Collingwood
B: Cox / Prestigiacomo / Shaw
HB: O’Brien / N. Brown / Maxwell
C: Clarke / Didak / Thomas
HF: Beams / Cloke / Medhurst
F: Anthony / L. Brown / O’Bree
Foll: Fraser / Lockyer / Pendlebury
INT: Davis / Johnson / Swan / Dick
EMG: Corrie / Rocca / Toovey
IN: Dale Thomas
OUT: Alan Toovey (Omitted)
Geelong
B: Mackie / Scarlett / Milburn
HB: Corey / Taylor / Rooke
C: Bartel / Enright / Ling
HF: Kelly / Mooney / Stokes
F: Chapman / Hawkins / S. Johnson
Foll: Blake / Selwood / Ablett
INT: West / Byrnes / Varcoe / Wojcinski
EMG: Gamble / D. Johnson / Lonergan
IN: Trent West, Shannon Byrnes, Matthew Stokes.
OUT: Brad Ottens (Knee), Simon Hogan (General Soreness), Ryan Gamble (Omitted).
After a reasonably good performance in the second half of last week’s match against Melbourne, the selection committee have opted to make just the one change ahead of our game against Geelong. Dale Thomas will be welcomed back this week after missing round two with a bout of gastro.
Alan Toovey makes way for Daisy and I can already hear the cheers from some circles within our supporter base. I was reasonably impressed with Toovey’s pre-season and don’t think he disgraced himself in the first two rounds, but it was the right decision to make as whilst Toovey is honest down back he doesn’t offer nearly enough the other way.
Thomas in for Toovey is a significant upgrade, whilst we have opted to continue with the Leigh Brown experiment and let Fraser shoulder the majority of the ruck. Fraser was excellent last week, but Blake – whilst not being a world beater – should offer more resistance. We’ll get to further test the theory that Fraser performs at his best when going it alone.
Dayne Beams has retained his spot after an impressive debut and it will be interesting to see how he goes against the benchmark. In our NAB Cup defeat, Beams – whilst statistically quiet – didn’t look daunted by the occasion or the opposition. With more game time expected this time around, supporters and the coaching staff will get a chance to really see what this kid is made of.
Brad Dick is the player I’m most interested in at the moment, as he only worked his way into the match against Melbourne once it was done and dusted. With that said, he provided good forward pressure in the first half despite not getting his hands on the ball. With pressure undoubtedly shaping as the key word for tomorrow night’s encounter, Brad Dick will be called upon to harass Geelong’s defenders mercilessly.
Rocca has been named as an emergency, so there is still the chance of a late change to shake things up. I’m not sure as to whether I would want to see Rocca brought in – considering you would expect him to be underdone – but his presence alone would make him a huge inclusion. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
GO PIES!
