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.
Cheers to everyone for reading and commenting and thanks for following The Roar.
Crowd: 66,120
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.
Join The Roar for live scores from 3:20pm AEST.
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.
Join The Roar for live scores from 3:20pm AEST.
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
FULL TIME at the MCG with Collingwood running out 25 point winners. 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. Cheers to everyone for reading and commenting and thanks for following The Roar. Crowd: 66,120 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
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
BEHIND MELBOURNE Tom McDonald in unfamiliar territory and has a shot just before the siren goes, it's just off to the left. The Pies take the points in what has been an entertaining contest. Collingwood 17.8.110 Melbourne 13.7.85 FULL TIME
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
Melbourne keep attacking and fighting but Collingwood's defence are pushing them back without a heap of trouble at the moment. Under 2 minutes to go.
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
BEHIND MELBOURNE Good play from Melbourne to move it up the wing. It ends with Pedersen in a similar spot to Howe's attempt before but this one is also a behind. Collingwood 17.8.110 Melbourne 13.6.84 5:36 remaining Q4
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
GOAL COLLINGWOOD He doesn't just do it from set shots Travis Cloke! Ball spills, Cloke grabs it and whips it around the body for a goal from about 20m out. That's his 7th and probably signals the end for Melbourne's chances. Collingwood 17.8.110 Melbourne 13.5.83 7:10 remaining Q4
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
BEHIND COLLINGWOOD I may have spoken too soon about the ruck battle, Grundy uses his strength, grabs that out of the ruck and delivers it lace out inside 50 to Jesse White. White's about 25m out but that's a poor effort, always off to the left. Collingwood 16.8.104 Melbourne 13.5.83 8:46 remaining Q4
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
GOAL COLLINGWOOD Grundy to Fasolo to Elliot, quick kicks and good marks. Poor defensive pressure from Melbourne. Elliot lines up from about 40m out...it's high and it's good! That makes it hard for the Demons. Collingwood 16.7.103 Melbourne 13.5.83 9:38 remaining Q4
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
BEHIND COLLINGWOOD Oh, that looked perfectly set for a Swan special - burst through and had the goals in front of him but it floated off to the left. Collingwood 15.7.97 Melbourne 13.5.83 10:20 remaining Q4
Rob McHugh
Roar Guru
That is a ludicrous decision.
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
BEHIND MELBOURNE He's had a good game Howe but that's not a good kick. Collingwood 15.6.96 Melbourne 13.5.83 12:21 remaining Q4
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
It looked like Jesse White was going to get a free inside his defensive 50 but it's given against for taking out the legs - the second one of those today. Howe will take the shot.
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
BEHIND COLLINGWOOD Kennedy intercepts a Demons handball and has a quick snap but it's off to the right. Melbourne need to counter-punch here soon. Collingwood 15.6.96 Melbourne 13.4.82 14:47 remaining Q4
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
Grundy has offered plenty of grunt but Gawn's presence and tap-work (16 hitouts to advantage) probably just give him the chocolates in the ruck so far today.
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
BEHIND COLLINGWOOD Broomhead skids a behind through under pressure to kick off the final term. Collingwood 15.5.95 Melbourne 13.4.82 19:00 remaining Q4
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
We're about to kick off the final term, Seedsman was SUBBED OUT for Ben Kennedy late in the third. Over 2 million raised for MND which is fantastic.
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
Siren goes for 3 QUARTER TIME This has been a real game of momentum with both teams having big flurries of goals. Much like the second Collingwood held firm late and keep that double digit buffer as we head into the final term but we're set for a cracker. The Demons are well on top in possessions and clearances but are just lacking a bit of class - a couple of shocking errors from Dunn and Fitzpatrick led to 2 gimme goals for Blair. Cloke has been fantastic and Pendlebury (19 touches, 7 tackles) really started to come into the game. Oxley's provided some great drive too. Vince and Jones have starred for Melbourne with Cross and Brayshaw ably assisting. Their backline has been solid at times and scrappy at others. Collingwood 15.4.94 Melbourne 13.4.82 Goals: Collingwood – Cloke 6, Blair 3, Elliot 2, Fasolo, Broomhead, Swan, Seedsman Melbourne – Howe 3, Vince 2, Garlett 2, Jones 2, Brayshaw, Fitzpatrick, Hogan
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
GOAL COLLINGWOOD Dunn and Cloke wrestle inside 50 and Cloke is probably a little lucky to get a free kick for that as they were both holding each other. But as always, taking your chances is essential and Cloke makes no mistake. That's his 6th and he's been a deadeye Dick today. That hurts just before 3 quarter time. Collingwood 15.4.94 Melbourne 13.4.82 0:20 remaining Q3
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
Yep, very well called from the umpire and a real poor error from Fitzpatrick. Blair must be loving his luck this game!
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
The scoring has stopped but the game hasn't - the pressure is frenetic at the moment. Vince is up to 30 touches for Melbourne. A minute left before 3QT.
Rob McHugh
Roar Guru
In a game that's been very underumpired (from a Collingwood point of view anyway :P) That was a free kick that was absolutely deserved