Round 20 – Collingwood v Carlton: It had to be Carlton (Floreat Pica Society)

 

Collingwood v Carlton

7:50pm, Friday July 28

MCG

 

 

by Dave Nadel

 

Quite a few Colllingwood fans, including our own Jim K, are using Paul Keating’s phrase and describing last night’s game as ‘the loss we had to have.’ I get little comfort from this. For one thing, we did not ‘have’ to have this loss and I don’t think that Fly and the brains trust will necessarily learn anything useful from it. For another, it was a loss to Carlton.

 

Carlton and Collingwood games do not necessarily reflect ladder positions. We have beaten Carlton in seasons that they have played well and vice versa. In 1976 for example, we won our first wooden spoon and Carlton finished top of the ladder (and the lost the Preliminary Final) but we beat them during the season. So, in some ways losses to Carlton mean less than losses to top clubs. But then again, it is a loss, and it is a loss to the hated rivals!

 

Since I got Kayo during the pandemic I have tended to rewatch games before writing match reports. I am sorry comrades, I just cannot bring myself to watch that game again. So this report will be observation and analysis rather than commentary.

 

It is possible that the Pies lost the match at the selection table. I was astounded when I read that the ill Bobby Hill was not replaced by Jack Ginnivan. Ginnivan had played well in VFL last week and is clearly the alternative to Hill (personally I would play both). Granted that the selection committee couldn’t foresee that our only other ‘smallish’ forward would have a shocker in front of goals after kicking several bagfulls in previous weeks, but the fact remains that one of the several reasons that we lost was inaccuracy in front of goals and we had unused options.

 

The second selection problem was Isaac Quaynor. During the week it was reported that a virus had gone through the club and that Bobby, Josh Daicos and Isaac were training away from the rest of the team because of it. Quaynor has been brilliant in the last few weeks. He has won votes in media awards, from the coaches and the Horsbroughs. He was anything but brilliant last night. He was clearly trying hard, but he lacked energy and finish. He looked like a bloke playing with a virus. He should not have been on the field.

 

There were other problems in front of goal. McStay kicked two goals and two behinds and generally played well but could have had a better output. In my opinion McStay is much better at winning the ball than disposing of it. He is the exact opposite of Ash Johnson who doesn’t win the ball often enough but is deadly in front of goal when he does get a shot. I think we should play both of them, probably at the expense of Mason Cox who has had two really poor games in a row.

 

This wasn’t the end of our forward problems. Mihocek, normally our most reliable forward, had eight touches and kicked two points. McCreery, who I thought otherwise played quite well, missed two goals that he absolutely should have kicked. At this point I should point out that part of the reason that our forwards played poorly was Carlton’s pressure. They did to us what our boys have been doing to other teams all year. Carlton’s forward and midfield pressure caused all sorts of errors by our players. That being said, they lost the game on the forward line and in defence rather than in the midfield.

 

The other place where Collingwood was beaten was in play from stoppages, normally one of our strongest features. What is ironic about this is that Cameron was clearly the best ruckman on the field and won far more tap outs than anyone else, but the Carlton players cleared the ball away.

 

Our defenders were beaten when the ball reached the backline but I want to make a point about Charlie Curnow. He is an excellent full forward, the best in the competition now that Buddy is past it, but he gets a splendid run from the umpires. If Chris Tarrant and Travis Cloke had got anything like the protection that Curnow receives from the umps, we would have won at least two more premierships early this century.

 

Two final points, Jeremy Howe’s three goals in the last quarter were inspiring even though they didn’t save the game. Howe came to Collingwood partly because Paul Roos, his coach at Melbourne, wouldn’t play him as a forward. Bucks gave him a few games up forward and then realised that Roos was right. Jeremy plays his best football in defence. Despite last night, I trust that Fly will continue to play him there. Moore, Howe and Murphy are the best intercept defence in the competition and one less than satisfactory game does not change that.

 

As I was leaving the ground, a bunch of supporters were singing John Denver’s ‘Country Roads.’ Country Roads, a loss to Carlton that the Pies should have won…My God, I am back in the 1970s! Let me wake up immediately and return to the 2023 season.

 

 

COLLINGWOOD    3.4    4.6    6.11   10.16 (76)
CARLTON        3.4    7.5    10.6   14.9 (93)

 

GOALS
Collingwood: Howe 3, McStay 2, De Goey, Cameron, McCreery, J.Daicos, Adams
Carlton: Curnow 6, Martin 3, Motlop 2, McGovern, Owies, Cincotta

 

BEST
Collingwood: Moore, J.Daicos, Murphy, Howe, N.Daicos, De Goey
Carlton: Curnow, Cripps, Newman, Weitering, Motlop, Hollands, Cerra

 

Crowd: 86,785

 

 

 

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