Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley did not hold back after his side’s woeful performance against North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium.
Rarely has an AFL team sitting second on the ladder with a 10-4 record looked in so much trouble.
Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley has not held back, calling their 44-point loss to North Melbourne embarrassing and “as bad as it gets”.
The Magpies’ paltry 5.7 in the perfect indoor conditions at Marvel Stadium was their lowest score since 1995.
Collingwood has a massive month ahead, with games against Hawthorn, West Coast, GWS and Richmond.
“We might actually find out a little bit more about us in the next couple of weeks than we knew at this point,” Buckley said.
“We’re bloody embarrassed with the way we played.
“We have real pride about the people who represent this footy club.
“That was as bad as it gets.”
Buckley ruefully noted that he was wrong a week ago, when he called the narrow win over the Western Bulldogs their worst performance for some time.
“That’s as big a shellacking in general play … that you’ll see,” he said of Saturday night.
“The white flag went up from us.
“We look at it and we say all of the things we value in the way we’ve gone about our footy, we didn’t see at all.
“It’s inexplicable … it’s not something we saw coming, it’s not something we thought we were capable of. But in the end, we have to own it.”
Most damningly of all, Buckley effectively accused his team of elite sport’s worst four-letter word – soft.
“(Saturday) was the first time for a long time that we probably saw some really average physical efforts,” he said.
“It was plain for all to see – there was one side who bodylined the ball and ran hard and straight and there was another side that got out of the way a few times.
“It’s not easy to say, but it’s a reality.
“So there’s a question that rightfully should be asked of us and we need to answer.”
Adding to a filthy night, Ben Reid suffered another calf injury and Brayden Sier was concussed.
But regardless of Collingwood’s growing injury problems, Buckley is worried that his players did not help each other out against North.
“You can lose a game of footy and not perform at your best, but you don’t want to ever have your teammates question whether you had their back or not,” he said.
“Potentially, we could question that – that’s how poor a performance it was and how disappointed we are by it.
“It leaves us with a question to answer.”
EaglesMan
Roar Rookie
You sure about that Peter they got a goal just two of them. Although we still need to lift a bit more and play more consistently
Dan In Devon
Guest
I thought Daicos was one of our better players. He has certainly shown improvement and is only young. Pies will be ok. Just need to get Sier and Adams in - midfield needs the inside engine. Cox is finding his way back in and will get better but Collingwood need to sort out the small forward system now that Stephenson is out. I am not a fan of 3 talks. Reid seems prone to soft tissue injury and seems to struggle to see out a game. Get him out and give Mihoceh space to roam. He is not your conventional centre half forward.
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
Good comment Tommy. All true. We are over reliant on Adams. In the seconds there are players like Daicos (now in ones), Wills and Crocker who are questionable at the highest level.
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
Thomas has been poor but is a Buckley fav because he follows team rules meticulously. WHE was out injured for a bit but has had some good games. The whole side fell apart under unrelenting Nth pressure. Chris Scott said Nth were the best side they’ve played this year. They should have smacked us by 80.
Yattuzzi
Roar Rookie
Yes I am. But I am also an older supporter. Beyond the 2007 to 2011 plus dynasty. I remember your boys turned us into bridesmaids. 2007, it was 4th quarter and about 20 goals before I could accept we had it won. So I for one am not over confident. Lots of hurdles to get over and a bit of luck needed to snag a premiership.
EaglesMan
Roar Rookie
Peter what has happened to WHE and Josh Thomas seemed to have dropped off this year>
EaglesMan
Roar Rookie
You mean the same dockers that lost to Carlton minus Cripps, Curnow, Mackay and gave up a 30 point lead?, Although I am expecting a fierce response
EaglesMan
Roar Rookie
Yattuzzi you must be getting excited mate Cats have one foot in the grand final
Doctor Rotcod
Roar Rookie
And yet with all the outs, they still sit second. Fox Footy has them falling to fourth, GWS 3rd and Eagles 2nd, but what would they know? Would the AFL make them play at GBH oval?
Andrew A
Guest
The recruitment of Beams was to help the Pies improve in winning the midfield battles after being beaten by Shuey and Yeo in last year's Grand Final. Haven't been able to cover the loss of Adams and Beams. The defence is playing well. Moore and Roughead have had good seasons to date. The Pies midfield looks ok on paper but is well behind the better sides such as Geelong, West Coast and the Giants.
Tommy
Guest
Collingwood has played inconsistent football for most of the year but has managed to get wins. Once again player unavailability is their issue as it was last year. That aside, they still continue to play this fast and furious handpass/possession game and once again it comes unstuck when you don't have enough players with elite disposal skills to execute the plan. Collingwood has many young tenacious players but their skills have been poor of late. Maynard has kicked too many wayward passes in the last 2 weeks and Callum Brown continues to fumble the ball at crucial times. Mason Cox needs to be more aggressive when flying for the mark and needs to start thinking about knocking the ball on if he has two/three players hanging off him. Treloar's kicking skills need a lot of fine tuning. He gets plenty of it but his efficiency is poor. Unfortunately Collingwood won't make wholesale changes to their line up as what is available in the VFL team is of no greater ability/skill than what is currently in the senior team. They desperately need some of their injured players to get back into the team or run the risk of finishing in 7th or 8th position.
Yattuzzi
Roar Rookie
I mozzed you.
User
Roar Rookie
Either way we know you'll say wce where average , straight sets, one and done etc yawn
User
Roar Rookie
That wouldn't be a good grand final, like your Richmond idea it would end up with Geelong winning like 2007 again, geez weird football fantasies mate
Yattuzzi
Roar Rookie
Actually slightly nervous of that. The purple haze has done well against us in finals. But this is 2019 and an odd number year.
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
Dockers to win by under a goal.
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
Love the Cats AD. I’m Pies all the way but they are my clear second side…spent a lot of time at the G in the Cats era under Blight and watching Gary Ablett Snr play in his prime was an incredible privilege. The greatest ever. Saw him kick 14 as a high half forward one day. The Cats were so exciting. Ablett, Couch, Brownless, Bairstow, Stoneham…not a flag era but they got close.
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
He would need security after the Pies first perfomance post Stephenson.
Liam Salter
Roar Guru
Why the Cats, outta curiosity?
Liam Salter
Roar Guru
Oh man, next week has me nervous. We could win, but I'd say we'd start heavy underdogs.