Collingwood Magpies vs Richmond Tigers highlights: AFL scores, blog

Round 2 of the AFL season gets underway tonight as the Collingwood Magpies take on the Richmond Tigers in a blockbuster clash at the MCG. Join us live on The Roar from 7:50pm (AEDT) for all the action.

After missing out on the finals last season, the Pies recruited strongly, and a solid pre-season campaign set high hopes. But these were shattered as the Swans dominated from the start and the Magpies were beaten in virtually every contest.

More than just the size of the defeat, the match’s injury toll decimated the Magpies. Brownlow Medallist Dane Swan went off with a season-ending knee injury in the opening minutes, and was joined on the sidelines by Marley Williams with a knee injury and Nathan Brown with a sore shoulder, although both have passed fitness tests to play tonight.

Then Steele Sidebottom incurred the umpire’s wrath, and will miss tonight’s game with a suspension.

On the positive side, new recruit Adam Treloar adapted to his new club straight away, picking up 34 touches of the footy. Another ex-Giant Taylor Adams also impressed, while the work rate of Levi Greenwood stood out as an example that several of his teammates failed to emulate.

Richmond got a first-round win, but were far from impressive as they only just fell over the line by nine points against a Carlton side widely expected to struggle in 2016.

For a team aiming for their fourth straight finals appearance, the Tigers looked ordinary and it was only a few short bursts of competitive football that got them out of jail in a game that at times looked set to produce a major boilover.

Kane Lambert was a standout for the Tigers, getting plenty of the ball and showing an efficiency matched by few others on the night. Alex Rance was solid in the backline, while Tyrone Vickery proved a handy target up forward, but would have been even more handy with some straighter kicking for goal.

First-gamer Daniel Rioli, another member of that exciting Northern Territory clan, looked impressive in his AFL debut, but a leg injury rules him out tonight.

Coming into the Collingwood line-up tonight are Ben Reid, Brodie Grundy, Adam Oxley and James Aish, with Aish making his first appearance in the black and white after joining the Magpies from Brisbane during last year’s trade period.

For Richmond, Daniel Rioli (leg injury) and Shane Edwards (hand complaint) are out, while Steven Morris has been omitted. Shaun Grigg, Taylor Hunt and Jayden Short come into the team. This is Short’s AFL debut after being upgraded from the rookie list during the week.

Spice will be added to this encounter by comments from Treloar, who said his reason for choosing Collingwood over Richmond after leaving Greater Western Sydney was the higher quality of players on the Pies’ list.

Prediction
Collingwood to just get up in a tight game.

Join us here on The Roar from 7:50pm (AEDT) as we bring you all the action live, and post your cyber-barracking below as we open the second round of the season in style.