On Friday the 29th of August, Collingwood traveled west to take on the Fremantle Dockers. Heading into the game as favourites with the added incentive of stealing fourth spot and a double chance leading into the finals, this game had all the hallmarks of a potential disappointment in what has been a confusing year for the Collingwood faithful.
The end result was disheartening, if not a little predictable as Collingwood went down by four goals to the cellar dwelling Dockers.
From the get go the team did not seem switched on and the skill level suffered as a result. The game was perhaps one of the worst I have watched this year, degenerating into what can only be considered as a comical spectacle.
The strangest part of all this is that I’m not entirely sure how to feel. Normally, I would have dire concerns over our form heading into finals. However, this year has shown that the form of Collingwood is perhaps one of the most unpredictable in the competition. Another thing to consider is that last year – and even in our 2002 and 2003 campaigns – we similarly limped into the finals, only to perform admirably (excluding of course the 2003 Grand Final).
This may not be enough to comfort supporters however, especially in light of North Melbourne going down to Port Adelaide today, resulting in Collingwood once again throwing away a top four birth. This in itself has been a familiar trait this year, as on several occasions we have failed to get over the line and consolidate our position in the top eight. As recent as three weeks ago there were serious doubts over whether we would feature in September at all.
As for the game last night, Leon Davis was the only shining light in what was a dismal team performance. Neon Leon deserves special mention, as he has consolidated on good form last year to become a consistent performer in 2008 despite a small patch mid-season when he was obviously carrying an injury. Leon was the only player who looked likely of hitting a target or winning a clearance last night, on many occasions he looked a class above everyone on the field.
John Anthony kicked straight again, but was starved of opportunities as we continually butchered the ball. Medhurst was forced up the ground to find the football and as such had little impact, however I commend his endeavour in what I’m sure he would consider a forgettable outing. Prestigiacomo was solid in his first game back, however he was hardly tested as Fremantle didn’t have their best key position forwards on the park and didn’t use the ball a whole lot better than we did.
I could outline everything that went wrong and the players who have something to answer for, but that could make for an essay after such a lackluster outing. It has been apparent all year that we haven’t been able to sustain any semblance of form and have lost more games than this one that we should have arguably won. The team has struggled with structure and mental application, managing to lose on more than one occasion despite being in strong winning positions.
Reasons for this could stem from the loss of Buckley and Clement last year through retirement, along with Rocca , Reid and Rusling through injury. We have been unsettled in the back half and looked vulnerable on many occasions, whilst simultaneously lacking structure up forward and quite often being too dependant on our mid-sized and part-time forwards to kick bags. Most notably though, we have been exposed for lacking class and polish in the midfield.
But I’ll get into all of that some other time, since we are now looking towards our third finals campaign in a row. It’s important to remember that Friday night we fielded quite a young side and it has been this injection of youth that has given us the much needed surge to secure a finals spot since the infamous Shaw/Didak incident. Expanding on this point, we have debuted some promising youngsters over the past couple of seasons with the likes of Clarke, Brown, McCarthy, Wellingham, Goldsack, Anthony and Dawes; whilst also having some promising types waiting on the fringes in Wood, Macaffer, Dick and Barham.
Whilst performances like Friday night should not be excused and deficiencies within the team must be addressed – if not in time for this finals series then in the off-season – we as supporters can at least find some solace in the fact that some of the greener players in our side will get, at the very least, 120 minutes more of finals experience.
Afterall, who knows? We were tipped to exit early last year as well.
