Pies show development in rumble of the fumble

In what was truly a display of 17th versus 18th, the Pies managed to effectively make a few less mistakes and fumble their way into a few more capitalisations. It was ugly but Collingwood fans will take what we can get at this juncture.

As stated last week, I will be judging my beloved Woodsmen for the rest of the year based on what kind of springboard Collingwood can give themselves for the future: the kids, the game plan, the coaches and the positional changes or lack thereof. After the rumble of the fumble on the weekend, we have some new information to dissect.

I have solved a coaching problem for Nathan Buckley. Darcy Moore is a good defender. Collingwood should keep him there. Some of you might say that seems obvious. But apparently it’s not because Nathan Buckley couldn’t figure it out.

Darcy Moore would easily be one of the two or three most important players on the field, if not the most important, when he’s back. When he is forward, he is rendered nigh on irrelevant. There is enough negativity about it though. Moore is a genuine gazelle.

Jordan de Goey is a good forward. Where he differs from the oft-compared Dustin Martin and Christian Petracca is that De Goey is a natural forward. He has excellent forward nous and not so great midfield nous.

I’m not saying either of the champions mentioned above aren’t good forward options, especially Martin. But they have strength and elite talent in general, which is why they can be effective resting forward. What they do have that De Goey does not yet and may never possess is midfield nous.

(Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

De Goey in the middle is a one-trick pony: run through the contest and anyone in it and if you come through with the ball, good. That’s not to say he can’t learn or that effort is not a factor in his performances through the middle.

But right now, keep him forward. Collingwood actually have plenty of options through the middle, which I will get to shortly. The Pies’ forward line is short on dangerous players, so leave the best one there.

Last week in my doom and gloom, one of The Roar’s greats Chuckakhan pointed out that Callum Brown is an inside mid and that if he was afforded more time in the middle at the expense of Steele Sidebottom to the wing, it would benefit both parties.

He is dead right and we almost saw that exact move. Instead of Callum Brown, though, it was Tyler Brown. He is just as much an inside mid as his brother and instead of Sidebottom it was Scott Pendlebury who sacrificed his time at centre clearance to spend his time at half forward.

Pendlebury is the most pure inside mid in the competition and his ability in the contest far outweighs his ability in other positions around the ground. The commentary team pointed out that Pendlebury is the number one score assist player in the competition. This is a remarkable stat considering the lack of scoring at the Pies.

Those numbers come from Pendlebury in the middle and while I see the logic of having him at half forward to deliver the ball inside, he would have more opportunity to deliver the ball inside 50 coming out of the middle on the back of his ability to win the ball then make good decisions under pressure.

Sidebottom on the other hand, as Chuckakhan pointed out, made the all Australian team on a wing and came second in the Brownlow in 2018 while playing on a wing. Obviously at this stage of their careers, Sidebottom would be better in the middle than the Brown brothers, but his best position is the wing to properly develop.

And development is where the Pies are firmly at. The Brown brothers need time in the middle, not on the wing or at half forward. When Taylor Adams gets back, I would love to see Pendlebury, Adams, Josh Daicos, the Brown boys and Jack Crisp rotate through the middle.

(Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

While I am on the kids in the middle, Josh Daicos is all that. That boy can play. He is as clean a player below his knees as there is in the AFL at the moment. He gathers, side steps, composes and makes good decisions.

He has had an absolute rocket ship of a spike on his development graph. I can’t say enough about the kid. In addition to all the above, he tackles, he pressures, and he kicks goals. He is going to be a star.

Isaac Quaynor continues his rise off half back. On the weekend he had 23 touches at 95 per cent efficiency. That is fantastic for a kid his age and just what the team needs: aggression and efficiency coming out of defence.

Caleb Poulter looks promising in just his second game. He already looks like he belongs. If he keeps up his development, it won’t be too long before he becomes a fixture in the team.

Mark Keane had his best game. He was looking composed in defence and solid with ball in hand. Nathan Murphy is a tough player. In his short career, he has proven already that he is willing to put his body on the line.

I felt bad for Oliver Henry. He looked like he got to a lot of the right spots but it just didn’t click for him. I hope Collingwood persist with him and he finds his groove at the level.

Beau McCreery has great forward-50 defensive work. He tries, tries, then tries again. He chases ferociously. If he finds a way to be more of a threat when the Pies have the ball, it won’t be long before he goes past Josh Thomas for a forward role when Jamie Elliott comes back.

Also, drop Will Hoskin-Elliott when Taylor Adams comes back.

None of this was against a good opponent but it was an important win for the Pies and for those developing kids. Hopefully it gives them the confidence and encouragement to churn out another couple of victories this year.

As much as Collingwood are back in a development stage, the Pies still need to remain competitive. Fans don’t want to see the kids start to lose the love of the game.

Greater challenges await next week. I’m hopeful of a spirited display.