Round 23 – Collingwood v Carlton

 

 

 

 

I had every intention of offering a report on the amazing match between Carlton and Collingwood, but it has been delayed by my characteristic procrastination, as well as the desire to achieve some distance from the events and offer a more reflective assessment.

 

It was a reasonably good weekend for me – at least until about 5.55 p.m. Sunday 23rd. While my preference in the Friday night “top 4 elimination final” was for Brisbane, only an oblivious observer could suggest anything other than Melbourne were decisively the better side.

 

Saturday was a busy day. I was slower than usual at Parkrun because the track was treacherous after a wet week. The afternoon was set aside for the Bellarine League 2nd semi-final between home town Torquay Tigers and Barwon Heads Seagulls at Portarlington. I arrived a few minutes after the match commenced thanks to canvassing duties for the local Labor MP (aka as the Lord’s work). He’s on a 3% margin. I’m not sure of the conversion factor, but I guess that translates to about a six goal advantage currently kicking with the wind. However the final siren is about three months distant, so we have to play minute by minute (day by day) to secure the victory, as the tide can turn unpredictably in politics as in football.

 

So I arrived at Portarlington Bayside Reserve and took up my standing room spot, nine minutes in, half-forward-flank town (eastern) end, bay (north) side, with a stiff – and cold – southerly blowing in my face. When I first saw the scoreboard it was 7 points all, and in the time it took me to get through the gate to my position, each side had added another goal. Then Torquay began to capitalise on the cross-wing advantage during the latter part of the quarter registering four goals to establish a lead of 26 points at the break.

 

The Seagulls made some inroads early in the 2nd quarter, but could only reduce the deficit to 14 points. Torquay again finished the quarter strongly with the last two goals, and the margin at the long break was precisely what it had been at quarter time, 26 points.

 

The game was put to bed in the 3rd quarter when Torquay ran in a further five goals and a string of behinds, while a solitary behind was registered at the other end. This created an impregnable 62 point advantage at ¾ time.

 

The final quarter played out routinely, four goals to one to the Tiger’s advantage to end the game with a comprehensive 75 point margin, so my team now has one hand on the flag. This grip was somewhat tightened by last Saturday’s Preliminary Final when Barwon Heads eliminated Drysdale, who prior to the finals, had seemed likely to be the Tigers’ main threat. Both teams had a 17-1 record in the home and away season, losing to each other at respective home venues.

 

However, Barwon Heads have overcome Drysdale twice in the Qualifying and Preliminary Finals to earn another crack at Torquay. Barwon Heads are also the defending champions as they won the flag in 2019, the previous completed season, defeating the Tigers. Unfortunately, I won’t be attending as Barwon weren’t able to re-schedule the Grand Final to Sunday, with the Geelong-Collingwood match set for Saturday late afternoon. The compromise is that the BFL GF will begin early to enable supporters to see the MCG game on television, but attendance at both won’t be possible.

 

Sunday morning was a scheduled run with Geelong Cross Country Runners, in which I finished in the pack. A quick turn around and good fortune with train connection meant that I was seated at the G well before the bounce. There was a real sense of heightened anticipation with this match, both sides with plenty at stake, huge crowd and a real sense of occasion.

 

Collingwood began strongly, cleaner in their ball use and attacking in waves from half-back. Their defence was especially sound, rendering Carlton’s forward thrusts ineffectual. Only wayward kicking for goal by Magpie forwards, mainly from set shots allowed the Blues to remain in distant touch. Goals to Crisp and Ginnivan late in the quarter produced a 23-3 scoreline which understated the Magpies’ dominance.

 

Carlton responded during the early stages of the 2nd quarter. Goals to Owies and McKay reduced the lead midway through the term to 7 points, poor reward for Collingwood’s command of the game. However, Ginnivan and Johnson goaled as the Pies again finished the quarter strongly, so that at the interval, the margin had been reduced by just one point.

 

The 3rd quarter saw a dramatic change in the flow of the match. The Blues surged and after a first half in which goals had been scarce at both ends, they now came with a rush. Carlton scored four goals (and zero behinds) in the opening 12 minutes to improbably reach the lead. Collingwood partisans would point out that three of these four were a result (either directly or at one remove) from free kicks.

 

It wasn’t until the 25 minute mark that Ginnivan scored the solitary Collingwood goal for the quarter, by which time the Blues had added another two. They completed the job with a further two goals to produce an eight goals to one quarter and establish a significant four goal lead.

 

The thrilling 3rd quarter gave way to a nail-biting final term, but in the early stages there was little hint of the drama which was to unfold. The quarter opened with behinds giving Carlton their game high advantage of 25 points five minutes in. Shortly afterwards Johnson goaled from a very tight angle, from a free. After several minutes, Cox added another. However, Carlton still seemed competitive in general play and continued to mount attacks. The unhappy factor was a string of behinds. At the nineteen minute mark, the lead was 17 points by which it looked defendable.

 

However Elliott converted from Quaynor’s fine pass, and less than two minutes later McCreery kicked superbly from almost the identical spot where Johnson had scored, to bring the deficit within a kick. It was almost inevitable then that the dam wall would burst, which it did when a breakaway from defence delivered to Elliott who calmly kicked the decisive goal. A further two and a half minutes elapsed with some desperate Carlton attacks but the Magpie defence held firm, aided by some panic-driven ball use by the Blues as they sought a winning move.

 

The decisive facts are that Carlton registered six behinds for the final term, and didn’t score in the final ten minutes, despite plenty of inside fifties in that time. The difference between the sides was certainly in the coolness under pressure of most Magpies – not just their leadership – and the lack of steadiness of the Blues. There were plenty of “if onlys”, but in our game, it’s an (almost) invariable rule that the scoreboard doesn’t lie. Collingwood were marginally superior on the day, just as Melbourne were in the previous week. The end of season ladder also accurately reflects the season’s rankings; the Blues have improved but are appropriately on the threshold of the eight, rather than seeing finals action.

 

 

 

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