It’ll be one of the biggest games of the season to open Round 19 of the AFL when arch-rivals Collingwood and Richmond go head to head at the MCG.
You could hardly ask for a better start to a round of football, with two top-four hopefuls going at it on a Friday night in front of 80,000-plus.
Poor recent form from the Magpies post-bye – headlined by last week’s heavy loss to the Giants – sees them enter as outsiders against the surging Tigers. Richmond, on the other hand, have been getting all their players back at the right time as they gear up for an assault on the premiership.
So, are the Pies any chance at all of stopping their red-hot rivals?
We previewed the big clash on the Game of Codes podcast with Roar AFL expert and editor Stirling Coates, as we made the case for an upset win for Nathan Buckley’s squad.
Listen to the discussion:
Collingwood vs Richmond – contrasting post-bye form
Collingwood, 2-3: R14: def. Bulldogs (9), R15: def. by North Melbourne (44), R16: def. by Hawthorn (4), R17: def. West Coast (1), R18: def. by GWS Giants (47)
Richmond, 4-0: R15: def. St Kilda (33), R16: def. Gold Coast (92), R17: def. GWS Giants (27), R18: def. Port Adelaide (38)
Visit our Game of Codes hub to catch the full episode and be sure to subscribe and review on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or wherever else you’re listening.
Yattuzzi
Roar Rookie
You need to get there first. Bigger hurdle tonight. If you do beat them, you have actually earned some respect. Cats will be there.
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
They might leave Cox out if it’s wet
peter chrisp
Guest
After our dismal performance last week, can we Pies turn it around. Looks as though there will be plenty of rain in the arvo "weather" it actually lasts all day who knows, but they're predicting up to 10mm's of rain. Will that i guess make any difference?
Ozibatla
Guest
Pies have to bring their A grade intensity and discipline. Also, they have to change their ball movement to be any chance. Move it quickly, dont allow Grimes, Astbury etal protect space and put the ball into adavantageous positions for Collingwoods forwards. Buckleys public admission that the acid test is on and crunch time has arrived has me thinking the Pies will be fired up. The question is: Can they maintain it for 4 quarters?
Yattuzzi
Roar Rookie
Think so, but I had to use pebbles to count.
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
Hawks played 9 at the G???
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
Wasn’t intended for that purpose. The Eagles fans remind us of one week later just in case we’ve forgotten.
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
Love the changes the Pies made and glad to not have Caddy back. Gives me some optimism of an upset.
Billbob
Roar Rookie
The cats are done mate....leave them out of this conversation
Yattuzzi
Roar Rookie
I have done a league ladder for MCG victories. team played Won Lost % wc2 2 0 100% Geel5 4 1 80% rich 8 6 2 75% Coll 10 6 4 60% ess7 4 3 57% wb2 1 1 50% stk 2 1 1 50% Freo 2 1 1 50% Port 2 1 1 50% haw 9 4 5 44% mel 9 3 6 33% GWS3 1 2 33% Bri 1 0 1 0% North1 0 1 0% Carl 4 0 4 0% Syd 1 0 1 0% A few things are apparent, one I cant format on this site. Two WCE are an outlier as they haven't played enough. Geelong have been the dominant team at the MCG this year. The next two are playing tomorrow night.
RT
Roar Rookie
So 0 from 1. Not many have beaten Geelong.
Billbob
Roar Rookie
Haha
Gavan Iacono
Roar Rookie
I wish I could say I appreciate the memories you so callously revived, Peter.
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
With all due respect to the Tigers who have earned respect, Pie fans have to look for glory in a wider arc than say Hawthorn fans who take flags as par for the course. I would have watched our 2018 Prelim final highlights a conservative 50 times. Maybe 70. Which is more times than I’ve watched the 2010 replay Grand Final we won. It was definitely the most epic final I have ever seen for the Pies winning as underdog. Better than us knocking off Port in Adelaide in a final when it was the old 1st versus 8th. (from memory) I think it was the whole lead up. Richmond had beaten us fairly easily twice during the year, won at the G 23 times in a row, were clearly the best side of the season, three games clear and were the short priced favourites to not only beat us in the prelim but win the whole thing. Packed house, huge build up and then in the blink of an eye 10 goals up to 1 with big Mason kicking 3 in the second quarter and nearly BOG. When Jack single handedly brought them back to 21 points last qtr I was utterly convinced we would lose after being 52 points up. Then, who iced the game? None other than Adam Treloar, who infamously chose the Pies over the Tigers quoting a better list. Just the theatre of the event was unforgettable. Trip home on the train was fun too. Not such a fun trip a week later.
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
Didn't he kick like 45 last year?
Nick
Roar Guru
Sorry, I'll clarify. A team that was in the top 4 at the time of Richmond playing them.
Peter warrington
Guest
who are the top 4?
Peter Warrington
Guest
been playing as a defensive winger. presumably to bolster our wide half back line
User
Roar Rookie
I got the tigers @$9 before the 2017 finals, was a nice family holiday.
Gavan Iacono
Roar Rookie
I haven't fully recovered from PF 2018. What a nightmare. The 2 key players are Grundy and Cotchin in my opinion. RFC defense still has holes in it, too often too many open spaces and this plays into Pies plans if their forwards move around a lot. Tiges new young guns will be tested and this match will reveal a lot about them. Bucks combative SEN interview with Whately was great stuff, expect Pies to be fired up. I am also extremely fired up. Feels like a final.