Collingwood's Darren Jolly and Dayne Beams celebrate a goal during the AFL Round 19 match between the Geelong Cats and the Collingwood Magpies at the MCG, Melbourne.
Collingwood defeated reigning premiers Geelong on Saturday night in front of 84,401 at the ‘G’, proving to be premiership contenders rather than pretenders.
It was an impressive performance from a potent Collingwood outfit, and it was exciting to see the two best midfielders in the competition go head to head.
Dane Swan and Gary Ablett battled it out continually rotating off each other in an attempt to have an impact on the match. Swan eventually came out on top, with Ablett having a quite second half, as a result of a change in his style of play intending to limit Swan’s impact on the game.
Panic mode was almost in full swing when Geelong had nearly clawed their way back from a 28-point deficit, and Collingwood were missing multiple ‘gettable’ goals.
The Collingwood of old would have fumbled and allowed Geelong to walk all over them. However, this revitalised group had a strong mental belief in their structures and the way they were playing.
Collingwood fielded a revamped side in comparison to the team they put on the park back in the 2007 preliminary final against Geelong that saw them go down by five points.
Eleven changes have been made to the side since 2007, and Mick Malthouse has developed Collingwood’s draft picks into elite athletes who are now having a big say in how deep Collingwood will travel into September.
Nathan Buckley, Scott Burns, Anthony Rocca, James Clement, Paul Licuria, Marty Clarke and Rhyce Shaw are all notable absences from the 2007 side.
Former captain Nathan Buckley was on his last legs in 2007. Despite being undoubtedly an excellent leader of the club, the pace of the modern game got the better of him.
His polished skills were as damaging as they were in his prime, but you couldn’t complain when a relentless Dane Swan is to replace Buckley in the 2010 squad as the number one midfielder.
Swan has taken over as the unstoppable force at the Collingwood Football Club with a chance to even snatch the Brownlow medal this year. Through hard work on and off the track, he has lifted his game to the next level, and is shaping up to be one of the pioneer midfielders in the competition.
Scott Burns was an incredible player for the Pies but Dayne Beams looks to be leaping beyond the shadow of the clubs former captain and sustaining a hard edge, blistering pace through the middle and ability to kick goals into this current Collingwood outfit.
The 20-year old has played just the 36 games in comparison with Burns’ 265 games but has just about equalled his best on ground performances in his short tenure with the Pies so far.
Burns had a personal best of 36 disposals and booting 4.3. To date, Beams has had a game high of 32 disposals and kicked 4.4. He is an instrumental player in the Collingwood structure and whilst he is a Pie till 2012, let’s hope the temptation of moving back home and playing with Gold Coast Suns doesn’t get the better of the young man.
Anthony Rocca was the main man down in the forward line with Travis Cloke playing second fiddle to the 195cm unit. Rocca impressed with his strength in the one on one contests and his booming right foot that enabled him to kick 70 metres. The Rocca retirement has allowed Chris Dawes to step up into the senior side and develop into the second power forward alongside Travis Cloke. Dawes and Cloke work incredibly well together and if Cloke can get his accurate kicking boots on, they will be very hard to beat come finals time.
James Clement was the influential backman who tore his opponents to shreds. Dubbed the best full back in the competition, awarded All-Australian selection and twice named the Copeland Trophy winner. Harry O’Brien is the established defender who has filled the void since Clement’s retirement.
O’Brien has added another dimension to his game. His ability to spoil the contest and run off his opponent is second to none. Similarly to Clement, he can play small or tall and have a massive impact on the game.
Paul Licuria had an uncanny ability to win the footy across half back but it his disposal let him down. His work rate could not be questioned but his consistency could. Similar to Nathan Buckley, Licuria was unable to keep up with the pace of the game forcing him to retire at the end of 2007 season.
Scott Pendlebury has shown so far how good he is with pace through the midfield and his tremendous ball use. Additionally he has good awareness of his teammates and excellent poise as he moves swiftly through the midfield. Pendlebury will be the key to Collingwood’s success come finals time.
The Pies are in good hands with the young and talented up and coming side this year, evidently through their performance against Geelong. Post-match the Pies gathered in the middle of the ground and Nick Maxwell reminded his players not get ahead of themselves and contain the excitement motivated by fans.
New recruit Luke Ball played down the win and finals prospects post-match.
“Come on mate. We don’t want to start talking like that, you know we have to keep a lid on it,” he said.
It is certainly a tough task for the Collingwood football club but more importantly for its players to remain focused and driven to succeed come September. In the past players have got ahead of themselves, basking in their glory and forgetting about the all-important task that lies ahead.
If they stick to their guns, then not much it stopping the side from holding up the premiership cup in that last day in September.
While the club will continue to keep a lid on it, Collingwood fans have a right to be excited. The side is looking stronger than ever before and are playing an exciting brand of footy. They finally beat the reigning premiers through sheer guts and determination which will hold them in good stead heading deep into the 2010 finals series.
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