Match Review: Collingwood Vs. St. Kilda

SEMI-FINAL 2008: COLLINGWOOD VS. ST. KILDA

The Scores

Collingwood: 3.4 / 4.11 / 5.16 / 9.18 [72]
St. Kilda: 4.1 / 8.1 / 14.2 / 17.4 [106]

Goals

Collingwood: Lockyer, Swan, Anthony, Goldsack, Cloke, McCarthy, Medhurst, Brown, Clarke.
St. Kilda: Riewoldt 5, Koschitzke 3, Milne 3, Gram 2, Gwilt, Schneider, McQualter, Dal Santo.

The 10th Letter’s Best: Swan / Pendlebury / Fraser / Davis

Review

After a valiant six weeks, season 2008 has finally come to an end for the Magpies.

Scott Burns and Simon Prestigiacomo were late withdrawals for the Pies, replaced by Rhyce Shaw and Shane Wakelin respectively.  After going goal for goal in the first quarter, the Saints managed to kick away to a 14 point lead just before half-time.  The match promised so much in the first quarter and a half, although even during that period there were signs that Collingwood was in for a tough night at the office.  Whilst St. Kilda entered their forward 50 methodically and with purpose, Collingwood went forward with little intent and as such, snagged their early goals from half chances and 50/50 opportunities.

It turned out to be the story of the night, as at the final siren Collingwood had gone inside 50 on 55 occassions to St. Kilda’s 43.  We would have six more scoring shots on the board, yet still end the game 34 points behind.  In stark contrast to Collingwood’s impotence up forward, St. Kilda were devestating with Nick Riewoldt leading the way.  Collingwood simply didn’t have any answers once the Saints got a roll on; with Dal Santo, Montagna and Gram racking up possessions at will.

Collingwood were still very much in the match during the middle part of the third quarter, when Chris Bryan was awarded a 50 metre penalty that brought him within 25 metres of goal and a chance of slicing the margin to just over 2 kicks.  The result was terrible however, rivalling Cook’s effort of last week as Bryan sprayed the kick hopelessly and then got sucked into the gesticulating Saints by giving away a free kick out of frustration.  It was at that point that it became clear it wasn’t going to be our night.

Swan, Davis and Pendlebury battled bravely throughout the night but were unable to impose their will upon the game.  Tyson Goldsack put in one of his better performances, specifically in the first half as his defensive efforts saved Collingwood on multiple occasions; capping it off with a terrific interception and running goal in the second quarter.  Travis Cloke entered the match under an illness cloud and was well beaten by Blake, who went on to rack up 27 possessions.

A combination of poor disposal and even worse decision making undid much of Collingwood’s good work.  We had our fair share of the ball, but wasted it more often than not – especially when going forward.  Time and time again our delivery into the forward line was haphazard and easily chopped off by the likes of Goddard, Gilbert, Fisher and Raphael Clarke; who played one of the best games of his career.  Collingwood made the job a lot easier for St. Kilda’s defenders though, as on more than one occasion we simply handed the ball back.

Structurally, we were outcoached and outplayed by the Saints; who controlled the tempo from the start of the second quarter until the end.  Their defence countered any of our attacks with little fuss, whilst setting up their own forward thrusts just as competently.  St. Kilda were able to take the ball away fluently and with little pressure from their kick-ins, which is damning considering the amount of points Collingwood amassed.

The intensity was simply non-existent after the first quarter and by the third – even before St. Kilda blew the game open – the body language of the Collingwood players seemed to suggest that the game was out of their hands.  As such, by the time the three quarter time siren sounded the Saints had blown the margin out to seven goals and looked set for a Preliminary Final against the Hawks.

Collingwood kicked the first goal of the final term, but from that point on the two teams just went through the motions and played out the minutes.  Nathan Brown ventured forward to cap off a good piece of play by Medhurst and win back a little respect after being well beaten by Riewoldt, but it was all inconsequential at that stage as the Saints ran out comfortable 34 point winners.  Full credit must be given to the Saints, who were simply too good on the night.

As for Collingwood, the off-season begins now and it’s back to the drawing board for the coaching staff and list managers to determine how we should go about correcting our deficiencies.  Our two finals matches provided our youngsters with some invaluable experience going forward, whilst also summing up our season astutely.

There was a vast contrast between our performance of last week and the lackluster effort of last night; which was best represented by our tackle count of only 26 for the entire match, exactly half of our output against Adelaide.  Whether this polarity in performance stems from youthful inconsistency or otherwise is unimportant, it has cost us throughout the last two seasons and needs to be addressed.  The best performed teams in the competition are those who can maintain an adequate level of form, something we have failed to do.

With all that said though, I’m proud of the way the team has handled itself over the last six weeks.  The season ended in an undesirable fashion, but with the players we have blooded over the last few seasons and with players returning from injury for our 2009 campaign, we have a lot to work with heading forward.

Thanks for the effort and endeavour Collingwood, it has been a bumpy ride but not without its positives.