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Collingwood have run out 25 point winners at the MCG with another win over Melbourne on the Queen’s Birthday holiday.
COLLINGWOOD 17.8.110
MELBOURNE 13.7.85
It was a valiant effort by the Demons but a goal-less last term proved a bridge too far for them to overcome as Collingwood held firm and recorded a solid win in a surprisingly entertaining game.
The game was played in real ebbs and flows with momentum swings making for a rough and tumble, tight and uptempo contest. Collingwood will probably think they could have played better all in all but will be happy to take the win. Melbourne will rue some crucial, amateurish errors that were out of sync with the intensity and vigour they showed.
One man who couldn’t play much better was Travis Cloke who was absolutely dominant. He booted 4 in the first, had a quiet second term and then presented and provided a presence in the second half to help steer the Pies home. He ended with 7 goals straight.
Pendlebury (27 touches, 8 tackles) stood up and Oxley (30 touches, 14 marks) became more and more important as the game went on, continually linking up and cutting off Demon attacks. Grundy had a fantastic last term as well.
For the Demons it was mostly the usual suspects in Jones (34 touches, 8 clearances, 7 tackles, 2 goals), Vince (34 touches, 7 clearances, 2 goals) and Cross (26 touches and a great tagging effort on Sidebottom) who did the tough stuff but there were handy contributions from the likes of Howe and Brayshaw which will give Paul Roos something to look at.
Heritier Lumumba had a poor outing against his old club and the Vandenberg injury is another worry to deal with. The Pies meanwhile will be looking towards the challenge of facing the new and improved GWS next weekend.
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Collingwood 17.8.110
Melbourne 13.7.85
GOALS:
Collingwood – Cloke 7, Blair 3, Elliot 3, Fasolo, Broomhead Swan, Seedsman
Melbourne – Howe 3, Vince 2, Garlett 2, Jones 2, Brayshaw, Fitzpatrick, Hogan
BEST:
Collingwood – Cloke, Oxley, Pendlebury, Grundy, Elliot, Langdon
Melbourne – Jones, Vince, Brayshaw, Cross, Howe, Gawn
A good game of footy is always a handy bonus on a public holiday and we may well be in for one when Melbourne take on Collingwood in their traditional Queen’s Birthday clash at the MCG today.
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In past years the clash has been something of the lay down misere for the Pies with their last loss against the Demons in this fixture coming in 2007 (albeit Melbourne did manage to sneak a draw in a 2010 thriller), but Melbourne have been somewhat reinvigorated from their recently low standards with some strong early season form. They’ve only won one of their last 5 but will be out to show their improvement on a massive stage against Collingwood.
Collingwood have surprised many this season as they come into this match with a 6 win, 3 loss record. Their attacking brand of footy has been a joy to watch but the miserly showings from their young defence have been a huge and oft unheralded bonus.
The loss of prime mover Dayne Beams and backline dasher Heritier Lumumba (who will play for Melbourne against his old club) haven’t seemed to dampen the spirit of the group as their bevy of stars remain strong while the likes of Jamie Elliot, Brodie Grundy, Taylor Adams and newcomer Jack Crisp have upped their game to another level.
Much has been made of Travis Cloke’s kicking for Collingwood but Collingwood rank third in the competition for goal accuracy over the season, easily trumping the Demons who sit way down at the bottom. Both sides have struggled with centre clearances and getting uncontested ball so getting on top early in these areas will be key for the side wanting to take home the chocolates.
The aforementioned Taylor Adams is out for the Pies with a toe injury and young Tim Broomhead comes in to replace him. The Demons have made 3 unforced changes – Jack Grimes, Jake Spencer and Rohan Bail have been omitted and Ben Newton, Aiden Riley and big man Max Gawn come in to replace them.
The game could be a hard fought, big contest or it could be over by quarter time. Melbourne’s consistency – not just game to game but quarter to quarter – has been a massive issue as the gap between their best and worst is glaring.
They were right in the contest at half-time against Port Adelaide last weekend before kicking a lacklustre 2 goals while Port piled on 10 in the second half. Eliminating a fadeout like this will be crucial.
Collingwood meanwhile are coming off a massive morale booster against North Melbourne. They stormed home in the second half to snatch a 17 point victory with some scintillating play after being down by 45 points at half-time. Even with a staunch defensive coach at the helm in Paul Roos the Demons will be wary of the potential of a rapid fire assault.
Given recent results, both in this game in previous seasons and otherwise for both teams this year, it’s hard to see the Pies losing but with an excellent chance to stand up and be counted Melbourne are a sneaky chance to pull off something special.
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