 68.4% 71.6% / 68.0% Worked with a minor advantage, but look what’s coming….
Inside 50 – DE 53.3% / 25.0% 50.0% / 34.5% 45.5% / 46.7% 47.7% / 40.0% This is critical. We had, at times, a substantial advantage. While they had greater Inside 50 numbers, they used the ball significantly less effectively. This is the match Winner statistic.
Inside 50 – Marks 3 / 2 5 / 6 7 / 9 9 / 11
Inside 50 – Tackles 1 / 5 1 / 6 2 / 10 3 / 15
 
Frees 6 / 4 10 / 10 13 / 18 19 / 20 Always where and when awarded. And the 50 m penalties are not included.

 

The Difference in the game? See highlighted sections. Throughout the game we had substantially fewer Clearances and Inside 50s but, apart from Q3, used the ball far more effectively Inside the 50. Goal scoring was much better, especially in Q4.

 

So, what is going on?

 

  • Good?
  • Continued great variety of entry into the 50 and varied goal-kickers.
  • Application was great.
  • Great intercept work in the Backline and punching in packs.
  • Great passages of the ball through the corridor – the reason we watch this great game.
  • The players still enjoying themselves. Love the smiles and the support to teammates.

 

  • Bad?
  • We need to get control of the game, and keep it, for four Quarters.
  • Need to continue to emphasis punching in defensive packs and avoiding too many ‘talls’ and crumbing behind packs.
  • Our failure to exploit our HO dominance into Clearances, particularly, is concerning (still).
  • Umpires protection of the players (I’m leaving this in. Do you remember when we used to say “The umps had a great game; we hardly noticed them.”). I think the 50 m penalty is a disgrace.

 

Best. Listed Best were: Moore, J. Daicos, Pendles, Maynard, N. Daicos and Ginnivan. No comment.

 

Ground Reporting. Who was there? I know at least one of you was there. Ground Reports please? Or I’d love to hear from those of us who simply watched it on TV;  please?

 

 

QF1

 

Geelong versus Collingwood at the MCG.

Saturday, 3 September 2022; bounce at 4.35pm.

 

Firstly, my greetings to my Geelong-supporting siblings. You are welcome to comment?

 

Geelong are the favourite to Win the Flag. Current betting? They are favourites $1.46 / $2.75. I thought it would be higher actually.

 

They are sitting at the top of the Ladder compared with our 4th place, with 18 Wins and 4 Losses compared with our 16 and 6, and with a percentage of 144.2% compared with our 104.3%. They haven’t Lost a game since their Round 13 Bye. You have to go back to Round 9 when they last Lost, to St Kilda by 10 Points. They have, however, been pushed in Round 15 by Richmond and Round 19 by Port. They come into this game with a bunch of Wins, as, of course, do we with the single exception of Sydney in Sydney.

 

They have an outstanding Midfield based on C. Guthrie, Selwood and Smith. Their Forward line based on Cameron and Hawkins (and Stengle from the Pocket) is almost without peer in the competition. In our last game in Round 3 (a long time ago, I acknowledge) their Best included those named plus Stewart – BP. We Lost by 13 Points have had a 36 Point lead entering Q4. In Q3 we scored 9 goals to their 3 before their recovery in Q4 based on 7 goals. Geelong are beatable but we need to play for four quarters, not sections of the whole.

 

Injuries: Go to www.afl.com.au/matches/injury-list. Check later in week.

 

Deductions?

 

The Best from each game since their Round 13 Bye (and their place on the AFLCA Player of the Year) gives me the list of players to watch.

 

Who to watch?

 

 

  • C. Guthrie – Centre. May be injured;
  • Selwood – Midfield. Critical to the Geelong machine. I have always considered him more important than any other Geelong player, past or current. Tag?
  • Cameron – CHF / FF;
  • Duncan – Wing / FF;
  • Hawkins – CHF / FF (also placed on the Wing);
  • Smith – Wing; and
  • Dangerfield – HF.

 

 

Anything else, people? Your views?

 

Us

 

Injuries: Go to www.afl.com.au/matches/injury-list. Also check later in the week.

 

  • Out?   Not sure who.
  • In?      Adams back? Tag Selwood?

 

 

Your thoughts?

 

Team: Very hard to change a winning team except for essential changes (like Adams; we missed him).

 

Things to do – mostly (not entirely), the same as previous weeks:

 

 

 

  • Focus on the Ruck battle. Critical for the next steps – Clearances, then the Inside 50s, then score;
  • Seek to shark the Clearances in the Centre bounces and at stoppages around the ground;
  • Continue to 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;
  • Use the centre corridor;
  • 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 19 Points. BOG – De Goey with 29 Disposals, 8 Clearances, 4 Tackles and 1 goal; Adams tags Selwood resulting in 13 possessions for him and 11 for Selwood; Mihocek kicks 5. Your thoughts? 

 

 

Go get em, boys.

 

  1. TV. Not yet available. Check next week.

 

Weather. Way too much slip sliding still. The weather forecasts light rain on the day, with storms the previous day. Moulded sole boots should be replaced with boots with stops.

 

Next?

 

So, when we Win against Geelong we’ll skip the Semi-Final and head direct to the Preliminary-Final followed by the Grannie.

 

Other

 

 

Believe. Go Pies

 

 

Cam

 

 

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