Post Match. Pies thumped by Demons. All comments, please

[K]

Looks like ESS coming off a 4 day break is copping the same fate as us.
Running out of legs against St.Klit.
...

But St. K have been good most of the season, and Ess. crap, so this isn't the reason for their ladder positions...

[K]

...
So we pissed away that draft pick[s] to Brisbane, to secure their homesick captain, which solved all our problems, particularly how to go about maxing our the salary cap and clogging our list.

This club and their inept recruiting staff never cease to amaze me.

I'm not sure it did any favours for the former Brisbane captain, either. I don't think he had all the incidents up there that he's had since returning. Our club has not been good at player welfare in recent times.

[simon tonna]

Well said. But we see can see all the bullshit yet the club won't do anything about it. Why, why?

Review the current situation down to the boot studder and start the heads rolling. Publicly broadcast the intentions of the current scheduling and most importantly start an inquiry into the umpiring of the game. C'mon cfc do something.

Yep, great post from TP.

I have a theory about the somewhat insipid output from the Pres this year and probably going forward too. Eddie doesn't want to ruffle any feathers with the AFL, because he has his eyes on the CEO position when Gil leaves. A theory that's a bit way out???? Perhaps he's just got too comfortable in his position to spend much energy standing up for the club and doing everything possible to improve it.

Or Eddie's put his head in the chopping block some where, sometime to cover a recent **** up and needs to take one for the team.

[Lazza]

Yep. Great stuff guys. Let’s all as one knock Eddy

[Horatio Fin]

Have you seen the stock photo on Tohill on the website. He looks like a software engineer.

b, b, b, but, the excellent speed and agility results!

[shawthing]

When Pendlebury pulled that melbourne player up from the boundary I was fuming. That's why we will never be feared and hated like we should be.

Yes, I noticed that as well and it shocked me that he did that. In my eyes that sort of thing is never to be done, the only exception maybe is if the game is already won and the opponent is already defeated on their knees begging for mercy. Never early in the game when the battle is still to be fought. We are just a team of super nice guys and I agree we will never become a serious side until we get that unsociable edge about us. Can't believe Pendles did that, it set the tone and we rolled over exposing our very soft underbelly.

Get ready for the Patrick Cripps love fest on Collingwoods social media pages in the lead up to Carlton game....

[shawthing]

Speaking of needed forwards, what would you do the have a big forward like Tom Hawkins right now? He's too old, so I'm not suggesting we recruit him, but his form this year is why the Cats are a real chance. KP forwards are without doubt the most important players in the game. They win you flags (think of Carey, and the way Kennedy and Darling stitched us up in the second half of the 2018 GF). Instead Bucks has invested in images of himself (mids) and wants to produce a side of 18 mids on the field all following the ball. Stick a player like Hawkins or King of St Kilda (now there IS a player to go after) in the forward line and tell everyone else to clear out. It worked for Carey at North and will possibly work for Geelong this year. Cloke was the last forward target we ever had and he couldn't kick.

[shawthing]

DP

[shawthing]

Well said. But we see can see all the bullshit yet the club won't do anything about it. Why, why?

Review the current situation down to the boot studder and start the heads rolling. Publicly broadcast the intentions of the current scheduling and most importantly start an inquiry into the umpiring of the game. C'mon cfc do something.

Yep, great post from TP.

I have a theory about the somewhat insipid output from the Pres this year and probably going forward too. Eddie doesn't want to ruffle any feathers with the AFL, because he has his eyes on the CEO position when Gil leaves. A theory that's a bit way out???? Perhaps he's just got too comfortable in his position to spend much energy standing up for the club and doing everything possible to improve it.

I think you're absolutely on the money there. And you know it would be the worst thing for us. Eddie likes to liked more than anyone, so he would act so as to be seen NOT to be favouring the Pies in any way. He'd be a terrible AFL CEO. Mind you the Nine Networks says hello. Eddie nearly bankrupted them when he was their CEO.

[The Boy Who Cried Wolf]

We need to rebuild from the ground up - no short cuts..

[woftam]

Well said. But we see can see all the bullshit yet the club won't do anything about it. Why, why?

Review the current situation down to the boot studder and start the heads rolling. Publicly broadcast the intentions of the current scheduling and most importantly start an inquiry into the umpiring of the game. C'mon cfc do something.

Yep, great post from TP.

I have a theory about the somewhat insipid output from the Pres this year and probably going forward too. Eddie doesn't want to ruffle any feathers with the AFL, because he has his eyes on the CEO position when Gil leaves. A theory that's a bit way out???? Perhaps he's just got too comfortable in his position to spend much energy standing up for the club and doing everything possible to improve it.

I think you're absolutely on the money there. And you know it would be the worst thing for us. Eddie likes to liked more than anyone, so he would act so as to be seen NOT to be favouring the Pies in any way. He'd be a terrible AFL CEO. Mind you the Nine Networks says hello. Eddie nearly bankrupted them when he was their CEO.

Lol - No chance the other clubs would support Eddie & I don't blame them. Biased as they come.

[JC Hartley]

Collingwood played their worst game of the 2020 season to be consigned to their second-heaviest losing margin by 56 points. The Magpies had control of the clearances and forward entries at various stages during their game against Melbourne, yet they failed to generate effective possessions from clearances, and were closed down with several intercept marks and rebounds conceded inside their forward 50 arc, which denied the Woods any meaningful attempts to score an adequate number of goals. The Demons were allowed to take several uncontested marks in the first 20 minutes, and scored the first three goals to take command of the contest, with so much time and space allowed by Collingwood, who have traditionally been very good at closing leading lanes and cutting off threatening ball movement. None of those actions were in motion, which disallowed Moore, Maynard & Crisp to generate transition into scores from the defensive arc. Ruck dominance was on display, as was the clearance work, yet that had no bearing on the eventual result. The Collingwood forwards had no time and space to lead or create goals, compared to their rivals at the opposite end for Melbourne, who did the exact opposite to what the Magpies had produced for the entire game.

Collingwood had their gains from handballs by +29 (153 - 124), contested possessions were won by +2 (122 - 120), +11 for hit-outs (37 - 26), clearances were +1 (32 - 31), centre clearances had a differential of +1 (13 - 12), tackles were won by +2 ( 40 - 38 ), while Tackles Inside 50 was +6 (11 - 5), and Inside 50s had an advantage of +1 (41 - 40). That's where the control ended. The Woods had as many entries as the Demons, and did not respond adequately. Melbourne's gains came from disposals by +8 (322 - 314), kicks were won by +37 (198 - 161), +8 for uncontested possessions (200 - 192), marks had a differential of +29 (84 - 55), with an advantage of +29 for uncontested marks (81 - 52), while taking Marks Inside 50 by a margin of +5 (12 - 7), and intercept possessions were +2 ( 70 - 68 ). Stoppage clearances (19 apiece) and Contested Marks (3 each) were the only statistical categories that were level. Melbourne's ability to maintain possession allowed them enough time to dispose of the ball correctly and effectively. That enabled their forwards adequate opportunities to take marks or set goals up, once their ball went inside their forward 50 arc. The Demons were able to score goals from 40% of their entries, which is far too high for a team of Collingwood's standards, and needs to be fixed.

Taylor Adams (30 disposals @ 77%, 520 metres gained, 13 contested possessions, 17 uncontested possessions, 3 intercept possessions, 14 kicks, 16 handballs, 9 marks, 7 score involvements, 5 clearances, 3 centre clearances, 2 stoppage clearances, 4 Inside 50s, 3 Rebound 50s & 1 goal) was arguably Collingwood's best and most effective player on a very dire evening for the club. Needed more support around the ball to clear the ball effectively, yet that rarely occurred. Could win the Copeland Trophy for the first time in 2020.

Steele Sidebottom (29 disposals @ 59%, 279 metres gained, 8 contested possessions, 21 uncontested possessions, 6 intercept possessions, 16 kicks, 13 handballs, 6 marks, 4 tackles, 4 score involvements, 3 clearances, 2 centre clearances & 4 Inside 50s) won plenty of possessions, yet he was not able to be aggressive with his decision-making to make most of his disposals count. He took his marks, but would generally kick short for the vast majority of the evening against the Demons, who diminished his influence.

Scott Pendlebury (28 disposals @ 64%, 367 metres gained, 10 contested possessions, 18 uncontested possessions, 6 intercept possessions, 13 kicks, 15 handballs, 6 score involvements, 3 clearances, 2 centre clearances & 4 Inside 50s) made a solid return from a quad injury to compete well, and had a decent crack. Made some uncharacteristic errors at stages, but got enough quality to be of value to the team performance, which ultimately counted for nothing when it truly mattered.

Tom Phillips (22 disposals @ 64%, 465 metres gained, 12 contested possessions, 10 uncontested possessions, 9 intercept possessions, 14 kicks, 8 handballs, 3 marks, 2 tackles, 2 score involvements, 2 clearances, 2 stoppage clearances, 4 Inside 50s & 4 Rebound 50s) spent most of the evening defending instead of attacking, and allowed his direct-opponent Ed Langdon (brother of Tom Langdon) to score two goals on him, which really stung.

Josh Daicos (21 disposals @ 67%, 228 metres gained, 5 contested possessions, 16 uncontested possessions, 5 intercept possessions, 10 kicks, 11 handballs, 6 marks, 4 score involvements & 2 Inside 50s) had a very similar game to Sidebottom, where he would take marks, and then be forced to kick short or go long to a contest.

Brodie Grundy (15 disposals @ 73%, 11 contested possessions, 4 uncontested possessions, 35 hit-outs, 7 kicks, 8 handballs, 3 marks, 6 tackles, 2 Tackles Inside 50, 5 score involvements, 8 clearances, 3 centre clearances, 5 stoppage clearances, 2 Inside 50s & 2 Rebound 50s) finally played with confidence for the first time in 2 months, yet he could not maximise his ruck dominance to catapult enough goals to his fleet of midfielders and wingers.

John Noble (19 disposals @ 84%, 239 metres gained, 4 contested possessions, 15 uncontested possessions, 3 intercept possessions, 9 kicks, 10 handballs, 3 marks, 2 tackles & 3 score involvements) was forced to do the heavy lifting in defence with Maynard & Crisp being closed down. Noble allowed his direct-opponent Charlie Spargo to kick three goals in a quarter. The second term is where Noble let the team down defensively, and it was very costly.

Travis Varcoe (17 disposals @ 76%, 313 metres gained, 2 contested possessions, 15 uncontested possessions, 11 kicks, 6 handballs, 5 marks, 5 score involvements, 3 Inside 50s & 2 Rebound 50s) had a reasonable game from defence to drive the ball forward, which ultimately became futile, before drifting forward in the last term, with one shot hitting the goal post.

Jamie Elliott (15 disposals @ 40%, 255 metres gained, 6 contested possessions, 9 uncontested possessions, 12 kicks, 3 handballs, 3 marks, 5 tackles, 4 Tackles Inside 50, 4 score involvements, 3 clearances, 2 centre clearances, 5 Inside 50s & 1 goal) spent most of his game in the midfield and impacted a couple of centre clearances without any advantages on the scoreboard. Applied tackling pressure in the attacking arc when he was not in the centre square, and scored his only goal from a forward half turnover, where he received a handpass from Brodie Grundy before snapping it through the big sticks.

Will Hoskin-Elliott (11 disposals @ 64%, 138 metres gained, 5 contested possessions, 6 uncontested possessions, 7 kicks, 4 handballs, 2 marks, 5 score involvements & 1 goal) found it very difficult to lead up at the ball carrier to take marks, which reduced his effectiveness. Still looked lively with 3 of his five score involvements being scoring shots.

Ben Reid kicked 2 goals from 2 kicks before injuring his hamstring, and Brody Mihocek got concussed in the second term, which robbed Collingwood of its main focal point to provide leads and marking contests. The Woods were forced to be inventive as their forward arc got smaller by the quarter.

Collingwood's next game will be against North Melbourne on August 24 at the Gabba. There is a good opportunity to bounce back and find winning form. The focus for the club now is to rediscover winning form on a consistent level over the next month to make the finals. There are a lot of fans and club members who are consigning the club's season prematurely. I've not been in that vein and state of mind to concede that Finals footy in 2020 is impossible. It is very possible right now, despite drifting out of premiership contention. The playing group need to execute what I'm believing for the remainder of the season, as they are highly capable without playing brilliantly at the moment. The plan going forward is to find time and space to dispose of the ball effectively, kick the ball often and maintain possession with marks, and lastly having handball receivers loaded with forwards continually leading and moving inside the forward arc to create or convert goals from marks that are taken. Shall Collingwood stay the course and optimise that level of control, they will be tougher to vanquish (defeat) than what they currently are right now.

[Lazza]

I have grave doubts that this team is able to execute the current game plan on a consistent level. Impact will be minimal if they do make the finals.

[masoncox]

I have grave doubts that this team is able to execute the current game plan on a consistent level. Impact will be minimal if they do make the finals.

Bit unusual for you Lazza.
You are normally a bit more positive

[inxs88]

For The Roos clash:

INS:

Stevo
Roughead
T Brown
Mayne
Keane
Rantall (time to unleash)
Broomhead

OUTS:

Mihocek (inj)
Reid (retired)
Dunn (omit)
Varcoe "
Ruscoe (inj)
Thomas (omit)
C Brown (managed)