The Team
B: Prestigiacomo / Brown / Goldsack
HB: Clarke / Maxwell / O’Brien
C: Lockyer / Shaw / Cox
HF: Pendlebury / Cloke / Davis
F: Dawes / Medhurst / Anthony
Foll: Fraser / Swan / O’Bree
IC: McCarthy / Thomas / Bryan / Cook
EMG: Stanley / Wakelin / Iles
Changes
IN: Dale Thomas
OUT: Danny Stanley (Omitted)
Preview
Well, Collingwood enters this finals series on the back of a poor performance in the west. I – like many others – have no idea what to make of Collingwood this year, as our form has been near on impossible to predict. After beating the Swans comprehensively with a first half onslaught that had the game decided by half-time, the lowly Fremantle Dockers did a number on the lads a mere week later.
Dale Thomas is a welcome return to the side after training well this week. Whilst Thomas returns for the Pies, Porplyzia won’t be making an appearance for the Crows. This is welcome news as Proplyzia has been a shining light in what could be considered a workman like Adelaide forward line. However, Collingwood will have to be on their toes, as Moran has been brought in as the replacement and has shown that he has the capacity to kick goals.
Collingwood haven’t looked settled all year, barely finding any rhythm from week to week. With the absence of Scott Burns, there are large questions over our ability to win at the stoppages, which is always critical when playing Adelaide. Our forward line also looks a little suspect, especially when placed against the experienced defence of the Crows.
This game, in my mind, could go either way despite the Crows heading in as favourites based on recent form and home ground advantage. I can’t see our disposal being as poor as it was last week, which was the worst display I’ve seen us dish up all year – and this year has had it’s fair share of disappointments.
The fear I hold is that we are still depending quite heavily on our younger brigade to step up, making this yet another baptism of fire. The likes of Dawes and Anthony are playing vital roles in the forward line, whilst McCarthy and Cook will be called upon to play big games throughout the middle of the ground. These players still being green causes concerns when matched up against a well-drilled Adelaide side.
The Road To Victory
We need yet another sizzling performance from Leon Davis, who has been one of our best throughout the year and should give the Copeland a shake. Paul Medhurst needs to start finding the ball in more dangerous positions, as our forward line is rather inexperienced and we are obviously missing Didak, Medhurst needs to get dangerous around goals again. We need some continued scoreboard input from Anthony along with the pressure he applies within our forward 50, whilst Dawes needs to make his man accountable and provide a viable target.
Whilst we need our younger brigade to stand up once more, we really need our more experienced players to lead by example – especially in the absence of Burns. Dane Swan needs to continue to waddle to as many contests as possible, whilst if there was ever a time for the much maligned O’Bree to remind the faithful of his worth to the side as a clearance player, then it’s now.
Importantly, we can’t afford to play stagnant football. Adelaide are notorious for pushing numbers behind the ball, therefore we’ll need to move it quickly and give our forwards every chance of one-on-one contests. We’ll be looking towards the likes of Leon and Daisy to draw upon their natural flair and line-breaking ability to make this happen.
As for the backline, we can breath a little easier with the absence of Porplyzia and also Burton – who carved us up the last time we met until being injured. Prestigiacomo has been chosen above Wakelin, which has raised a few eyebrows considering this will only be Presti’s second game for the year. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a late change considering Wakelin is on the emergency list. However the defence lines up, they need to operate as a cohesive unit and also provide some drive through the likes of Clarke and O’Brien.
I’m hoping Shannon Cox can slip under the guard of Adelaide, as he has been in good form since being a late inclusion in the match against Sydney. Cox has an air of class about him, hopefully he can call upon this alongside the likes of Pendlebury, Thomas and Davis to provide us with enough creativity throughout the middle of the ground to unsettle the Crows.
The key match-up in my mind is Cloke Vs. Bock. Travis needs to get seriously dangerous in this game and set an example for the other forwards. I feel Cloke needs to play a little closer to home in order to negate Bock’s rebounding ability, as well as improving his chances of kicking a few himself. I say we experiment with Anthony and Dawes as lead-up targets, with Cloke and Medhurst operating within the forward 50. If this fails, we can always switch it up and hope for the best.
Importantly, we can’t afford to let any Adelaide player fall behind the ball and rack-up possessions at will. Andrew McLeod, I’m looking at you. McLeod’s career is winding down, but if there is one thing that Andrew McLeod does well it’s finals football – two Norm Smith medals can attest to that. We’ve had a bad track record with letting certain players – who are of respectable calibre – do as they wish at crucial moments in games. Daniel Wells did this to us in our last match against the Kangaroos and it proved to be telling. We can’t afford to let McLeod – or any other Crow for that matter – play unaccountable football.
Final Words
Whilst not confident, this is definitely a game we can win and shapes to be the sort of match that we stand up for. We match up well with Adelaide, as they’re not a team that makes a habit of blowing opposition sides out of the water, always giving their opponents a sniff. We haven’t quite worked out Adelaide as comprehensively as we’ve figured out Sydney, but there are definite similarities between both Adelaide and Sydney’s game plan that we can perhaps exploit. It’s been a roller coaster ride of a season, but I have faith in our players and coaching staff to get us over the line.
Go Pies!
