Consecutive Wins, Some Concerns Remain…

It seems like an eternity since we last managed to string two wins together, but we have finally broken the pattern this year after defeating West Coast and Port Adelaide in consecutive weeks.  Whilst both wins were eventually comfortable, you would need to combine both matches in order to say we put in a good four quarter performance.  In fairness though, our third quarter against Port Adelaide was something to behold.

Against West Coast, it was our top-liners who did the damage with Leon Davis a clear standout as he once again displayed how much he enjoys playing in front of his family.  Against Port Adelaide, despite an incredible 48 disposal game from Dane Swan, it was our up-and-coming players in Wellingham, Anthony and Dick who played a major role in turning the tide our way whilst the maligned Leigh Brown played far and away his best game for Collingwood.

I have been critical of Leigh Brown in recent times, but his performance on the weekend was excellent.  One thing I have noticed about Leroy over the last two weeks in particular, is that he can be remarkably clean at ground level for someone his size.  Whilst his latest performance was his best, Leigh Brown made a habit of putting in a blinder every so often only to return to extended mediocrity at the Kangaroos.  If the Anvil wants to endear himself to the Collingwood masses, he’ll have to show form resembling that of Sunday on a consistent basis.

Sharrod Wellingham was sensational on Sunday, also playing what could be considered his best game.  Wellingham had very good outings against Essendon and Geelong last year, but his performance against Port Adelaide had a touch of authority about it.  Wellingham has been good since stepping back into the side and what separates his latest performance from his previous noteworthy matches was that he played a pivotal role in our success, as opposed to simply playing a part or benefiting from overall team dominance.

After a reasonably slow start, Wellingham’s work in the centre played a major role in our third quarter dominance — not just winning clearances but winning clean and constructive clearances.  Along with his impressive work in the clenches, Wellingham also made himself dangerous around the ground and if not for an inch or two of goal post, would have finished the day with two very good goals.  His performance on Sunday was testament to the fact that when Sharrod keeps his head in the game, he has the ability to be a genuine weapon both inside and out.

Another brilliant and telling performance came via Brad Dick, who whilst not as prolific on the stat sheet, also played a very serviceable game against West Coast the week before.  Dick’s defensive pressure up forward and creativity has been a bonus the past two weeks and whilst two of his three goals on Sunday showed that he has what it takes to be an opportunistic forward, it was his 22 other disposals and his work at pushing up the field to provide us with dash heading forward that was most impressive.

The best thing about Brad Dick however is his passion and enthusiasm for the game, something that has been sorely lacking in the Collingwood side so far this year.  There isn’t another player who celebrates a goal with more genuine delight than Brad Dick and it’s refreshing and uplifting to see.

Our third quarter on Sunday was about the best football I’ve seen Collingwood play in a long time.  It came about through direct attacking play which created space and opportunity for our forwards.  The faster ball movement afforded us the opportunity to send the ball forward from better positions, whilst also allowing our midfielders to run into space and make themselves dangerous.  John Anthony was prominent during this period, whilst the likes of Leon Davis, Alan Didak and Brad Dick became an ever-present threat as opportunities became more frequent.

It’s important to remember however how inept Port Adelaide were during this period of the game, whilst also being mindful of how poor our first quarter was.  Whilst Port Adelaide’s performance can be attributed to our lift in intensity, it’s safe to say that better sides would have offered a lot more resistance.  Our first quarter, along with our early signs against West Coast the week before, showed that we still have a lot to work on.  Our ball movement was stagnant and focused along the boundary line and we also had periods where we were completely smashed out of the middle.

We’ve been fortunate in some ways this year, whilst we ultimately should have beaten Essendon, we were also lucky to be spared by their poor kicking — something that was repeated by Port Adelaide on Sunday.  The better sides in the competition will make us pay severely if we aren’t switched on from the get go, which has become something of a trait of our side this year.  I’m yet to see a four quarter performance from the side and until this happens, along with consistency from week-to-week, I’ll have my reservations.

Back to some more positives to finish off this piece; Cameron Wood has impressed me the last two weeks as he has shown a willingness to work harder around the ground whilst showing more intent in everything he does.  He started to show some of these signs at VFL level prior to being selected and it’s a good sign that he has brought it with him into the seniors.  Nick Maxwell has been fantastic the last few weeks and has also looked good streaming out of defence, providing some genuine rebound that was usually left for the likes of Shaw, Cox and Clarke.

Speaking of Heater, whilst still being a little rusty we’re starting to see the early signs of him running back into some form.  John Anthony continues to ridicule my pre-season comments about the benefits of trying him down back by continually proving how much of an asset he is up forward.  Whilst I stand by my comments and think we should always be open minded, Anthony has looked more and more like a genuine key forward this year and I can’t remember the last time we had a player who had us celebrating a goal before they’d even put the ball on their boot.

With automatic selections in Travis Cloke and Paul Medhurst to return over the coming week or two and McCarthy, Beams, Reid, Dawes and Barham all looming in the seconds; things do look a bit better at the moment.  Anthony Rocca and Sean Rusling are also noteworthy players, however I have them residing within the bonus category considering their respective situations.

The jury is still very much out on how we’re travelling, but there have been some good signs over the last two weeks despite bearing in mind the quality of our opposition and the resistance they offered.  We face four very winnable games over the coming month and if we can win those matches and gain some momentum, maybe a few perceptions will be changed.  However, it will be our performances against genuine top teams that will carry the most weight and therefore we’ll have to wait a little longer for the opportunity to reconsider our reservations.