Round 8
Collingwood 12.13.85 defeated Carlton 12.7.79
Match Report. www.afl.com.au/afl/matches/5959#match-report
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Coach’s Interview. www.afl.com.au/video/1121024/full-post-match-r8-magpies?videoId=1121024&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1714744598001
Goals scored:
Q1 3 (us) / 5 (them), leaving us with a 14 Point deficit at QT;
Q2 5 (us)/ 1, which we promptly reversed leaving us with a 11 Point lead at HT;
Q3 0 (us) / 3, a quite extraordinary Quarter where the scoring did not reflect the play at all, but it lead to a 5 Point deficit at the Final Change;
Q4 4 (us) / 3, a better Quarter, totalling….
Tota 12 (us) / 12, which we Won based on Behinds scored. See Scoring Shots, below.
Numbers
| Category | Numbers (Us / Them) | Comments |
| Hit Outs (HO) | 43 / 42 | Should be a reasonable flow on from HO to Clearance to Inside 50 and score, in the absence of ‘sharking’. |
| Clearances | 44 / 40 | Includes 12 / 11 in Centre and 32 / 29 at stoppages. Not markedly different – see comments below regarding Q4. |
| Inside 50s | 64 / 38 | This is a huge difference, establishing our scoring shot dominance (see below). |
| Disposal Efficiency | 70.9% / 71.0% | Across the whole game. |
| DE inside 50 | 42.2% / 57.9% | The numbers inside the 50 – A killer discrepancy indicating that when they got the ball into the 50 they used it better. |
| Players with DE of 80% | 8 / 9 | |
| Goals scored | 12 / 12 | So, it comes down to Behinds, reflecting the scoring shots. Last week, we drew with Essendon on each part of the score. This week, we have dominated, just not as ‘clean’ as we would have liked. So, see next. |
| Scoring shots | 25 / 19 | As highlighted above our dominance in Inside 50 numbers, partly offset by their Disposal Efficiency inside 50, leads to our Winning the game – see comments below regarding Q4. |
| Contested Possessions | 138 / 154 | Seems to indicate they were working harder than us, but check the Tackle numbers, below. |
| Marks | 75 / 91 | Also seems to indicate their style of play – control of possession through Disposals (323 / 365), Uncontested Possessions (182 / 200) and Uncontested Marks (69 / 79). |
| Marks inside 50 | 8 / 10 | Part of their DE dominance inside the 50. |
| Tackles | 88 / 54 | Now this shows just how committed we were. The multiple-tackles were fantastic. |
| Tackles inside 50 | 22 / 9 | Offsetting much of their dominance in Marks inside 50. |
| 1%’ers | 51 / 57 | Not too different. Reflects on the effort and pressure. |
| Free kicks | 21 / 22. | Any comments? |
.
The Game
This game was interesting, not just because it was against Carlton, but because the control of the game shifted between the two teams on several occasions. I have suggested many times that possession, quite simply, provides the basis for control of the game. That possession is a consequence of the pressure applied. Here until midway through Q1, the teams competed alternating scoring a?couple of goals each. Then in the second half of Q1 Carlton added three unanswered goals, establishing a 19 Point lead, plus they put another on at the start of Q2. We were decimated in that period by the Carlton midfield and their Forward ‘talls’. The most irritating thing about this period was their scoring against the general game play.
.
Well, I’m not too sure what was said at QT, but the game changed completely. Whether this started after the first break or after their early goal doesn’t really matter. We put on five goals turning the QT deficit into a near two-goal lead. This was a consequence of our Midfield establishing some control and drive forward commencing at the Halfback line. At HT, we looked exactly like we were going to run away with it as we had done the previous week against Essendon. But Carlton didn’t give up as you could suggest Essendon did in that game. They returned to the field after HT scoring three goals to nil in Q3, I would suggest, against the flow of the game which, of course, makes it very difficult to fix. Regardless the 2nd Half was overall pretty even.
Q4 was interesting. In that Quarter, starting from a 5 Point deficit, Collingwood threw everything at Carlton. They had 15 more Inside 50’s, they had 7 more Clearances, they had 11 more Contested Possessions and five more Forward Half Intercepts than their opponents. Collingwood Won against a committed opponent who did not give up. Our pressure is improving. We want to be number 1 on assessing pressure.
Carlton’s strength in their Forward line was reasonably negated; their Midfield was well held after HT. Their Defence, particularly the work of Weitering (though unacknowledged in their Best) really impacted on our attacks.
And our team smiles are back. Well done, all.
Your comments?
The Best
The AFL website identifies Nick D., Pendles, Crisp, Noble and Lipinski as their Best. I’d be tempted to add Josh D. (22 Disposals, 5 Marks, 4 Tackles and 293 metres Gained), Maynard (4m, 4t, but critically 414 mG) and maybe Moore – see below.
A comparison: I’m not aware of the Coach’s decision, however watching, it did seem to be that Moore was playing on Curnow? How did they go?
| Statistic | Moore | Curnow | Comment |
| Disposals | 14 @ 85.7% DE | 11 @ 63.6% DE | |
| Other | 10 | 2 | Intercept Possessions (Moore) / Goal Assist (Curnow) |
| Marks | 3 | 4 | |
| Tackles | 2 | 0 | |
| metres Gained | 224 | 223 | Not a typo. Those are the numbers recorded on the AFL website. |
| Goals scored | 0 | 2 | Well under Curnow’s average. |
| Inside 50s | 2 | 2 | |
| Clearances | 0 | 0 | |
| 1%’ers | Many | Few | Not recorded against the individual player, but watching, Moore was dominant. |
What do you think? I have seen some commentators stating that this was the best game Moore has played for a while.
Other
Injuries? Expect McCreery to be missing for a couple of weeks following a concussion. Maybe we could get his mum back to give the boys a rev before the game? Importantly, see next section, a number of players, previously injured, are potentially returning via the VFL team – Bytel, Krueger and De Mattia.
Penalties?
I am pleased to see Maynard not being pursued for a dangerous tackle. I thought at the time that he was unfairly ‘pinged’;
And it is hard to believe that Pendles is being fined because Cerra pushed him into an umpire. Get real; double Cerra’s fine if this is all; about money; and
And it is disappointing for Schultz that he’ll miss a game. Again, I thought at the time that, as a professional football player, he should have known better and he was silly responding to the earlier push as he did.
Fans. 88,362 people were there. What was the divide between them regarding the supported team? Our fans were a bit quiet until the end. Were any of our True Believers at the game? Reports please?
**
Round 9
R9 – Sunday, 12th May (for those Army people who were a significant number of members of our group when we started – Coral Day) – Collingwood versus the West Coast Eagles at Marvel; bounce at 1.00pm.
This game pits the WCE sitting 15th in the Ladder with 2 Wins and 6 Losses resulting in their percentage of 75.9% against our 9th place, our 4 Wins, 3 Losses and 1 Drawn game and 99.0% percentage.
Current betting places us as Favourites – $1.08 to $8.00.
Them
The Eagles have had a number of challenging years. Their last Finals entry was wrecked by Collingwood in the first week of the Finals in 2020, when we Won by one Point. They finished 9th on the Ladder in 2021 but have fallen further in recent years. In 2022 their solitary Win was against Collingwood in Round 4. In 2023 they achieved three Wins against GWS (R2), NM (R20) and WB (R23). Their resultant position at the end of the season was Last, which lead to their 1st pick at the Draft last year. They chose Harley Reid who is already playing a significant role. This season they have Won two games against Richmond and Fremantle. You can fairly expect a significantly improved performance this year.
The WCE Injury situation is a little unclear. There has been some talk of injuries to Yeo, Long and Reid.
Players to watch:
Yeo – Centre;
Williams – Ruck;
McGovern – CHB / FB;
Reid – Rover;
Kelly – also Centre;
Waterman – CHF; and
Duggan – Wing.
Us
Team. A couple of changes, some forced, others based on a sensible approach to the workload. Changes are needed due to injuries and forced absences. It is also suggested that some older players are in need of some rest:
Out:
McCreery (Injury)
Schultz (Suspension)
Howe (Managed)
Sidebottom (Managed)
Hoskin-Elliott (Managed)
In:
Begg
Macrae
Bytel
Krueger
De Mattia
Your thoughts?
Application? Crank up the motivation and keep it there? No change to this general requirement – Application for four full Quarters. Hold the tackles. Establish and maintain control of the game (possessions). Look to where the ball is going before passing it. Keep it up and make it even better.
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 setting packs. Crumb around packs, particularly defensively, importantly in front and behind the packs. Fix the kick-in plan – We need to keep possession, so it’s not immediately turned around. So, avoid the long kicks to packs; look to passing the ball between teammates, more generally, but particularly in the kick-in.
Be happy? Let’s see some chatter. Better each week, but there’s still room for improvement.
Necessary Actions?
- Close attention to their Midfield – Yeo / Kelly and Reid;
- Close attention to selected Forwards – Waterman;
- Avoid the use of the corridor connecting CHF to CHB through the Midfield; and
- Enjoy the Win.
Weather. Just shut the roof if you need. Molded sole boots will be fine.
TV: No Free to Air TV.
Kayo or FOXTEL – Best for every game anyway.
My assessment?
This will not be an easy Win, but will be comprehensive. It needs to make a statement to the competition: “Yes, the Eagles have improved. So have we.”
Collingwood to Win by 74 Points. BOG Mihocek – 9 Goals.
Bobby gets 5 goals.
Billy gets 5 goals.
Ground Reports? Guys, Reports please? Anyone heading to Marvel? I’d like to hear from other armchair warriors watching from afar?
The Future?
R9 – Sunday, 12th May – Collingwood versus the West Coast Eagles at Marvel; bounce at 1.00pm – no FTA TV coverage; and
R10 – Saturday, 18th May – Collingwood versus Adelaide at the MCG; bounce at 1.45pm – also no FTA TV coverage.
**
Other?
VFL:
A Loss against Southport last week has put us into 15th place on the Ladder but we’re not even close to halfway through the season, so there’s plenty of time left. We need to be in the Top 10 to get to the Finals.
Next:
R7 – Saturday, 11th May – Versus Northern Bullants at the Genis Steel Oval in Preston; bounce at 2.05pm. We are always interested in how individuals are going. If you can get to a match, send us a Report please
R8 – Saturday, 18th May – Versus Werribee back at Victoria Park; bounce at 11.05am. Note that this game precedes our game at the G, so you might be able to catch both, plus most of the AFLW game following it.
VFLW:
A narrow Win (2 Points) against Sydney in Sydney last week. Well done, Ladies. We are about halfway through the season so there’s enough time to fix this. We are currently sitting 10th on the Ladder but need to be in the Top 6 to make the Finals.
Next:
R8 – Saturday, 11th May – Versus Geelong at the Deakin University in Geelong; bounce at 12.00pm. Good luck, ladies; and
R9 – Saturday, 18th May – Versus WB back at Victoria Park; bounce at 3.00pm.
Always believe; Go Pies.
Cam
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