Review Round 7 = Essendon 85-85 Collingwood

[domus]

I’m reading a lot of criticism of Cox, but harsh some of it. The biggest problem to me was he didn’t ruck enough and at the start of the game he was full forward, then after 5 minutes of it never going forward he gets taken off. Maybe he should have been rucking instead of Cameron!

The Cox criticism is boring now. He plays his role very well most weeks. He contests hard up forward, takes a couple of good strong contested marks each week, and rucks well when he goes on ball. That's it. There is nobody to replace him in that role. Without McStay he must be up forward for 70% of game time or Checkers is on his own in aerial contests.

 

[Cousin of Daicos]

The Cox criticism is boring now. He plays his role very well most weeks. He contests hard up forward, takes a couple of good strong contested marks each week, and rucks well when he goes on ball. That's it. There is nobody to replace him in that role. Without McStay he must be up forward for 70% of game time or Checkers is on his own in aerial contests.

Yeah I thought Cox was fine. Just…fine.

Not as good as last week but wasn’t bad by any stretch.

 

[TheVillageIdiot7]

That’s the inevitable result of subbing off our only in and under midfielder lol

You knew all was lost when we threw Sidebottom in there randomly

How did we go in the first 3 qtrs with our only in and under midfielder?

Maybe Nick shouldn’t have been in there…..because he was woeful in CB.

 

[NMBB]

All good - we do well when we have a draw.

1990 ....

2010....

Finals I know but nevertheless a draw,

 

[robertg22]

Realistically I think we're in the 6-10 range this year, I think we're competing with Port, Ess, Dogs, Bris & maybe Freo for 2 spots in the 8.

The main issue for me is that no one has really improved on last year (Lippa, Noble maybe?), some blokes are playing at the same level, but quite a few have dropped off.

Was good that we introduced HH into the mix today, but think we need to be a bit more aggressive with selection as a few guys are just going right now. As others have said, it's gonna be a big VFL game for a few this weekend.

Re: Nick, he's the icing on the cake, but he's not the cake. He's only going to be as good as the overall midfield machine when he's in there, and when Titch and Jordy are down, he's suffering. He's still been our best player but we know he can do so much more.

Darcy was better today. Started slowly as the entire team did, but 5 intercept marks & 12 intercept possessions is a good showing.

Pendles was good. Today's game was about the top end of his level at this stage of his career, can't fault him at all.

Checkers could have won the medal, he was immense, but we know what happened late. He needs help, McStay would be pretty handy.

Big game next week, I'd never write us off against anyone, but it's going to take a lot more than this to beat Carlton.

 

[Cousin of Daicos]

How did we go in the first 3 qtrs with our only in and under midfielder?

Maybe Nick shouldn’t have been in there…..because he was woeful in CB.

Pretty sure we were better than the last quarter

 

[Cousin of Daicos]

One thing not really being spoken about.

Daicos was pushed after kicking it to Elliott with 27 second left.

Yes, Elliott should have marked it regardless. But why wasn’t it down field?

It was no different to Beau’s on Merrett.

 

[barrackers]

All good - we do well when we have a draw.

1990 ....

2010....

Finals I know but nevertheless a draw,

A final for the dees, but we drew queen’s birthday 2010.

 

[Jen2310]

COLLINGWOOD PLAYER RATINGS ​

Patrick Lipinski – 4.5/10
Quieter than last week but kicked a big goal.
Jordan De Goey – 5.5/10
Beaten in the match up with Jake Stringer

25

Jake Stringer

Age

30

Ht

192cm

Wt

92kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

12.9

3star

K

8.5

3star

HB

4.4

3star

M

3.3

3star

T

2.5

4star

G

1.8

5star

D

8.5

2star

K

7.0

3star

HB

1.5

1star

M

2.8

3star

T

3.8

4star

G

2.5

5star

D

7.2

2star

K

4.8

2star

HB

2.4

3star

M

2.6

3star

T

1.4

4star

G

1.4

5star

early, including giving away a 50 metre penalty and what should have been a goal to start the second term. Had an almost day.
Isaac Quaynor – 4/10
Not at his best at the moment and was probably shaded by Jade Gresham

11

Jade Gresham

Age

26

Ht

177cm

Wt

81kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

17.4

4star

K

10.2

4star

HB

7.2

4star

M

3.2

3star

T

2.7

4star

G

1.1

4star

D

17.5

4star

K

10.8

4star

HB

6.8

4star

M

2.1

2star

T

2.0

3star

G

0.5

4star

D

11.8

3star

K

6.0

3star

HB

5.8

4star

M

2.6

3star

T

3.4

5star

G

0.4

3star

.
Bayden Maynard – 5/10
‘Bruzzy’ didn’t have an impact early but had some moments in the final term.
Jamie Elliott – 6/10
One incredible grab that would have won him a car in the old days but he grassed what could have been the matchwinner in the final minute. That would have given him a shot on the siren.
Tom Mitchell – 3/10
Time for more the Pies to go with younger legs? Had 19 touches fumbly possessions at three quarter-time and was subbed off.
Josh Daicos – 7/10
Superb bending drop punt for the first goal of the last term. Ran all day as usual.
Lachie Schultz – 6.5/10
A clutch set shot in the third term was his biggest moment yet as a Pie. Got involved more in the play.
John Noble – 6.5/10
Runs at full speed off half-back all day.
Scott Pendlebury - 7/10
A non-descript handball on the back flank in the first quarter was his Sunil Gavaskar moment, as he became the first man to 10,000 disposals. Stayed cool like an esky most of the day.
Darcy Cameron – 5/10
Probably just shaded in the ruck but did enough nonetheless.
Billy Frampton – 5/10
Tough duel with Peter Wright. Helped down the field by a double 50m penalty in the second term but misses the set shot.
Steele Sidebottom – 1/10
The veteran’s spot in the side is under duress – had just three touches in the first three quarters.
Bobby Hill – 5/10
Not his biggest day and was unusually inaccurate. Outstanding vision to find Jamie Elliott for an easy goal in the first quarter.
Jack Crisp – 6/10
Just OK from the hard runner.
Darcy Moore – 7/10
Made some huge saves. The skipper is finding his form again.
Beau McCreery – 6.5/10
Finding his surging form, threatened to take the game away from the Dons late.
Will Hoskin-Elliott – 2/10
Left his cape at home after a heroic effort last week. Took him until halfway through the second to touch the footy and that was an easy goal.
Nick Daicos – 8.5/10
Could have won another Anzac Medal. Got better after a slow start and had a big influence.
Harvey Harrison (sub) – 5/10
Came on for the final quarter and stepped up with a ripping goal.
Jeremy Howe – 6/10
Got in the right spots several times in a good performance.
Brody Mihocek – 7/10
The best forward on the ground at half time and had six shots at goal. Didn’t score after that with two blown shots late but took McKay down.
Mason Cox – 4.5/10
His glove wasn’t so sticky this week, was just OK.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/anzac-day-footy-every-collingwood-and-essendon-player-rated/news-story/f1edf2ac0af6fef0e24ef4dd3f0d03bf

 

[barrackers]

One thing not really being spoken about.

Daicos was pushed after kicking it to Elliott with 27 second left.

Yes, Elliott should have marked it regardless. But why wasn’t it down field?

It was no different to Beau’s on Merrett.

Unlike McCreery’s push on Merrett the bump on Daicos was marginally after he kicked it, so a down the ground would have been the correct call. Worst case if it was as he kicked Daicos should have got another kick.

 

[PonsfordMagpie]

Mixed emotions. Both teams will feel it's a bullet dodged or a missed opportunity to win depending on how one interprets the match.

Langford missed a gettable set shot, which was a massive relief. However, the number of easy opportunities we squandered in front of goal was infuriating. I was actually shellshocked by Mihocek's two set shots in the final quarter that were both out on the full. Never seen anything like that from him before.

Our clearance/stoppage game is a real weakness in the team. Essendon won centre clearances 19-8, so it's a real deficiency we've had for a long time. Most of our scores are generated off turnovers, especially in the front half this year which is in contrast to last year where a lot of our scores were coming from the back half and we were able to smoothly transition through the corridor. As long as the stoppage game remains a weakness, we'll unfortunately have tight tussles like we did today.

Our turnover game still looks strong which is the good news, and ultimately Premiership sides are the ones that have a strong turnover game rather than a brilliant stoppage/clearance game. The pressure being applied to Essendon's defenders by Hill, Schultz, Elliott, McCreery etc was excellent for the most part. They were good in closing down space and forcing turnovers which was generating scores for us particularly in the second quarter when we ramped up the pressure.

The 5-day break was always a concern for mine. I suspect a lot of supporters underestimated it, but some of our big performing players from Saturday such as WHE, Mitchell and Sidebottom looked a little flat today. Another rotation or two on top of adding Harrison into the team might have been worthwhile with the benefit of hindsight.

The season is far from over, but there's plenty of work to be done. We're in a dogfight to get into the 8 and push for a top 4 spot.

 

[lethalburns]

I'll take the 2 points given how badly we started.

We lost the game in the first ten minutes when we couldn't touch the ball.

After that we played reasonably well but looked seriously out of petrol tickets toward the end.

The reality is most of our team is not playing well at the moment and we are just hanging on.

Our 2024 trend of conceding multiple goals very quickly has been the reason for most of our losses this year.

Surely at this point we need to figure out a defensive structure to stop the bleeding while we get control of the game?

It has happened to us in every game this year - teams pile on goals very quickly and the good ones have not let us back.

 

[Magnanimous]

Beau is a MILE in front of Schultz and actually makes opposition nervous.
He tackles with intent to hurt as they say and one of the few pies who do. Wish a few others would take his lead.

Was a goal late which Bruzzy missed the tackle before the Essendon player got past Noble to goal from the square.

Was a almost game for us today.

Maybe a good one to have before Carlton game to get our head in the game.



from my Delorean

 

[sr36]

I 100% get the view.

But I don’t think he should be.
Games changing.
The old school Midfielders are not the best distributors.

Nicks attributes are far above any player I’ve seen in disposal and decision making.

But he’s small of body and easily outworked.

If Nick gets 30 playing a loose HB/mid….we’re going to win a truckload of games. Far more than we will with Nick getting shut out in the midfield.

I feel our coaches are being sucked into traditional thinking.

He's still developing. He's going to be one of the great midfielders. So they're splitting his time between the role he currently plays best whilst also developing him into the role that is his future.

 

[Defabs]

I am a traditionalist, so I don’t want extra time. The draw is what makes our sport sacred.

That said, what the f$&k were we doing letting them get a run on, then failing to score ourselves in the last 15 minutes, trying to protect a one point lead?!!

I couldn’t have done better, but I’m flaming mad we got belted in Q1, came hard and reeled them in, and let them walk away with a share of the points.

Just leaves me so uncertain about next week now. If they pull that sh!t against the blues, we won’t be catching them.

Also, on the subject of Carlton, F&%K Mitch McGovern for the 2017 draw. Langdon still owes us for that butchered kick out to the flank, and then letting the Crows take mark of the millennium to have their score tying opportunity.

If it’s any consolation, we also protected a 1 point lead in the last 6 and half mins of the PF. We also didn’t score anything with 13 mins left on the clock either The rest is history

 

[sr36]

I am a traditionalist, so I don’t want extra time. The draw is what makes our sport sacred.

That said, what the f$&k were we doing letting them get a run on, then failing to score ourselves in the last 15 minutes, trying to protect a one point lead?!!

I couldn’t have done better, but I’m flaming mad we got belted in Q1, came hard and reeled them in, and let them walk away with a share of the points.

Just leaves me so uncertain about next week now. If they pull that sh!t against the blues, we won’t be catching them.

Also, on the subject of Carlton, F&%K Mitch McGovern for the 2017 draw. Langdon still owes us for that butchered kick out to the flank, and then letting the Crows take mark of the millennium to have their score tying opportunity.

It was a matter of time before we got burnt by playing too safe from too far out. Good thing we still got 2 points.

 

[Defabs]

Feels like a loss tbh. Needed that win to keep up with the 8.

No it’s only a loss if your % is superior to those teams around you but our % is very poor compared to most teams in the eight. Therefore it’s like a win really. Ie even if we won, we would still be a game and 30% behind Melb, which is like a 2 game diff. We are only 6 points behind them now, so still only 2 games

 

[Defabs]

Yeah this is a worry, Cripps and Walsh will kill us

They will have 2 days less to prepare for the game and have their own injury concerns. They haven’t exactly been eccentric either. Adelaide’s only win was against Carlton..

 

[Defabs]

Reckon IQ may be the one missing Murphy the most. Seems to be a bit at sea at the moment.
Brody Mihocek, how he does what he does week after week is beyond me. Had the yips today but he’s such a competitor who gave himself the chances at least.

Absolute warrior. Fights in bouts above his normal weight division. In terms of output vs ability, he is one of Collingwood’s greatest

 

[PonsfordMagpie]

Fly's presser

You've been involved in some epic games in the last few years, that must be up there?

"Yeah, what a great game of footy. On a day like today when most of the footy world would be watching, it was a great spectacle of our game".

How do you sum up the game after that?

"It's a weird feeling. To be honest, I haven't been involved in one [a draw] as a coach, so it's a weird feeling in what messages to give. I still think there's a lot of positivity in what we were able to do. We came up against a really good team today. Their stoppage stuff is as good as we've played this year and they got a hold of us early. They've got some really good players in their team and threats forward of the play, so when you give teams a chance; they kicked 4 goals before we blinked. Again, it's two weeks in a row when we've shown great resolve and ability to stay in the present and find our way back into the game".

Have you worked out in your own head to what degree you go with a glass half full or glass half empty feeling?

"I normally go home and watch the replay with a red wine, but I might have have a white [wine] tonight. I don't know how to feel to be honest. Again, we're not going backwards, I suppose we're going forwards. That half a game we don't know what it means for us, the outcome of that. It's still too early to tell on that. We played against a good opposition and we found a way to fight back. I think both teams will sit in this and watch back the game, it will be 'what about that moment; or that moment or what about that'. Both teams had them, and it was a probably a fair result in the end".

What about the first 15 minutes of the match when Essendon kicked the first 4 goals. What do you think happened there?

"Smashed at stoppage".

Were you not switched on or were Essendon supercharged?

"It's all about centre bounce clearances and then contests and then energy. It's two weeks in a row, we had to fight our way back into it. I do believe that the longer I've been involved in footy that games are not won in a quarter, so there's a level of comfort but it's how far the margin is. It was pretty much similar to last week, I think it was 6 goals to 2 or something. In that regard, we don't want to start games like that. That's not what I'm saying, but teams will get their momentum and we've got some work to do around that space".

Jamie Elliott's mark?

"I had a good vantage point to it. It was sort of right in front of my eyes. I thought he jumped too early, but what an incredible athlete he is. I'd seen him do that at training way back when he first got drafted and I thought 'God, this guy can seriously launch at the ball'. I think that's a contender isn't it and it looked remarkable from ground level. I haven't seen a replay, so I'm looking forward to seeing that".

Were you surprised that Elliott couldn't hold onto that mark in the end given his record in close games?

"It would have been one of those stories of 'Jamie's done it again, he's taken the mark'. Whether he would have kicked it, that's a space we don't live in. I know one thing, we won't review the game of what ifs. I'm sure they [Essendon] will have just as many as us. 'What if Langford kicks that goal late or what if...'. We don't live in that space. We'll work on the things that we can really control, around probably centre bounces will be a big focus for us and then others part of that".

What about the overall pressure rating? That's what turned the Port Adelaide game around and do you feel it turned this game around as well?

"Yeah, I put the number up at Quarter Time. We spoke about it before the game".

What was the pressure rating if you could share?

"It was 169 or something like that for us, which is below average. That's not something we want to associate with our pressure being below average. There's a style of game that can inflate or deflate that number. We spoke before the game if it's that sort of number, what's the game look like. Those things are somewhat in our control, but the opposition were playing really well".

How was Jamie [Elliott] after the game? Have you spoken to him?

"Yeah briefly just on the ground. There's many that probably think "what if I did that', and again I don't want to live in that space. I did say to him that 'mate, for every one thing you thought you didn't do well, I can give you 10 that you did do well'. I like to live in that space".

It was a quieter game by Steele Sidebottom

22

Steele Sidebottom

Age

33

Ht

184cm

Wt

86kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

27.4

5star

K

14.1

5star

HB

13.3

5star

M

5.5

5star

T

3.7

5star

CL

3.2

5star

D

24.0

5star

K

12.0

5star

HB

12.0

5star

M

4.5

4star

T

4.3

5star

CL

2.3

4star

D

31.6

5star

K

14.4

5star

HB

17.2

5star

M

4.2

4star

T

4.2

5star

CL

6.0

5star

, but he was important in the last few minutes of the match. How did you see his game?

"Steele is important to us when he's playing his role. A really hard runner. There are a lot of things unseen that he does for us. Unrewarded running, saves goals, gets back to support some others. There's plenty of more life left in those legs we hope".

Another great speech by Darcy Moore

30

Darcy Moore

Age

28

Ht

203cm

Wt

100kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

11.1

3star

K

7.0

3star

HB

4.1

3star

M

4.8

5star

T

1.6

4star

MG

169.1

3star

D

13.9

3star

K

7.3

3star

HB

6.6

4star

M

4.9

5star

T

0.7

1star

MG

182.0

3star

D

6.8

2star

K

4.2

2star

HB

2.6

3star

M

2.6

3star

T

1.8

4star

MG

87.4

2star

post game. Does it feel like he has found some rhythm on the field with reading the ball really well?

"That's two years in a row where I haven't been able to hear his speech, so I'm looking forward to hearing that back. There's a reverb in the ground, so I couldn't hear it. I'll take that for what it is, I'm sure he would have represented us really well as he always does. Darcy at his best comes forward and marks the ball and gets good starting position on his opponent. We saw that today. I thought it was one of his best games of the year".

What's your view of the 'Draw vs Extra Time' debate?

"I actually said that to the security guard after the game, 'I bet they will start talking about extra time and what it looks like'. We fought for 120 minutes and couldn't find a margin. I'll leave that up to others to decide whether we need more time. It was a great game".

Was the draw a fair result?

"I would have thought so. They [Essendon] had great momentum and then we got some back. Then it was an arm wrestle after Half Time really wasn't it. This game is always going to be about moments and managing those and how you handle situations. We haven't lost a close game for a while, so I don't know how to put that".

Isn't today's draw a just result and one people will be satisfied with?

"Yeah, I think we're just not sure how to act. I give permission to be happy, I gave permission to our guys to still be positive because there was a lot we did well, but we've got work to do. That's like every week. Maybe we're not sure how to act. The crowd doesn't know how to act. The siren goes, I don't know what to do. Do I high five people? I just made sure I got to Brad Scott and tell him how good the game was and acknowledge the job he's doing is fantastic. Their group looks strong, they're going to be hard to beat".

That last minute where both teams get a chance to win, are you playing to win?

"Yeah, we're always playing to win. We learnt some good lessons a couple of years ago when scores were level. We had set up into a structure that was probably too much forward of the ball to try and win the game. When the scores were level, we had a different structure to what we've been in the past, but that's here and there because it was only a minute to go".

Any injuries?

"No, we're in good order. Touch wood. We had a 5-day break and I said to the players afterwards that you wouldn't know. We fought to the last second. Jarrod Wade's done an incredible job with our high performance team and our players are really fit and well. It's only early, it's Round 7 even if it's bit hard to work it out [what Round it is]. We're fit and well at this stage".

Anzac Day is always an amazing occasion. Can you give us some insight on what it's like to stand on the MCG. You were pretty emotional coming off.

"Yeah, it just got me. I just allowed it to get in. I wanted to be really present to it. Those singers did an incredible job, well done girls you were amazing and the bugle, oh she nailed that. I was just really present to it, and I just let it in and it just got me. I won't go into detail why, but the day is a really special one for a lot of people around the country. I just wanted to show my respect towards it. I'm just being me".

'There's a lot of positivity': McRae

Hear from Senior Coach Craig McRae following Collingwood's draw against Essendon at the MCG.

www.collingwoodfc.com.au

 

[magpies42]

Show some respect to Essendon. Nobody giving them the respect they deserve. They’re a good team this year.

Had our chances, but so did they

They aren’t

 

[Big Bryza]

I don't understand what Elliott was doing at HF when he was running around in circles. He had Crisp on his own at CHF, and ran away from him....Crisp gets that ball, he runs inside F50 and has a clear shot at goal... Game Over.....

Wilbur was storming toward the pocket as well. Just had to kick it out in front of him. Worst case was a boundary throw in. Too many times we're looking for the perfect pass rather than playing the percentages. That would've iced the game.

 

[Big Bryza]

Darcy Moore 23 disposals, 8 marks, 11 intercepts

Oh captain, my captain

Would've been a worthy winner had we won. Was immense in turning the game around for us.

 

[Big Bryza]

Centre clearances 19-8. Makes it hard to win if you're constantly on the back foot.

Don't have the exact stats but i'd be surprised if we won a CC in the last quarter. We got smoked.

 

[Big Bryza]

Played well enough to win but just didn’t execute finishes like we usually do. Draw was a fair result. Those saying we deserved to lose are just petulant sooks. We were better than Essendon but they were just cleaner. Fair result.

Dons kicking 4 goals in the first 8 mins of the game meant we were pushing s**t up hill all day.

We take one of 5 last quarter chances and we win that by 2-3 goals.

Must beat the Blues now.