After last week’s debacle, I couldn’t help but sense some undertones of disharmony creeping back into the Magpie nest. None of them were radiating from the Lexus Centre of course, but instead were once again fueled by the media and elements of our supporters who have – understandably – been growing increasingly impatient and confused as to where our team stands. In many ways, Collingwood has been an enigma in recent seasons. We have shown glimpses of scintillating football worthy of the final stage in September, whilst at times putting in second-rate efforts or simply looking out of our depth. The end result is that nobody – Collingwood supporters included – knows exactly how to rate us.
With all of this in mind, I took last week’s performance against Hawthorn in stride and decided to place more importance in how we bounced back after such a let down; especially since we were facing our traditional rival in Carlton.
The match against Carlton was important for more reasons than one. Firstly, it was an opportunity for us supporters to gauge how the team is travelling based on their ability, focus and fortitude to bounce back. Secondly, matches against Carlton always carry that extra element of importance because of tradition and sentiment – ill as it might be. We had failed in our previous three encounters against Carlton and it’s no secret that losing to the Blues carries with it a lot more pain than defeat at the hands of any other club. Because of this – along with the emotion and build-up involved with such matches – we have a tendency to use such games to judge the team’s ability to perform when it counts.
Regardless of where we stand on the ladder and whether or not anything is at stake, there aren’t too many things in the mind of a Collingwood supporter that count more than beating Carlton. So it was that on Friday night the Magpies faced off against the Blues with each side’s top four ambitions at stake. Suddenly there was meaning beyond tradition and resentment — the stakes couldn’t have been higher.
With so much on the line, is it any wonder that we have forgotten the disappointment of last week and taken up residency on cloud nine after Malthouse and his men delivered Carlton’s heart to us on a silver platter – or was that the Dick Pratt cup?
It wasn’t a flawless performance, but it was the performance of a quality team; blowing the game apart in patches and then doing what was required to ensure the victory. This has become a fairly familiar trait with Collingwood recently, as we have a tendency to break the game open within the space of a quarter or two and then go about our business in a very blue collar manner. In many ways, this is an accurate representation of our side; we have a variety of mid-tier players who combine well as a unit and perform their roles dutifully, whilst at the glory end of the ground we possess some certified match winners in Leon Davis, Alan Didak and Paul Medhurst.
It was Leon Davis who applied the blow torch on Friday night, notching up two contenders for goal of the year before the match had even reached the halfway point. After a dominant first term, Carlton pushed numbers back and managed to arrest our momentum as the second quarter wore on. What ensued was circle work, as the ball travelled from one end of the ground to the other with little consequence on the scoreboard. Our skill level deteriorated, but the state that the game had degenerated to was conducive to fatigue and lazy errors. What was important was that despite our momentum dissipating during this patch, we didn’t allow the opposition to gain any ascendancy.
The third quarter was much of the same, with both teams only managing to add one goal each, a slow grind that opened up in the final term with Collingwood once again asserting its dominance by piling on six goals to Carlton’s single major. Carlton finished the game with only four goals on the board, all credit due to our backline. Maxwell continued his fantastic form, whilst Prestigiacomo once again did a job on Fevola. Heath Shaw has been brilliant over the last month, regaining his form to once again come into consideration as one of the best rebounding defenders in the business. Despite kicking two goals, Harry O’Brien had the better of Betts and remains an extremely important player in the Collingwood line-up.
Dane Swan may have earned himself another three votes come Brownlow time and you would imagine that his odds are shortening by the minute. Scott Pendlebury is working his way back to his best, whilst Dale Thomas and Ben Johnson both played a significant role when the match was there to be won by curtailing the influence of Judd. Dale Thomas continues to tease the Collingwood faithful, as whilst I couldn’t fault his endeavour he just can’t seem to string together four quarters of football just yet.
It’s not as clear cut as many suspect though, as he is something of a puzzle within our structure at the moment and as a result he seems to be getting the odd-jobs. He’s not as reliable or consistent up forward as some of our other options and there is a logical reluctance to leave a player possessing his natural flair sitting cold in the forward line, whilst he’s not quite ready for full-time duties in the midfield. What results is a mixed bag from Thomas; streaming down a wing, mopping up down back, breaking away from the occasional centre clearance, bobbing up for an important goal here or there. It’s very much a sample platter, more than enough to keep him in the side and make opposition coaches wary of him, but not yet the complete package that we’re hoping for.
Chris Dawes and Steele Sidebottom came into the side this week and whilst not standing out, contributed to the overall objective. Dawes played his most useful senior game for the season, managing to get involved and provide a target when needed. He’s still a way off from becoming a regular player, but I wouldn’t be opposed to giving him some time at the top level for the sake of development. One thing I’ve come to like about the way Dawes goes about his game is that he does a good job of remaining in the contest when the ball comes to ground, whilst also having a preference to keep his feet in ground level contests. Dawes has some mobility about him, whilst he still needs to work on his aerial ability. If he can become a more prominent target in the air, a lot of our prayers will have been answered.
Sidebottom is a reliable footballer and applies himself well, particularly when not in possession. He hasn’t quite had the standout games that Dayne Beams has managed to notch up in his first year, but you imagine that with opportunity and more game time it should be a natural progression. Speaking of Dayne Beams, he notched up another impressive game on Friday night, racking up 21 possessions, 8 marks and 2 goals. Beams has been a revelation for a second round pick and is destined to become a vital cog within our midfield brigade heading forward. Not that it matters, but he would be downright stiff not to receive a rising star nomination this year.
In the absence of Josh Fraser, Cameron Wood has shown enough so far to remain in the side upon Fraser’s return. Let’s be honest, Fraser is our best ruck option at the moment but Cameron Wood is the player that all and sundry are hoping becomes our number one ruckman. In order for this to happen, he needs to be given opportunity at the highest level, perhaps even carried occasionally so long as his form doesn’t wane for too long. On Friday night, Wood committed himself well in the ruck and also worked hard around the ground, finishing the night with 14 disposals, 18 hitouts and 8 marks. He’s still very much a work in progress, but one that I’m hopeful will come to fruition.
Of our other big men, Travis Cloke exhibited his customary high work rate and was rewarded by the statistician. He had one of his better games, although I would like his good games to reflect more on the scoreboard rather than dream team points. I love the way Travis goes about his football and he is extremely important to our structure as a formidable unit up forward, but there is some credibility in the doubts of some supporters who aren’t sold on him as our key target. His kicking continues to be erratic and at this stage of his career, it’s more likely than not that it will remain so. He works extremely hard up the ground to present an option on the wing and more often than not has his leads honoured, but most opposition would be happy to have our centre half forward performing this role as opposed to getting dangerous in front of the big sticks. With that said, it’s too late in the game for experimentation in such a critical position and Travis will – and should – remain our centre half-forward for the foreseeable future.
July was always pencilled in as exam month for Collingwood and at the conclusion we have passed three out of four tests, most would consider that a good return. Essendon and Carlton shaped as important tests in the minds of Magpie fans not only because of the state of the top eight, but also – maybe mostly – due to the intangible element of tradition and mental fortitude surrounding such games. After knocking both of our rivals off in emphatic fashion, a harmony has been restored. Defeating Essendon righted a horrible wrong from earlier in the season, whilst toppling Carlton at the business end of the year was a sweet slice of long awaited revenge.
It’s not over yet though and whilst I fully intend on basking in the glory of such a victory, we still need to keep things in perspective. This Saturday night we face Brisbane at the MCG and then we travel to face Adelaide over at AAMI stadium; both games being eight point matches that could very well shape the top four. Once again, we find ourselves in control of our own destiny when it comes to the double chance. We’ve been here more than once over the last few seasons and have failed on all occasions; our ability to secure a top four spot is truly our biggest test.
