Can Collingwood overcome the week from hell, after their president was accused of racism, to beat Brisbane Lions tonight? Join us here on The Roar from 7.50pm AEST for full commentary and live scores to find out.
Two weeks ago, just about everyone would have thought Collingwood would walk all over Brisbane but two weeks is a long time in football.
These two teams enter tonight heading in opposite directions with Brisbane carrying all the momentum despite being the obvious underdogs.
Suddenly, just two positions on the ladder separate these two teams.
It was not that long ago that we were questioning what round of the season Michael Voss would be sacked as Brisbane’s coach but in two weeks, he has turned his team around.
Toppling Essendon in round eight, the Lions season looked to have taken a turn for the better at last. Last week, they took on Carlton and were highly competitive all night, only to lose by 13 points.
Meanwhile, Collingwood went from their best performance of the season in round eight when they upset Geelong, who were undefeated at the time, to their worst performance against Sydney last week.
To make things worse, it has been a week of hell at Collingwood following the Eddie McGuire gaffe with drama consuming the club.
During the week, Darren Jolly claimed in a column that he was no longer enjoying football and Harry O’Brien took great offence to McGuire’s slip of the tongue.
Beaten comfortably in every area of the game last Friday night, the Magpies will be out to redeem themselves on the national stage.
Brisbane’s chances were critically damaged earlier in the week when their leader Jonathon Brown was hit with a two-match suspension for striking.
Brown played his best game of the season against Essendon and appeared to have finally overcome his niggles to find form.
Without Brown, the Lions will need to find another tall target and that man is likely to be Brent Staker who has looked like the only tall option beyond Brown over the past fortnight.
However, he’ll have a tough task in front of him coming up against All-Australian defender Ben Reid.
The Lions have made a whopping six changes to their side. Including Brown, they have lost three of their best players with injuries to Tom Rockliff and Matthew Leuenburger ruled out.
The Magpies regain their best ball user with Heath Shaw returning after a one match suspension.
He was expected to return last week but the Magpies played it safe when skin fold issues arose. Now to proper fitness, he may have the tough task of containing Dayne Zorko.
Brisbane were boosted by midfield stalwart Simon Black’s return from injury last week. He has the class to match it with Collingwood’s midfield brigade but will need more support than usual.
Weather will influence the result of this game because both team’s forward lines are polar opposites. Collingwood will be sticking to their guns with their talls while Brisbane has no other option than go small with Zorko and Rohan Bewick.
Between these two teams, Brisbane has the momentum and has been playing more consistent football over the past three weeks.
They also have the home ground advantage and playing at the Gabba in winter is extremely difficult for Melbourne-based teams that struggle with Queensland’s humidity.
On paper, Collingwood are fielding the stronger side and will be filthy about their lacklustre performance last week.
The drama which has threatened to derail their season is still fresh in their minds and will influence their team mentality tonight.
The Magpies have not entered a form slump in about four years and will be hell-bent on saving face after last week’s loss while uniting as a team to overcome a week full of drama.
The Lions will struggle without three of their best players and the experience of the Magpies should prevail.
Collingwood to win by 36.
Alfred Chan
Expert
That rounds up our coverage of Friday Night Football here on The Roar. The final result - Collingwood 14.16.100 defeats Brisbane 7.9.51 Thanks for joining us.
Alfred Chan
Expert
Collingwood took the four points tonight but I thought overall, they were quite disappointing. A lot of their skills were sloppy and they never took advantage of Brisbane's constant fumbling. Collingwood's last quarter was terrible and Buckley should be filthy in the way they finished the game. No run at all through the middle of the ground. Overall, the game was pretty much over after quarter time. The Lions persisted with trying to play the game up the boundary line and it just wasn't working. They kept going to contests but they just didn't have anyone who could take a contested mark except for Redden late in the game. He's not a big guy either. That performance doesn't do enough to put Collingwood back into contention as a top four team.
Alfred Chan
Expert
Paul Seedsman was pick 76 in the 2010 draft. Nicely done by Derek Hine once again.
Alfred Chan
Expert
Dane Swan was great with 36 touches but best on ground for me was Paul Seedsman. He just looked composed every time he had the ball and contributed to a lot of Collingwood's scoring plays. Jack Martin was fantastic on debut. He had 19 touches, made 6 tackles and kicked 2 goals 2. He'll retain his spot in the side for next week.
Alfred Chan
Expert
Collingwood 14.16.100 defeats Brisbane 7.9.51 As expected, without Cloke, the small guys kicked the majority of the goals for Collingwood. The loss of Jonathon Brown was huge. Brisbane just couldn't find any targets up forward.
Alfred Chan
Expert
Collingwood 14.16.100 defeats Brisbane 7.9.51 Dane Swan finished with 36 disposals, Sidebottom 31, Seedsman and Pendlebury 28 each. For the Lions, Black wound back the years to pick up 32, Redden 22 and Zorko 21. Ben Reid kicked three goals for the Pies. Swan, Kennedy, Martin and Elliot all had two each. Ash McGrath kicked three for the Lions.
Alfred Chan
Expert
Collingwood 14.16.100 defeats Brisbane 7.9.51
Alfred Chan
Expert
The final siren sounds!
Alfred Chan
Expert
Collingwood now just chipping it around their back line. Brisbane are not even bothering to man up. Eventually goes up the line, Ball trickles out of bounds.
Alfred Chan
Expert
Zorko marks in the middle of the ground, Kicks forward to McGrath who is 50m out, on the boundry. Looks up, sees nothing. Kicks. Goal. That's his third. 1 to go Lions - 51 Pies - 100
Alfred Chan
Expert
Ball gets it on the wing, Goes inboard to Seedsman who finds Jolly, Sidebottom gets onto it, Elliot can't mark, Redden scoops it up, Bewick back in defence gets onto it, Redden runs on and gets to, Finds Longer with a nice kick, Lester, McGrath, Staker, Switches it to Polkinghorne, Goes inside 50, Great mark by Seedsman. 2 to go Lions - 45 Pies - 100
Alfred Chan
Expert
4 minutes to go. Pies up by 55. The sting has gone out of this match.
Alfred Chan
Expert
Longer scraps it forward, Staker is pressured in the pocket and the ball is thrown in, Jolly held by Longer, Swan runs it out to Shaw, Macaffer wasn't ready for it. Ball up on Brisbane's arc. Zorko bashes through to get it to Black, Shaw pushed Black in the back in the tackle, Black finds Staker in the pocket after juggling it due to hands in his back. Staker misses. Lions - 45 Pies - 100
Alfred Chan
Expert
Raines and Black share it between the in the middle but Swan locks Black up, Didak find Williams running through. Spots up Martin with an excellent kick. Martin 40m out, directly in front, Kicks it straight through the middle for his second on debut. 5 to go Lions - 44 Pies - 100
Alfred Chan
Expert
Free kick to Lester at HB. Goes wide. Short kick up the line to Black, Kicks backwards to Clark, Switches to Patfull. Short to Harwood. Goes up the line to Docherty, Up the wing to a contest, Zorko gathers, off to Zorko, Adcock gets onto it. Kicks forward and Paparone marks 10m, slight angle. And he's kicked it. 7 to go Lions - 44 Pies - 94
Alfred Chan
Expert
Seedsman has played a fantastic game!
Alfred Chan
Expert
Yeo has it on the wing but no one to kick it to in front of him. Eventually just unloads but Sidebottom is there. Gets it to Ball, Seedsman uses the ball brilliantly, Could have kicked from 50 but just drops the eyes and spots Reid. Reid runs into an open goal. That's the third of his night. Nice game from him. 9 to go Lions - 38 Pies - 94
Alfred Chan
Expert
Kennedy snaps at goal buy Clark marks on the last line of defence, Sends it up the wing, Paparone fists it over the line, Thrown in, Longer gets it out to Black, Raines in space and again goes up the line. Out on the full. This is very boring football with both teams going wide at any opportunity they get. 10 to go Lions - 38 Pies - 88
Alfred Chan
Expert
Pies - 88, sorry.
Alfred Chan
Expert
Ball up Brisbane forward line, No one can get it out. Ball thrown in, Ball goes through Raines' hands. Sidebottom and Shaw do a good job to get it out, Didak fumbles it, Adcock met solidly by Blair, Adcock gets the free on the wing. Hanley finds Karnezis 20m out directly in front. A shocker of a kick. He fists the ground after. 12 to go Lions - 38 Pies - 38 Still no goal kicked this quarter.