by Paul McKay for the Floreat Pica Society
Round 17 and we are back to Marvel, Docklands, Colonial, Etihad, Telstra (have I missed any?) Stadium, where we face a constantly improving and dangerous Dogs outfit. Their forward line will be a handful. They sit inside the 8 with 9 wins from 15. The big news from the Pie side is that our smoothest operator, Scott Pendlebury, needs only 13 touches to become the highest possession getter in the history of the game. Also Jordan de Goey returns after doing his time on the sidelines. We have truly missed his energy & class in the midfield in recent weeks.
Q1; From the opening bounce, JDaicos and Lipinski combine nicely to deliver forward, no conversion. Dogs bring the ball back and their little dynamo, Cody Weightman marks uncontested. First goal to the Dogs. Again, another sublime Collingwood combination in the middle, this time NDaicos to Crispy and his delivery to Billy Elliott was simply too hot to handle and the ball spills. He rises slowly, as if winded by the incoming bullet. Great mark to IQ on half back, delivery back into our 50, still no cigar. Next it’s Noble to deliver deep into our forward line, hoping for one of three talls to do the job, but neither Cox, Cameron, or Frampton can reel in a mark. The long bombs are not working.
The long-haired ex Pie, Caleb Poulter collects the ball on the wing, gains a very impressive 20 metres before realising that he is playing in a Dogs guernsey and he’s going the WRONG WAY. He eventually turns around, yet still delivers perfectly to someone in black & white, to a grateful Darcy Cameron on his own at half back. It’s the Clanger moment of the night.
Numbers 35 on 35 promises to be an enthralling contest. Murphy partakes in the first of many contests. NDaicos & Crisp combine again, but we cannot get beyond 50. Weightman again pops up, snaps truly at the other end, and we are two goals down. Another NDaicos push deep into our forward line, another Dogs mark. Hmmmm… Naughton pulls down a huge mark against Moore and IQ, and goals. We are 3 – nil down. The Dogs are looking steady, composed and in control. Naughton takes an uncontested mark and luckily, he misses his round the corner shot. McRae is down on the bench, pep talking with his charges. Mitchell gets shirt fronted, free at half back. A nice forward move is scuttled by Ash Johnson kicking out on the full. Hmmmm…. Markov lays on a brutal tackle, wrapping up Bailey Williams on the wing. Loving his work rate as much as he is loving his footy. Pendles applies his magic and draws Billy Elliott into a space surrounded by four Dogs arriving late. Well noted by Richo about the difficulty of the kick. Billy converts and we are on the board with 7 mins left in Q1. Our half back moves look so good, well-crafted, possession footy, and we do it again via Crisp, IQ, McCreery, but no mark, up forward. Adams had a golden chance to set up NDaicos, elects to kick instead, behind. Pendles is busy, he finds Bobby Hill in space, 45m out, and his set shot misses to the left. Can’t blame the wind. Lipinski finds Elliott within range. Another miss. Our composure on the run is good, and our half back sling shots (as BT calls them) are looking ominous. Last 10 mins has seen the ball in our forward half. Several forward pushes but no goals, the Dogs take a 9 point lead into qtr time.
Q2; Pendles sinks the slipper and we are moving forward again. It’s a sign of the times when a tackle is referred to as “carefully managed” to the ground, which is Brayshaw’s description of McCreery’s tackle on Poulter. Ugle-Hagan shakes off tight attention from skipper Darcy and manages to mark within range. He goals – Dogs lead by 15. McCreery working hard on the near wing, another superb chain of handballs forward, and Lipinski finds Elliott. His decision to play on and try the round the corner kick was not the right one. Behind. We are now 1 goal 5 and in urgent need of some accuracy. Naughton takes a ripper at the other end and his round the corner finds it mark. Dogs by 20 points and the Full Forwards in the commentary box are gushing. Pies needing some real magic now.
JDaicos sublimely delivers to Ash J and sadly, he finds the boundary line again. Audible groans from Pies fans. Another well-crafted half back sling shot, Moore to Howe to Crisp to Markov and Adams marks on the 50. His shot goes 49.9 metres and Ash Johnson’s hands mark cleanly right on the goal line. Our second goal. Dogs are up and about immediately again, and Darcy gives Ugle Hagan enough space to mark easily in the forward pocket. Another round the corner miss. Two minutes later, the same Ugle Hagan is taking another shot from almost the same spot. This time he delivers truly. Dogs by 22, and the commentators are starting to say Pies are not switched on. That theory is quashed immediately with De Goey collecting cleanly from Cameron’s deft tap, delivering over the top of a forward pack, Ash Johnson is at the back saying thank you and strolls into goal. Another deft tap by Cameron is to Pendles and the Pies are suddenly queuing up, Crisp finds the ball and pushes forward, but Frampton is caught behind. Bobby Hill almost does a double take with Frampton but can only muster a behind. Dogs quickly move forward again and Lachie McNeil misses an easy set shot. We are lucky. Dogs by 16.
Murphy is rewarded by some relentless back line (I’ll say controlled) desperation and earns a free kick from his tackle. Backs combine as harmoniously as the Berlin Philharmonic and Markov is everywhere. Yet we are still finding blue guernseys on our HF line. Aggressive forward move by the Dogs and UH finds Darcy Moore napping and takes the mark. His set shot goes wide again. Four mins left in this dramatic half of footy, and we are 17 points down. Who will step up? Luke Beveridge seems to have made a change. Instead of White King on the back wall of his coach’s box, it’s now Pedigree Dog Food. Probably more appropriate for Bulldogs than White King.
Both back lines are under intense pressure in these few minutes. Both teams desperately want to get a final score before half time. Enter McCreery, oh the Beau…. Massive individual effort here, his Mum would have been on her feet, as her flossy haired son hugs the outer boundary line, walking a tightrope, brings Crisp and Ash Johnson into the script, then finds the outstretched fingers of Billy Elliott, who this time kicks quickly & truly around the corner. How Alex Keath gets out of a 50m penalty here is staggering. He wandered over the mark and managed to explain his way out of it. The Dogs lead is now reduced to 11 points and the temperature is increasing around the Docklands area. Pendles, de Goey, NDaicos are back into the action. JDaicos finds Elliott and from 45m on a 45 degree angle, he threads it. Our deficit is down to 5 points. Half time bell on a spellbinding contest. We all take a deep breath.
Q3; The hyphen is off with a mysterious hand injury, and Trent Bianco comes on, looking somewhat like a rabbit in the headlights. Pendles needs one more touch to break the record. DeGoey is everywhere in the first minutes, and he gets a free within range, nails it, around the corner again, and we are in front by a point. We’ve kicked five of the last six and our Jesus lookalike in the cheer squad is vigorously waving his flag. Who is that guy? Actually with that hair & beard, I would rate him more of a John the Baptist look alike.
Libba finds the pink boots of IQ, who is proving more repellent than a can of Aeroguard. How many intercept marks for him so far tonight? Another forward Dogs push, and, you guessed it, another clean IQ intercept! However our possession doesn’t last, the Bont cuts off our fancy stuff and he finds UH yet again. His set shot misses. Phew. Scores are level. McCreery involved in another incisive run, carving up the wing like a Teppanyaki chef, NDaicos is with him at the very beginning of this brave territorial endeavour, and darts into the 50m zone, he takes the crumbs from the forward contest, and without skipping a beat, kicks a sweetly struck, check-side beauty. Rhythm, poise, pace, all in the one superbly delivered package. Goal of the night. Champagne football. I could go on. And I will…
The Dogs collectively take all this brilliance in their stride, and they are certainly not laying down. They move forward from the bounce and Skipper Moore gives away a soft & highly dubious free to UH on a fast lead. Amazingly, Moore quickly delegates the man on the mark duties and heads straight to the goal square, and ultimately marks UH’s kick right on the goal line. Exceptional decision making. Centimetre perfect, as Dennis would say. UH seems to be celebrating while rumbling with Mason, but the laugh is on him – no score! And the Pies are away again.
And we come to the Golden Scott Pendlebury moment. Take a bow, you champion. He brings the house down with his 9,568th possession, and a standing ovation ensues. What a moment! It lifts the team.
The next goal is also one for the ages. Bobby Hill puts on the jets around the wing, and Bailey Smith tries hard, but has zero chance of catching him. Hitting a target while running at full pace is never easy, but Bobby does it sweetly, hitting Billy Elliott laces out. Billy then finds Josh Daicos and his goal from 45m out, off two quick steps is an absolute gem. Two very small pie chart sections of the crowd, one behind and one in front of this kick are clearly audible with their oohs and aahs. Show time. Pendles takes himself to the bench and it’s high fives and fist bumps all around. Wow. Pies by 13.
The Dogs attack yet again, and West finds Naughton in space, who goals from 15m out. Pies by 7. The Bont parts the seas, and heads toward the Promised Land, but misses. Phew. One minute later he has the ball in the goal square and only a desperate tackle by Darcy Moore stops him. No score, Pies by 6 points.
Cox drags in a great one hander under immense canine pressure, and then duly misses a very gettable shot from 40m. Where is thy compass tonight, tall Texan? NDaicos is everywhere, and he cuts off a Dogs backline line switch and stops the rot. Goal from 50m. His Dad is seen showing off traditional Macedonian dance moves in the stands.
DeGoey BOOMS out of the middle to a big marking Billy Frampton. Goal, and suddenly we are out to a 19 point lead.
IQ takes his 7th intercept mark, Darcy Cameron spoons the ball out (missed by the ump) to Bianco, who finds Ash Johnson tight up against the boundary line. We know he is very comfortable in this spot and he threads his trademark bender from the boundary line into the Marvel stadium rafters. Pies are white hot. Another Pendlebury touch, another massive ROAR from the crowd. 3 qtr bell, Pies by 25. As we go to the break, all attention is on Pendles. Fully deserved.
Q4; DeGoey & Mitchell in the action early and Lipinski marks on 50m and gets a poke in the eye from a Bailey Dale backhander. It has no effect on his eyesight, as he threads a long kick, straight through the middle! Our lead is out to 31 points. We have 10 of the last 11 goals. Howe, IQ and General Markov combine to repel another Bulldog incursion, and from the centre it’s a lightning quick combination from Adams, Crisp, NDaicos, De Goey and a long delivery finds Billy Elliott 10 m out. Goal, and it’s a game high 37 point lead. This is our peak moment, and we kick only another 3 behinds for the night. Mason kicks the first of these three after a towering mark, but missing to the near side. Could he have packed the wrong glasses? The Bianco moment comes – it looks bad – kicking into Naughton on the mark and then rag dolled when trying to tackle him. We are very lucky that Weightman missed the set shot resulting from this, but he makes amends soon after with a snap and the momentum has clearly shifted. Pies by 23. Weightman is again in the action, roving English crumbs, but again scores a behind. 22 point lead, 11 minutes to go. Can we have a sealer, please? Answer is no. Libba & Caleb Daniel have stepped up and Dogs seem to have all the possession. Another trademark DeGoey burst from half back and the ball is with Hill on the 50m line. He finds Cox who tries around the corner from his set shots, and hits the post. De Goey is again in the action, bulldozing his way through several Dogs in the goal square, but his scrambled kick hits the post.
Naughton scores a soft free kick, and you could clearly lip read IQ’s response. Ball gets to a running Poulter and he kicks truly from 50. Impressive from the ex-Pie, but I preferred his 20m effort in Q1. Lead down to 18 points. Dogs push forward again from the centre bounce and Treloar delivers a bullet forward, and it’s IQ in the way again. Relief. A bit of keepings-off follows and the pace slows for a minute. This time Darcy Cameron stands tall to take a defensive mark. Another push forward by the Dogs and next it’s the other Darcy, our skipper taking the intercept. Bone crunching tackle by Elliott on MacCrae. The Dogs are clearly not giving up, and with 1.08 left on the clock, that man Weightman snaps another. 12 point lead. Not the scenario we were hoping for. It’s a desperate final minute and McCreery is tackling anything that moves. Crisp takes the intercept mark with 14 seconds left.
We are home. All cameras are on Pendles.
Collingwood 13.11.89 Western Bulldogs 11.11.77
Despite conceding the last four goals to the Dogs, there were some impressive defensive efforts from our guys in the dying minutes. Crisp, Murphy, Howe. Moore and IQ in particular. Of course it’s disappointing that we could not conduct an unceremonial burying of the Dogs in what has often been our strong quarter. But we were clearly up against quality opposition who never gave up hope of pulling off a mighty comeback.
Unlike previous games, Q3 was our purple patch and if anyone wants to watch the replay, I would suggest starting from the 20 minute mark of Q2, through to the 6 minute mark of Q4. That’s where our avalanche occurred and following that, we had the defensive smarts, both forward and back to defend our 37 point lead. But only just. It could well have been right down to the wire had UH and Cody kicked straight. Notable that Libba and Bailey Smith were very quiet, either shut down, or simply couldn’t get their hands on the ball, since NDaicos and DeGoey were winning many of the engine room battles.
Altogether an entertaining game, and Your Bangkok Correspondent is pleased to get to report on a gutsy win.
Votes;
1.Nick Daicos – possibly a bit harsh, given his 29 possessions, some of which were pure gold, but the next two deserve it….
2.Jordan De Goey – great to have him back, and he had not missed a beat during his time off. Several sorties were from his creativity, speed and strength.
3.Isaac Quaynor – BT at one point nicknamed him “the interceptor” and indeed he was. Super fit, brimming with confidence, he finds space (even on the tight Marvel playing field) and delivers cleanly. 16 kicks, 11 handballs, 13 marks – I think 10 or 11 were intercepts.
Apologies to Markov, Noble, Crisp, JDaicos, Billy Elliott and Pendles, all of whom contributed solidly. Also to Darcy Cameron for amassing 35 tap outs to 30, against one of the best ruckmen in the game at the moment.
Go Pies!
Paul McKay.
FPS Bangkok Correspondent.
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WESTERN BULLDOGS 3.1 6.5 7.7 11.11 (77)
COLLINGWOOD 1.4 5.6 11.8 13.11 (89)
GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Weightman 4, Naughton 4, Ugle-Hagan 2, Poulter
Collingwood: Elliott 4, Johnson 3, N.Daicos 2, Lipinski, Frampton, De Goey, J.Daicos
INJURIES
Western Bulldogs: Gardner (ankle)
Collingwood: Hoskin-Elliott (hand)
SUBSTITUTES
Western Bulldogs: Anthony Scott (replaced James O’Donnell in fourth quarter)
Collingwood: Trent Bianco (replaced Will Hoskin-Elliott at half-time)
Crowd: 43,482 at Marvel Stadium
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