Plenty for the Pies to prove at the 'G

Mick Malthouse talks to his team at 1/4 time during the AFL Round 03 match between St Kilda Saints and the Collingwood Magpies at Etihad Stadium, Melbourne. Slattery Images

After Geelong’s loss last night, the winner of today’s MCG blockbuster between Collingwood and St Kilda will claim top spot on the AFL ladder. That may not mean a lot in September, but for the Pies, the psychological boost of a victory over one of the benchmark sides could prove invaluable come finals.

Indeed, the two sides who competed in last year’s Grand Final, Geelong and St Kilda, currently occupy the top two spots on this season’s ladder.

The Cats and the Saints appear the benchmark in the AFL at the moment. They’re setting the standard, which the others are striving for.

The chiefs of the chasing pack, Collingwood (who lost to both sides in the finals last year), will be worried by their recent record against those two.

From their past seven matches against the pair, Collingwood have lost every single time. That includes a Round 3 defeat to the Saints and a Round 9 loss to the Cats this year.

Nevertheless, throughout several press conferences this week, Magpies players and coaches were asked if they were worried about this record but they continually towed the party line stating it wasn’t a concern.

But, as in any profession or field, when you’re continually falling short against the benchmark, internally you question why that’s happening. I think it’s fair to say, the Collingwood players would be doing so, despite external impressions.

You can understand the Pies not wanting to make that public as it would provide a psychological edge to the Saints and add a little extra unwanted pressure.

So a Collingwood victory over St Kilda today will restore some self-belief into the Pies camp. Mentally, a win would be a boost for the Pies, especially heading into the finals when they’ll need to know they can beat these sides.

Nevertheless, there’s those who are downplaying the importance of the game, as it after all just another regular season match worth four points.

Indeed, the Collingwood side which runs onto the ‘G today will be without skipper Nick Maxwell and 2007 Copeland Trophy winner Travis Cloke.

They are some pretty important players for the Pies, so there’s a thought the result won’t provide much insight into what might happen in September.

Then again, we’ve heard these excuses before. Collingwood’s 2010 losses to St Kilda and Geelong were blamed on inaccuracy in front of goal as they registered 4.17 and 6.14 respectively.

Scott Pendlebury’s first quarter injury against St Kilda in the finals last year was seen as a major contributing factor to that defeat. The absence of key players were to blame in the past too.

But there comes a point when enough is enough and you begin to tire of the excuses.

For today’s match, the excuse of the absence of Maxwell and Cloke has already been prepared and floated by some Pies fans.

And while Maxwell and Cloke’s respective returns may help come September, you wonder if another loss would scar the Pies players even more. Perhaps a narrow defeat could be acceptable, but little more.

Indeed, after being dominated by the league’s two benchmark sides over the past few seasons, surely the time is nigh for Collingwood to show they’re capable of matching it with the best.

If they can’t, they’ll enter into September offering up a psychological edge to the top two.