Round 6 – Collingwood v Port Adelaide: Back in town (Floreat Pica Society)

By Dave Nadel for the Floreat Pica Society

Pre-game Comments

I am more than a little apprehensive about this match. Collingwood have not started the season well. I do not think this is a ‘Premiership Hangover’. I think it is a result of the AFL’s ludicrous opportunistic Round Zero. Teams that play in Grand Finals start pre-season training late. Normally this a fair handicap. Round Zero was almost two weeks earlier than the normal season start. Collingwood (and Brisbane) looked underdone in their early games and it is no wonder that both teams lost their first three games.

Our last game before the bye was not encouraging either. To lose a 38 point half-time lead and fall in by five points against a team which is a serious contender for the wooden spoon does not inspire confidence! Now the question is whether the bye will benefit the team or make things worse. It can’t disrupt our momentum because frankly we don’t have any momentum so far this season.

At this point of the season pundits are describing any team that has won more games than they have lost as premiership prospects. While this is obviously a fair description of GWS, Carlton (unfortunately) and Geelong, some of the hype is clearly undeserved. Port Adelaide, however, are definitely serious contenders. One only has to look at their star midfielders like Butters, Rozee and Horne-Francis. None of them may be as brilliant as our Nick but together they are a formidable trio.

 

First Quarter

Port Adelaide kicked the first two goals and it looked like the misery of the first five rounds would be continuing. Port were first to the ball, applying a lot of pressure all over the ground. Collingwood were not getting clean possessions and not disposing of the ball well when they did get possession. Zac Butters, with 15 possessions, was best on the ground. Port had three hyphenated players to our one, including Darcy Byrne-Jones who also played well in the first quarter. I kept thinking his surname sounded ‘artistic’. However the pre-Raphaelite artist spelt his surname Burne-Jones. Back to the footy. They may have had three hyphens but it was our Hyphen who got the Pies back into the game with a mark and a goal.  The Pies scored the last two goals of the quarter (McCreery, Hill) which made the scores a bit more respectable (6.3 to 3.4) but while there had been nice touches by some of our players, only Cameron, Nick Daicos, De Goey and Hoskin-Elliot could actually have been said to have had a good quarter. I still felt we were in our early season doldrums.

 

Second Quarter

The second quarter began with two more Port goals and then things started to change. A long kick-in from the boundary line by Josh Daicos was spectacularly marked by the Hyphen (one of several speckies he took during the match) who goaled. This was followed by a goal from Checkers. Shortly after, Maynard kicks to the Long Tall Texan (wearing what looked like a golfing glove) and Cox scores a goal. Mihocek is awarded a free which he puts through. Lipinski scores the first of his four goals. The second follows when Cox passes to Bobby Hill who taps the ball to Lipinski.  Six goals in a row during which Port barely touched the ball. Suddenly it is 2023 and Collingwood is playing with speed and confidence.

 

Third Quarter

The third quarter continues where the second left off. Jamie Elliott kicks a goal on the run after some nice work in the middle by Tom Mitchell. Darcy Moore, playing much better than he has all season marks and kicks to Cox who goals. Collingwood have now kicked eight in a row. Port Adelaide’s Georgiadis breaks the run with a goal for his side but, shortly afterwards, Pat Lipinski marks and goals for Collingwood. I have tended to emphasise scorers in this report but our midfield and defence are playing superbly this quarter. Nick Daicos has ten disposals for the quarter and De Goey has nine. Sidebottom is celebrating passing Tony Shaw’s total games with some excellent ball movement. Down back, apart from Moore, Maynard, Howe and Noble are limiting Port’s opportunities. In the last few minutes of the quarter Bobby Hill, in front of an open goal, unselfishly passes the ball to Lachie Schultz who scores. Shortly after Schultz marks and kicks a second goal.

 

Last Quarter

For a while the last quarter seemed anti-climactic after the excitement of the second and third.  Port scored a couple of goals while for the most part being kept in check by the Pies’ defence. Apart from a couple of points, Collingwood were controlling rather than attacking. Bobby gave away a kick that did not lead to a goal and people questioned whether he was being too unselfish. Pendles was subbed out, possibly to protect his injured ribs, although one radio commentator suggested that it might have been so that he could win his record-establishing 10,000th possession in front of a huge crowd at the Anzac Day game next Thursday rather than in the dying stages of this match. Reef McInnes came on in his place. This was the cue for Collingwood to end in a strong finish. Bobby ‘Santa Claus’ Hill gave away a goal to Reef McInnes then another to Brodie Mihocek. Finally Lipinski kicked his fourth goal (without assistance from Bobby) and Collingwood had won by 42 points.

 

Post-game comments

It definitely feels as if the Pies have finally regained the touch and self-assurance of our Premiership year. The next test is whether we can maintain the momentum against the Bombers after a five day break and a week later against a highly motivated Carlton. I think we can. We still need to replace the retired Murphy. Frampton has played well and Dean shows promise but neither of them are Nathan Murphy. We still need someone to fill in at full forward until Dan McStay is back. Billy Elliott played well in this game but he would have played even better if he hadn’t been playing on Aliir Aliir who is 16 cm taller than Billy and remarkably fast for his height.  I stand by my pre-game comments that Port are contenders. We didn’t win because Port were poor. We won because we were really good. And that is the most satisfying feature of our victory.

 

Horsbrough Medal Votes

Everyone contributed to this victory so there are inevitably players who could also have been awarded votes. Almost everyone played well for the final two and a half quarters. My votes go to players who played well for four quarters.

3 Votes: Will Hoskin-Elliott – the Hyphen has often been a whipping boy for Pies’ fans. On Saturday he was the spark that set the team on fire. Several spectacular marks and a couple of very nice goals;

2 Votes:  Nick Daicos – this was a classic mid-fielder’s game and he kept improving throughout the match;

1 Vote: Jordan De Goey – I could easily have given him two votes. He was as important to the win as Nick was.

Very unfortunate to miss a Vote: – Darcy Cameron – The other player who played well for four quarters although his first quarter was his best.

Also deserve a mention: Tom Mitchell, Bobby Hill, Steele Sidebottom, Mason Cox, Pat Lipinski, Braydon Maynard, Johnny Noble.

We are back in town!!! Floreat Pica

COLLINGWOOD           3.4     9.9     14.15    17.21 (123)
PORT ADELAIDE          6.3     8.3     10.4      12.9 (81)

GOALS
Collingwood:  Lipinski 4, Mihocek 3, Hoskin-Elliott 2, Schulz 2, Cox 2, McInnes, McCreery, Elliott, Hill
Port Adelaide: Georgiades 3, Powell-Pepper 2, Marshall 2, Mead, Horne-Francis, Butters, Burton, Bergman 

INJURIES
Collingwood: None
Port Adelaide: Horne-Francis (hamstring)

SUBSTITUTES
Collingwood: Reef McInnes (replaced Scott Pendlebury in the fourth quarter)
Port Adelaide: Jed McEntee (replaced Jordon Sweet in the third quarter)

Crowd: 65,834 at the MCG

 

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