After St. Kilda pipped us at the post by a solitary point, Magpie supporters undoubtedly felt some minor annoyance simply because – unlike last year – most of us wouldn’t get to watch our remaining games that were now set to be played out in the sticks within the NAB Challenge system.
Collingwood took on Adelaide last night in Alice Springs with the match being played at Traeger Park; which could have been mistaken for the local swimming pool. Whilst reports have been scarce and most of us had to be content with listening in via radio, the likes of Sidebottom, Goldsack and O’Brien all played a prominent role in our eventual 22 point victory. Another good sign was first year player Ben Sinclair, who made a good first impression and has even been named in the bests in some reports.
Despite being downed by St. Kilda, who led by 43 points at one stage, there was plenty to be happy about in our NAB Cup encounter. Harry O’Brien was incredibly impressive and looks set for a very big year. Defensively, Harry is as determined as ever but it is the addition of what appears to be a more offensive mindset that is rounding out O’Brien’s game and could be the catalyst for him to take the next step. Heath Shaw was our best ball-winner and spent a bit of time being played through the midfield. I’m still unsure as to how the move of Shaw to the midfield will play out, but he ran hard and carried the ball well as usual and there is definite merit in further exploring the scope of players with the talent of Shaw and O’Brien.
What most of us were curious to see however was how our three new additions would fare. Darren Jolly suffered from some early rust but became increasingly dominant as the game wore on, finishing the game with two goals (both of which were important in getting us back into the contest) and 20 hit outs. Luke Ball amassed 22 possessions, 6 tackles, 5 marks and a goal in what was simultaneously his first game for Collingwood and his first game against his former team mates at St. Kilda. Ball’s tenacity around stoppages and ability to win the ball in tight was a highlight and will serve us extremely well in 2010 and beyond. We experimented a bit with our midfield on the night and with two major additions in Jolly and Ball, a little time is required before the chemistry completely comes together. Simon Buckley on the other hand didn’t have the best showing first up, but will undoubtedly have time and further opportunity to impress.
Nathan Brown struggled to contain his direct opponents on the night and as a result found himself the target of much criticism around the traps. After his debut season, the expectations for Brown sky-rocketed and as is natural in such instances, patience among the masses is often exchanged for premature visions of All-Australian honours and hysterical declarations. When – as usually occurs – these lofty expectations aren’t met, the reaction is usually equally hysterical denunciations. Whilst Brown has struggled off and on since that first season, he is still only 21 years old and it takes plenty of time and experience before key position players – particularly key defenders – find their feet. Prestigiacomo was lambasted in the early stages of his career, whilst Brian Lake of the Western Bulldogs arguably only reached his peak as a key defender in 2009 as a 27 year old.
Ben Reid similarly didn’t set the world on fire against the Saints, but did show some good signs with his raking left boot finding moving targets heading out of defence. It was an errant kick at the end of the game that opened the door for the Saints, but he shouldn’t be dragged over hot coals for an error that came about simply due to inexperience. After a productive and promising 2009 in a new defensive role at VFL level, Reid is likely to be given more senior opportunity in defence this year; making 2010 his most important year thus far in terms of development.
Dayne Beams has got Collingwood fans salivating after putting in an impressive showing in the single half of football that he was afforded against the Saints. Whilst Beams stats were moderate on paper, it was the influence and composure that he displayed that was most impressive. The modern game lends itself to "stat deception" and often the true importance or influence of players isn’t reflected on paper. In the second half, Beams displayed an instinctive ability to get his hands on the ball during centre clearances and in contested situations; whilst continuing his familiar kamikaze attack on the football, a quality that won over the masses in 2009. With the addition of Darren Jolly and Luke Ball; along with the still developing Pendlebury, Beams and Sidebottom, "first use" is a phrase that Collingwood is at long last set to become familiar with.
Harry O’Brien was awesome, collecting 22 disposals and 8 marks, one of which was the mark of the night. As I touched on earlier, Harry got involved in a more attacking fashion and used the ball well heading forward whilst still proving to be a formidable player in one-on-one contests. Nick Maxwell looks set to continue on the form of 2009 that saw him not only win over the respect of a football public that largely ridiculed his appointment as captain, but also win All-Australian honours.
Whilst Davis and Didak were disappointingly quiet against the Saints, with Didak once again struggling against a close tag by Clinton Jones. Leon Davis didn’t look at all interested for the most part and put in what was simply a flabbergasting performance. On the bright side, we can only expect better things from both Didak and Davis, two of our most polished footballers. Paul Medhurst showed some signs of returning to his best form after struggling for most of 2009. Medhurst looked creative, confident and most importantly dangerous once more; kicking what was almost the match winning goal before the Saints got one back after sloppy checking in our defensive 50.
Of our big forwards, Leigh Brown did the most damage on the scoreboard by kicking four goals whilst Travis Cloke was overall our most impressive key forward. Leroy worked hard as usual and showed some very good signs by capitalising on his opportunities with straight kicking. Travis Cloke was prominent and was a driving force during our come back, taking some excellent contested marks and in general being a serious presence up forward. Cloke is still struggling with his kicking accuracy and it can be frustrating to watch as a supporter, but after a pre-season filled with speculation over the extent of his knee troubles it was good to see Cloke playing some good – at times dominant – football.
In the wash-up, there were plenty of good signs against St. Kilda and from what we’ve all heard so far, some more positives coming out of our match in Alice Springs — none as positive as the fact that we incurred no injuries. Whilst our premiership window is open and the likes of Jolly and Ball will hopefully play a big part in bridging the gap, it is the development and improvement of our entire list that will play the biggest part in getting us to the promised land.
Despite our team currently doing the rounds in the NAB Challenge, the early signs from training and the games we’ve been involved in have been good. 2010 shapes as an exciting season for the Collingwood Football Club.
