I can’t remember a season where I’ve been so needlessly nervous; it feels like I’ve spent the last three months of my life bracing for a let-down that hasn’t eventuated. It turns out that there is no respite from this fluctuating anxiety, as we now have a top four spot sewn up and the aforementioned pre-emptive nerves have made way for something else, something much bigger.
The anxiety that accompanies the possibility of dreams realised, the anxiety that shadows expectation like a pilot fish. With only one more round to go, Collingwood are being touted as not only contenders, but perhaps even premiership favourites.
I’m not eager to take on board the favourites tag, even though from a purely statistical vantage point the tag is warranted. We have been the best performed side in the second half of the year, with Geelong and St. Kilda wavering a little over the last few weeks. Considering St. Kilda’s streak and Geelong’s recent history, I don’t think we’ve done enough to topple either for the early title of favourite but it’s shaping up to be a compelling finals series all the same.
Last week we took on a fast finishing Sydney, who were making an unlikely charge towards a finals spot as Hawthorn, Port and Essendon fought it out to see who didn’t want the final spot in September. Sydney had pushed both Geelong and St. Kilda to the very limit and were a lucky bounce or two away from beating both sides. We’ve had Sydney’s measure for a while, but the manner in which we notched up yet another victory was very encouraging for several reasons.
Sydney play a contested brand of football, regardless of how convincing any of our wins have been against them, we’ve always had to earn them. If Richmond’s rough house tactics the week before did us a favour by bringing the group together in a militant sense, then the match against Sydney gave our boys a good test run for the tight contested style of play that finals football demands.
The first half was the typical arm wrestle that most games involving Sydney resemble, with our boys once again being a little wasteful in front of goal. Whilst we couldn’t break out to more than a three goal lead, we didn’t give Sydney an inch the other way either, with our miserly defence standing up once again. It was a scrappy first half in all honesty, littered with fumbles and stoppages. Dane Swan and Pendlebury both struggled to have their usual influence, whilst Brad Dick struggled to find his touch early in the piece.
As has become a habit, it was the third quarter when Collingwood put Sydney to the sword, with Brad Dick snapping a freakish yet fortunate snap that bounced through after being launched from outside 50. Medhurst presented tirelessly, whilst John Anthony stood up to be our best performed forward, ending the day with four goals. After racing out to a 5 goal lead by the end of the third term, Collingwood kicked into cruise control for the last quarter, holding out Sydney and winning the quarter by a further 11 points whilst being wasteful once more with a 3.6 return in the last.
Dayne Beams was our best player over the four quarters. Whilst Beams finished the day as our leading possession getter with 24 disposals, it was his repeated efforts in contested situations that stood out. Sydney are a great litmus test if you’re looking to gauge a player’s ability to become an inside midfielder and Beams passed with flying colours. Scott Pendlebury and Brett Kirk cancelled each other out, whilst Dane Swan worked his way into the game in the second half despite a fantastic blanketing performance by ex-Pie Rhyce Shaw.
Tim Watson described Heath Shaw’s performance on the day perfectly when he said that he had been “flawless.” It’s just about the ideal description for a defender’s game; whilst Heater may not have racked up his usual impressive stats, his numerous one percenters and the fact that he was not beaten once put him up there with Beams vying for best on ground honours. Maxwell continues to lead by example by putting in a similarly flawless performance marshalling our troops across the back half, whilst Leigh Brown made amends for his last performance by being undoubtedly good down back, even bobbing up with some highlight worthy moments.
We continue to show how evenly spread we are with talent, as in games where our tall timber fails to fire our medium and small forwards bob up with a bag or two. When our smalls have difficulty getting on the scoreboard, our tall timber emerges. After the Sydney game, with Swan and Pendlebury contributing just 35 disposals between them, we still ran out comfortable winners as this “share the load” philosophy extends to our midfield.
We bested Sydney by 41 points, which could have been more with accurate kicking and an absence of the pity rule applied to a few marking contests. All in all, it was a win that was indicative of the brand of football that the club is playing – a true team effort.
This week we head into a twilight match with the Bulldogs that will decide who finishes third and who faces who out of the Saints and Cats. The Bulldogs are in pretty good shape as well, despite a recent disappointing loss to an enthusiastic Eagles outfit. Despite sealing a double chance, I don’t want to see us flirt with form and hope that the boys go in with all guns blazing, a victory could give us the final bit of mental ascendancy required to go all the way.
Before I sign off, I just have to say that it’s good to be a Collingwood supporter right now. Bucks is coming home, Beamer has signed up for another two years and has put the Gold Coast speculation to rest. We’ve also got a crop of good young players performing well in the VFL, who coincidentally also sealed a finals appearance this past weekend.
We’re nearing the summit and the next part of the journey is undoubtedly the hardest, but right now as I look at the ladder with a sense of relief and achievement warming my innards, I can’t help but dare to dream.
Good stuff 10L. There is something about being Colllingwood that makes the stakes that much higher. On selection, I would think Sidebottom and Goldsack may be considered for Dick and L Brown this week. The latter more than held his own last week but it is hard to see a match up for him against the Dogs (cf Cats/Hawkins and Saints/Kosi). I guess the problem is that Brown would miss a game at senior level after having really developed his touch nicely in Q4 against the Swans. On the other hand, Goldsack always appears to play well against the Dogs. I suspect Pebbles will be selected as an emergency this week.
Hey Pedro,
I agree on Rocca, you just get that feeling that he’s going to be selected, especially considering that it’s pretty much now or never. Dick was good after half-time, but his fumbling throughout the course of the match was a real concern for me; we really need to be clean and as one-touch as possible. I wouldn’t be opposed to Brown and Dick taking the stands for Sidebottom and Goldsack this week, who both gave a good account of themselves in the VFL last week.
We’ll find out in a couple of hours anyway.