Collingwood
76
Match Complete
Essendon
65
| Fourth Quarter | ||||
| J. Elliott |  | 25:58 | ||
| B. Mihocek | | 22:09 | ||
| 19:20 | | S. McKernan | ||
| J. Thomas |  | 15:38 | ||
| Rushed | | 14:51 | ||
| J. Elliott | | 13:24 | ||
| J. Elliott | | 12:04 | ||
| Rushed | | 9:46 | ||
| Rushed | | 9:03 | ||
| 7:03 | | S. McKernan | ||
| 3:31 | | A. McDonald-Tipungwuti | ||
| J. Elliott | | 1:18 | ||
| 8.9 (57) | Third Quarter [+] | 9.3 (57) | ||
| 27:23 | | S. McKernan | ||
| C. L. Brown | | 25:56 | ||
| B. Mihocek | | 22:36 | ||
| 20:22 | | J. Laverde | ||
| 17:42 | | J. Laverde | ||
| J. Elliott | | 11:59 | ||
| Rushed | | 6:16 | ||
| 6.7 (43) | Second Quarter [+] | 7.2 (44) | ||
| B. Maynard | | 27:07 | ||
| J. Elliott | | 23:13 | ||
| T. Adams | | 20:48 | ||
| B. Mihocek | | 18:44 | ||
| 16:17 | | J. Laverde | ||
| Rushed | | 14:32 | ||
| J. Roughead | | 12:50 | ||
| Rushed | | 10:48 | ||
| T. Phillips | | 8:37 | ||
| J. Elliott | | 3:38 | ||
| 3.1 (19) | First Quarter [+] | 6.2 (38) | ||
| 30:47 | | P. Ambrose | ||
| 29:10 | | A. McDonald-Tipungwuti | ||
| 20:57 | | A. McDonald-Tipungwuti | ||
| 19:36 | | B. Ham | ||
| J. Thomas | | 17:06 | ||
| 15:28 | | M. Brown | ||
| 13:54 | | Rushed | ||
| 12:37 | | K. Langford | ||
| B. Grundy | | 7:37 | ||
| B. Mihocek | | 6:13 | ||
| 5:02 | | B. Ham | ||
| B. Mihocek | | 3:08 | ||
A final-round thriller as old rivals Collingwood and Essendon butt heads on Friday night at the MCG. Join The Roar for live scores and blog from 7:50pm AEST.
It’s always a massive event when these two clubs meet, but tonight’s game has extra significance. On the cusp of the finals, on a Friday night before every other club plays, the result of this game will massively impact finals positions and permutations as the rest of the weekend plays out.
Both clubs are locked into the final eight, Collingwood some time ago, but Essendon’s big win over Fremantle confirmed their spot in September in emphatic fashion.
Both clubs looked to be limping into the eight with late-season dips, but recent wins have steadied their respective ships. Collingwood has now won three on the bounce – including humiliating a nose-diving Adelaide by 11 goals last week – while Essendon arrested two recent losses with that win in Perth.
That leaves the following finals possibilities.
If Collingwood win they could realistically finish as high as third if Richmond lose to Brisbane at the ‘G (possible) and West Coast lose to the Hawks in Perth (less likely) – in truth, Collingwood could finish above Geelong in second if they can somehow manage a 200+ point victory, but let’s only include realistic things.
A Collingwood win would see Essendon drop to eighth if the Bulldogs beat Adelaide in Ballarat (likely), or stay in seventh if Adelaide get the points there.
An Essendon win could see them jump as high as sixth if GWS lose to Gold Coast (exponentially unlikely), while Collingwood would either stay in fifth or drop to sixth if GWS win and make up some percentage on the Pies (which is probable).
If all of that seems a bit Good Will Hunting then the simple equation is Collingwood need to win to ensure top five and could finish in the four, while Essendon needs to win to stay in seventh. And don’t be surprised, despite this result, to see Collingwood and Essendon face each other again in the first week of the finals.
Indeed, Essendon have chosen – or been forced – to rest a host of players for this game. Heppell, Clarke, Zaharakis, Stringer, and Fantasia have all been left out with injury, with Brandon Zerk-Thatcher also omitted.
In their place comes a mixture of young and old with Hooker, Begley, Laverde, Bellchambers, Clarke and debutant Tom Jok coming in. The return of Bellchambers for a run before finals will particularly boost Essendon hearts.
Collingwood will go in with a more settled side, and welcome back Darcy Moore for a pre-finals pick-me-up. Steele Sidebottom comes out of the side with an injury 50 per cent of us would rather not think about – but he should be fine for finals.
Prediction
Collingwood should win this game now that they’ve arrested back some momentum and can sniff top four. The side selected by Essendon suggests some foxing by them as well, and it seems an old-school Worsfold tactic to not play their A-game this week to save it for the Elimination final.
But these games are often tight, and the competitiveness often flies in the face of ladder position and form. Collingwood should have enough firepower and midfield mettle, even with Pendlebury out, but it won’t come easy.
Collingwood by 18 points.
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
You need outside mids too . People criticise Sidebottom too but you need ins and outs for balance. Adams our inside and Wills has taken Siers place
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
Tippa out of contract? Pies will take him, Saad, McKenna and Mckernan
Rissole
Roar Rookie
He seems very durable too though.
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
Haven’t seen a ruck dominate like that. If Grundy went down, Pies season done
Iambillbob
Roar Rookie
He is a monster!!!! Need the players to Follow..he wants redemption
Iambillbob
Roar Rookie
Overrated Shiel ....don’t like the hard ball
Rissole
Roar Rookie
Good in the first half but disappeared in the second. His kicking has improved in the second half of the year. Had a pretty good year, just need another good mid to compliment him. A top quality ruck would make a huge difference too. Grundy will go down as better than Dean Cox by the end of career. Was playing the game on a different level last night.
JamesH
Roar Guru
Not sure what you’re expecting him to do? It’s not like he can just invent another midfielder or build a ruckman who can stop Grundy. No Heppell, and no run-thru options in Stringer, Fantasia or Zaharakis. The Bombers just didn’t have much midfield depth coming into the game and Bellchambers didn’t look match fit yet. It was what it was.
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
Mckernan impressed me Rissole. He destroyed Moore even before he got injured again. He was very good. What’s your assessment of Shiels year? I thought he was just average last night anyway
Rissole
Roar Rookie
It was getting a bit laughable in the end wasn't it? Big, skillful, fit, the man is ridiculously good.
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
Grundy is now demonstrating a new ruck form . Tap and clear your own ball out of the middle. The man is a beast. Like Cripps but even taller and stronger. Just added another zero to his next contract last night.
Jack A
Guest
You don’t know Worsfold very well. I’m not a Dons supporter.
J.T. Delacroix
Guest
That was then, this is now. No more than imposters, barely getting over the line against a team with aspirations to be imposters themselves.
Lucas Gillard
Roar Guru
Night all! Time for the cricket....
Lucas Gillard
Roar Guru
My "old footy" rant complete I can now sign off. My tip is that the Bulldogs win and we'll see these two teams in an elimination final in a fortnight. Collingwood are "currently" in 3rd with 60 points and percentage on the Eagles and the Tigers, but I'd expect both of those sides to win and bump the Pies back to 5th. If Brisbane "upset" Richmond at the MCG then... yeah... feck.. maybe they can win the flag. The only finals position offically locked in is GWS will finish 6th. Locked in. Bookmark it. GWS are 6th and will play a home elimination final against either the Bulldogs or Essendon.... and probably lose it.
Lucas Gillard
Roar Guru
Worsfold's only secondary option seems to be: implore Shiel and Merrett to win more of the footy. However, he doesn't seem to really do anything to help them achieve that. I'm not sure Worsfold has enough guile to coach modern footy.
Lucas Gillard
Roar Guru
If I was an Essendon supporter (I'm not), I would be a little concerted about Worsfold's effort tonight. He had 3 quarters to try something different (after it was obvious that Collingwood had closed the gaps in their defence in the second quarter), and didn't. He moved a few players around - he had to with the injuries - but he didn't do anything different in the midfield, and found it increasingly hard to get the ball inside 50. Worsfold just doesn't seem to have any tricks as a coach after his first one fails
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
Tippa is a tough match up
Lucas Gillard
Roar Guru
MATCH REPORT. Collingwood ran out 11 point victors at the MCG after an entertaining match with finals-like pressure from the start. While the scoreboard was tight throughout, Collingwood seemed to have some control over the outcome after quarter time when they arrested a frantic and spirited first quarter display from Essendon. The game started with open, free-flowing footy allowing Essendon to capitalise with their fantastic one-on-one forwards. McDonald-Tipungwuti started in ominous form for the Dons, but after quarter time his impact on the scoreboard – as well as his fellow Essendon forwards – was diminished by structural tweaks from Nathan Buckley who made it harder for Essendon to transition forward with the same fluency. After quarter time the Bombers only added 4 goals to their opening tally of 6, kicking 1 then 2 then 1 in the next 3 quarters. Essendon’s struggles were also keenly felt throughout in the middle of the park, where they were dominated by Grundy in the ruck, and Pendlebury in tight. Pendlebury turned back the clock tonight to put on a vintage performance, and fed Treloar (35 disposals), Adams (31) and Phillips (24) throughout with his own 33 possessions. Mayne, Crisp and young Noble were also outstanding in this game, sweeping up across half back and blocking the centre corridor after quarter time to disrupt Essendon’s plan A. With Essendon’s supply decreased, and Brodie Grundy and Scott Pendlebury imperious in the middle of the park, it seemed inevitable that Collingwood would run away with this game. But credit to Essendon and their stout defence for making Collingwood work hard for their goals, and the Pies struggled throughout to put scoreboard pressure on their opponents. Mihocek was Collingwood’s most effective forward – kicking 4 – and while Elliott bobbed up with 3, he wasn’t quite the potent force they need to go deep into September. While Essendon will be aggrieved at the loss, it won’t have impacted their forward chances as significantly as the injuries that came out of this game. Both sides have scares, in fact, that 2 weeks might not be enough to clear up. Michael Hurley injured his shoulder, possibly seriously, while Darcy Moore and Josh Thomas aggravated injuries and couldn’t run out the game (although Thomas’ was in the final seconds). Both clubs will be sweating on these key players as they approach, possibly each other again, the elimination final. MAN OF THE MATCH was Brodie Grundy. He was superb all night, dominating Bellchambers 35 to 15 in the hitouts and racking up 33 touches and 6 marks. He made Bellchambers look like, well, Zac Clarke tonight. Grundy was the catalyst for Collingwood’s centre square dominance, feeding Pendlebury and Treloar at every turn.
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
11 extra shots probably should have won by 35