On Friday night, I tuned into Collingwood’s season opener against the Western Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs kicked three quick goals early. Then the game turned into a tussle. Every time the Bulldogs had the ball in hand, they looked dangerous. Every time Collingwood had the ball, for the most part they plodded around the way they always do.
During one of the breaks, the commentators discussed the way Collingwood was playing. Jonathan Brown implored Collingwood to take the game on. Garry Lyon lamented Collingwood’s skills weren’t up to executing that strategy. The two went back and forth.
Lyon claimed Collingwood had tried to take the game on early just as Brown was suggesting, but the Bulldogs had smashed them, so Collingwood had reverted to their default defensive gameplan to lock the game down before it escaped them.
Really?
Because that’s not the game I saw.
See, I’ve watched Collingwood during Nathan Buckley’s tenure as coach.
Let’s remove 2018, which is proving an aberration in Collingwood’s brand – the one year that was the exception, while the other nine (and counting) established the rule. Statistically, this is the overwhelming evidence that lets us identify, dissect, and examine Collingwood’s methodology – or lack thereof.
In 2019, their system started to break down. They lost the fluency and daring from 2018. They over-possessed, moved indirectly and tried to control the game by not taking risks. They grew stagnant. As the opposition recognised this, they increased the pressure around the ball-caller, forcing turnovers.
Although Collingwood started brightly in 2020, the breakdown became more prevalent as the season wore on. The more Collingwood tried to control the game, the less threatening they became. And it’s all reminiscent of Collingwood circa 2014-2017.
That’s the model of Collingwood that’s now traipsing about. People have grown too attached to 2018 Collingwood, and what their best was able to offer. But that’s a long time gone now, and football can change quickly – especially for the worst. What we saw on Friday night was common during those four seasons they missed finals, and which we saw reemerging 2019 – 2020.
Collingwood would get jumped early, lift, apply pressure and often lose by the margin established in the first 15 minutes.
Yet somehow, Garry Lyon would have us believe that Collingwood is like an American football team that calls plays mid-contest.
We’re talking about the AFL, where clubs have a gameplan. And that’s it. They might modify it at times – drop a player back, play an extra at stoppages, try to control the tempo (especially when trying to slow opposition momentum) or flood defensively, but the gameplan itself remains largely unchanged.
How Lyon could profess that after the Bulldogs kicked the opening three goals, Nathan Buckley somehow got a message to all his charges at the six-minute mark and instructed them to totally change their style of play, and all the players immediately got on board, is staggering. It clearly bemused Jonathan Brown, too.
(Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
By Lyon’s logic, any team who establishes a quick and early lead must only do so because their opponent is trialling a different gameplan.
The truth is much simpler.
The Dogs were great and jumped the Pies. There you go. That’s it. It happens in football.
If there’s any hideous statistical disparity between Collingwood early and Collingwood later, it’s because they couldn’t get their hands on the ball early (because the Dogs were too good), rather than because they were trying to play differently.
Once Collingwood acclimated to the pace of the game, once they started to get a feel for their match-ups and the Dogs’ attack, then that competitive gap narrowed – not a lot, but enough to give Collingwood a peek into the contest. Then we had the typical gallant Collingwood effort undone by poor ball movement and skill errors.
Something worse also reared its head – and which was reminiscent of 2017 for another reason: Collingwood’s lack of initiative.
In 2017, Nathan Buckley’s coaching future was heavily under speculation. That speculation strangled the players’ adventurousness. They played without daring and became gun-shy with the ball. They grew timid, like they were so worried that playing risky football would lead to mistakes and seal Buckley’s demise that they eliminated temerity as a facet of their game.
And here it all is again.
We can point to the occasional highlight, but as was often the case from 2014-2017 and 2019-2020, there is no genuine sustainability. It teases, then evaporates, and we’re left hoping that maybe, just maybe, there’ll come a point it’ll click for good.
(Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
But, hey, we should know better by now.
On Friday night, Trey Ruscoe accumulated three possessions, debutant Oliver Henry four, Brayden Sier nine, and Josh Daicos nine (although it was a strange move to play Daicos as a defensive forward after his breakout 2020 as a winger). While much was made about how youth would rejuvenate Collingwood, and how players such as Sier would help fill the void left by the departees, it shows that inexperienced players will struggle in a side without that framework of experience around them, and which plays without a purposeful system.
As much as football is about defence, it’s also about attack. You need to kick goals. While zones and tackling and unrelenting pressure might limit the score an opposition will kick, it’s all for nothing if offensively there aren’t strategies that can either slice through an opponent’s defences, or cause such havoc that they create opportunities.
An opposition defence is hardly concerned by a team who moves the ball so slowly, they can get every single player back into the required defensive zone, or multi-team a key target, or create such congestion that it’s impossible to create crumbing opportunities.
The 2018 preliminary final was the epoch of this list build and the coaching brains trust. Whatever the club planned for the immediate future following their grand final defeat, surely it wasn’t this: an ongoing breakdown whirlpooling the club back into oblivion.
If we can strip away the hard sell that things will turn around quickly (given this list’s age and experience profile), if we can dismiss the excuses (a fellow Collingwood supporter blamed umpires – sigh), if we can be honest with ourselves about where the club stands, we should admit this still isn’t working for Collingwood.
If last year’s trade debacle and Eddie McGuire’s demise as president weren’t clear enough clues, then this season is likely to show just how broken Collingwood has become.
Sport nut
Roar Rookie
Stop picking on Collingwood as a avid north supporter I don’t understand why more fingers aren’t being pointed at us and other teams like GWS and Essendon. Collingwood are of to a bad run and bad injuries but give em a break the still looking in contention for the finals and you saw what the bulldogs did from 7th on the ladder
Chris
Guest
Three pressing questions:- a) Who will be our next coach?; b) Who will be our next President?; c) When will these changes take place? Can anyone provide concrete answers or well-informed inside information?
okapiman
Roar Rookie
Stephenson had a terrible year last year.. no issue. But from what I have witnessed he is an A grade talent.. whether he fulfills his potential is clearly up to his head. There is few players that go against the flow of the game. Stevenson is one of them.. if the ball bounced around in the forward line with no purpose like it did against the doggies, he is the guy to throw it on to his boot and it goes through for a goal against the run of play.. he did it countless times in his first year.. only time will tell.. but his first game was cracker.. best on for North...
Stephen Rice
Guest
It’s not negativity if it’s right - it’s pragmatism. 2014 to 2017 were awful years - it was dreadful watching Collingwood and then in 2018 Justin Longmuir came a long - if only if only Buckley had been sacked as I was praying for and Longmuir made head coach. Dream on!
Tommy Salt
Guest
Well done Les! Love reading your articles. I'm surprised Nathan Buckley mentioned only "a couple of changes" (to the line up) yesterday in his presser. The usual suspects of Thomas and WHE should be given a stint in the VFL along with T Brown and Ruscoe. Ollie Henry played his first AFL match and should be given at least 2 more weeks to settle in the big league. I would personally like to see some untried players come into the side for Thursday night. Obviously Sidey will come in but expect Cameron to come in too. I think it's time for Jay Rantall along with say McRae to debut. Like many others would like to see a centre line of Sidey, Adams and Daicos. May also be time for Pendles to become a regular half back. Maybe even start Brodie at CHF with Cameron in the first ruck. There's nothing wrong with "bombing" the ball into the forward line if you have the right players there. Many people complain that the Pies should not do that but I think our biggest problem is over possessing the ball. When you handle the ball less and kick more often I think you will find you will give the forwards a greater opportunity to score. Unfortunately when you lack leg speed like we do it is exacerbated when your disposal skills are generally average. Overall I agree with Les that we are seeing the same style of play that we did in the mid 2010s
Bretto
Roar Rookie
To all the usual suspects who complain about Les’ articles – to state the bleeding obvious – don’t read them. Amazing how the same people continually comment the same comment on Les’ articles – seriously, what’s wrong with you? There are many Pies supporters who are sick to death of the ongoing circus that is our club both on and off the field. If it were left to the mindless cheerleaders, change would never take place, and we’d be a sea of mediocrity for another 10 years. The sooner Buckley is gone the better, and please take Harvey, Sanderson, and Guy with you. Les – keep up the good work.
Greg
Roar Rookie
Stop digging Chris, you'll end up in a hole with PTS.
Greg
Roar Rookie
Hear, Hear, well said.
Greg
Roar Rookie
Very poor criticism by you PTS. You have learned nothing from the observance of Les's article.
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
Stephenson and Cyril ? Come on, that’s ridiculous. Nowhere near it and he wouldn’t have been an outside receiver for us with the Doggies game because we couldn’t get near first ball.
Vicboy
Roar Rookie
Partially. I am pleased to see that contested marking, not cheap backwards kicks were preferred. Grundy will adapt - but it won’t be as a midfielder ruck : too slow in running and getting the ball from hand to foot to target. Pittonet (back) English (forward) took marks that ruckmen used to take. Ruckmen won’t be measured on getting taps that don’t create opportunities for the small players to get out and do damage
okapiman
Roar Rookie
No-one wanted Dusty 6-7 years ago.. teams were scared to take Buddy a few years in. Those boys were in as much trouble if not worse than the Ben Cousins of the world at one stage... Stevenson will not hit their heights.. but the lad kicks goals against the run of play all the time.. he is a game changer.. and they are rare. ie Collingwood could have won on the weekend with him in same form in the team.. sure last year a couple of times he looked scared.. it was horrible to watch.. but he is still young.. and very very talented. Mercurial talents are hard to find.. you had two in the forward line, now you have one.. he was your Cyril and he was gifted away..
Chris
Guest
Typos: I'm expecting a thrashing*
Chris
Guest
Les Zig-I would like to commend you on your comments just as much as I damned those of your colleague Mr. Thomas. It appears that Buckley is just going through the motions and he ought to be relieved of his duties forthwith. He knows he's a dead man walking because Walsh and McGuire are both gone. He is going to bore us all with dour ugly football rather than aggressive play on football that is the only way to win finals. In fact, he lost the 2018 Grand Final by reverting to this game plan after the First Quarter and did not go for the jugular. The players are contracted and bored civil servants with no flair and no licence to kill. It's mundane, pedestrian and uninspiring. Last, but not least, if you don't score more than 100 points a game you don't win Finals or Grand Finals. That adage rings true today as it did in the 60s; 70s; 80s, 90s and this century too. So, expect a thrsashing at the hands of the old enemy this weekend and then give him the opportunity of sorting out his messsed up personal life while we get on with the task of winning football games. Q: Who will be our next coach? Graham Wright do something to save us....please!!!!
Kevo
Roar Rookie
You're probably right on all accounts there Pete. The hammys would be my main concern. Possibly his body has developed but it'd be a risk. Hopefully you could trust our medical team's advice but track record is not too impressive. If he got the ok I think it could be worth a gamble. He's athletic enough to run rings around big key defenders and if there's 2 chasing him about then that frees Cox from being tunnelled, and Micohek to have more delivery. Moore is also a beautiful kick for goal. (As are Cox and Mihocek but neither of them are designed to be our main man down forward taking the best defenders). I don't really know if Moore would have the forward nouse but we'd probably only find out after a good stint down forward. He's a much more mature footballer now. I remember Collingwood's delivery into the forward line being pretty woeful back then, and Cloke struggled too. Sadly it's not that good now either which could be the major concern. I like the idea of Pies just going for all out attack and blooding youth to shift their defensive game plan and mindset. But I think Bucks may be such a perfectionist who hates to lose he finds it hard to take risks?? I'd like to see attacking flare to balance our defensive strength. But I do accept Moore is gold in the backline.
Chris Lewis
Roar Guru
actually it was round 4, 1975 where undefeated Carlton and Essendon met.
Chris Lewis
Roar Guru
the thing I liked about Collingwood is that they never gave up; could have won with a bit of luck. Willpower, with reasonable talent, goes a long way. I suspect that Nathan Buckley is still pretty good in this aspect. Sure, structure lacked. But I can see potential still. With midfield dominance, on days it happens, they can still feed key forwards including to Mason Cox who may one day still show his potential on a more consistent basis.
Greg
Roar Rookie
If that game style has positives perhaps you can enlighten us.
Pumping Dougie
Roar Guru
I've got nothing against Collingwood or Eddie, Pete. Just giving my opinion on Buckley's coaching credentials. It defies logic to me that Buckley has lasted so long in the job considering he's had a really good list the last 5 years and gone backwards every season except one in a 9 year stint, and his game-plan hasn't evolved to overcome obvious deficiencies. But honestly, I don't mind the Pies.
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
#Clarkofor2022 Doug? What will all you lot do when you no longer have Eddie or Bucks to hate on? Perhaps barebottom Sidey will cop it?