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The Adelaide Crows sealed an impressive 18-point victory against Collingwood at the MCG on Sunday afternoon and subsequently have slipped past them on the ladder into the top eight for the first time this season.
With a relatively easy drawn on the run to the finals, the Crows will be liking there chances at securing a finals spot in 2014, while Collingwood will have to turn their form around fast if they are going to have any chance at making the eight.
FINAL SCORE:
COLLINGWOOD 12.10 (82)
ADELAIDE 14.14 (98)
September starts early on Sunday when the Collingwood Magpies host the Adelaide Crows at the MCG in a game that will have a huge impact on the finals chances of both sides. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 4:40 pm (AEST).
Collingwood have been in surprisingly poor form of late, considering they were touted as a premiership fancy only a few months ago.
They have one win from their last five matches, and have dropped games to three teams below them on the ladder in that time. They now find themselves at the bottom of the top eight, close to falling out of it altogether.
Adelaide on the other hand have been at the top of their game in recent weeks, claiming four wins from their last five matches. They were a team possessed in their most recent match against Hawthorn in Round 17, and though they fell short of a win against the reigning premiers by two goals, they played probably the best football of their year so far.
Collingwood had the wood over Adelaide in recent years, with a string of six straight victories before the Crows downed them unexpectedly at Adelaide Oval this year in Round 9. It’s a performance Adelaide will be looking to repeat.
The Magpies have made five changes from the side that lost to Essendon. Former skipper Nick Maxwell has since retired, Luke Ball, Alan Toovey and Dane Swan will all miss due to injury, and Josh Thomas has been dropped. Lachlan Keeffe, Tim Broomhead, Kyle Martin, Jamie Elliott and Ben Reid return to the side.
The Crows have returned Luke Thompson and David Mackay to their side, with Ben Rutten and Jason Porplyzia making way.
After proving himself to be a dangerous swingman last year, injury woes have kept Magpie Ben Reid from playing a single game so far in 2014. He’s finally back and it may be just in the nick of time to help Collingwood solidify their spot in the top eight. Can he have an impact in his first game for the year – and which end of the ground will he be played at?
Both these team are desperate to play finals, but it’s looking more and more likely that there’ll only be room for one. The winner of this week’s match will have a huge advantage.
Prediction
On form alone I simply have to back the Crows this week. They looked fantastic against Hawthorn before the bye and if they can keep it up then they’ll leapfrog Collingwood and be in the eight by the end of the round.
Adelaide by 12 points.
Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 4:40 PM (AEST).