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For Saturday’s Grand Final, we’re taking a look at five players from each team who’ll need to make a difference if their club is to be the one holding the Premiership Cup.
Darcy Cameron will need to play his role as a ruck and as a forward for Collingwood in the absence of Daniel McStay. In Round 4 against Brisbane, Collingwood played with a makeshift ruck combination as Mason Cox and Darcy Cameron missed due to injury and they lost by a 33 point margin. In Round 23, Cameron was reasonably influential with 20 hit-outs, 17 disposals and five clearances, but Collingwood lost by a 24 point margin.
He must work hard around the ground as Oscar McInerney is coming off a good game with two goals. Cameron may be used at times to nullify the impact that Brisbane co-captain Harris Andrews has on the game and it would be great if he could hit the scoreboard as well.
Collingwood’s Bobby Hill. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Bobby Hill displayed that he is a critical part of the Collingwood team in the qualifying final against Melbourne when he kicked three goals and polled four votes in the Gary Ayres Medal. He is a player that doesn’t need to do much to impact the game, as he made it an 11-point deficit for Collingwood against GWS in the preliminary final with 12 minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Hill has gone under the radar as what he does can’t be measured statistically as he is a player with plenty of x-factor and I’m unsure whether Brisbane has a player that can curtail his influence.
Steele Sidebottom works his guts out and has such a high football intelligence. If he wasn’t there to mark the ball in the goal square, when Toby Greene nearly kicked a goal in the Preliminary final, then Collingwood may have lost; they had a one-point lead with four minutes remaining in the game – it’s a game of inches.
Sidebottom adds experience and leadership and may be utilised to negate the influence Hugh McCluggage has as they both play on the wing.
Nathan Murphy could prove to be an important cog for Collingwood in the Grand Final as he has averaged 6.40 intercepts per game in season 2023. Along with that he has the capability of playing on Eric Hipwood as well as Joe Daniher or perhaps Lincoln McCarthy. Murphy will also need to take the pressure off Darcy Moore, Jeremy Howe and Isaac Quaynor.
Jordan De Goey. (Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)
Jordan De Goey will need to have a blinder if Collingwood are to win the midfield battle. It’s no coincidence that in Collingwoods’ two losses against Brisbane in Round 4 and Round 23, in one game De Goey wasn’t at his best and in the other he was out injured.
They need his explosive speed from the contest for them to have a chance of beating a midfield consisting of Lachie Neale and Josh Dunkley; De Goey had an impressive 13 clearances against GWS in the preliminary final, so he should be up for the fight.
Charlie Cameron kicked six and four goals respectively in Round 4 and Round 23 when Brisbane played Collingwood. There’s no disputing he is a dangerous player around the goals and can be a match winner for the Lions. He will face a stern test up against Isaac Quaynor and Brayden Maynard at times and may stifle Quaynor’s intercept marking.
Charlie Cameron. (Photo by Russell Freeman/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Cam Rayner has kicked two goals and four goals respectively in the two games that Brisbane played Collingwood in season 2023. He is a player with plenty of x-factor and has been pivotal in Brisbane getting the better of Collingwood. Rayner could get off the leash as he did in the qualifying final against Port Adelaide when he kicked three goals, had eight score involvements and polled four votes in the Gary Ayres Medal.
Conor McKenna is a most underrated player. He has averaged the second most metres gained of any Brisbane player per game with an average of 404.12. McKenna kicked an important goal in the preliminary final that made it an 11-point deficit for Brisbane with six minutes left in the second quarter, which should give him plenty of confidence to perform on the big stage.
Having performed well against Collingwood in Round 23 should also be beneficial, as he had seven score involvements and six intercept possessions to go with 26 disposals. Collingwood will also probably put more time into curtailing the influence of Kaidean Coleman.
Conor McKenna celebrates a goal. (Photo by Russell Freeman/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Josh Dunkley has been instrumental in Brisbane reaching the Grand Final. He has the experience of playing in a premiership in his first AFL season when the Western Bulldogs beat Sydney in the 2016 grand final. He is arguably the recruit of the season in 2023, averaging the second most contested possessions per game of any Brisbane player with 12.78. He will probably face a stern test with Collingwood possessing a solid midfield.
Eric Hipwood is a player that deserves more praise for the role that he plays. He has featured in every game in season 2023; the influence that he has had on the team can’t be measured in stats, as he displayed in the preliminary final against Carlton when he kicked Brisbanes’ first goal to make it a 23-point deficit at quarter time. What that goal did was stop the momentum that Carlton had. He will prove a difficult match up and it will be intriguing who Collingwood choose to curtail his influence.
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