Collingwood v Brisbane

[ytry4]

Below is my preview for this Sunday's game. If you want to read similar previews and reviews, go to my website regularly.


Collingwood v Brisbane
Sunday 15 July 2001, MCG, 2:10PM AEST

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Collingwood go into this game against Brisbane as slight underdogs, probably due to our poor performance last week against Geelong, even though the Lions have a terrible record in Melbourne, and particularly at the MCG. We did have a bad loss last week, but that was at the Colonic - and prior to that we were travelling along quite nicely, having won 3 on the trot.

Looking at the two teams, I think the area in which we will probably struggle is in our back line. We have performed really well in that department, but without Richardson and Wakelin, we do look vulnerable. I think Wakelin will be able to play, but Richo is another matter. He just doesn't seem to be able to recover from injuries as quickly as others do. Last week he was named in the original squad of 25 but didn't actually make it into the team on match day, so it will be interesting whether he actually does make it to the field on Sunday. If he doesn't make it, we may have trouble containing Alistair Lynch. He is one of the strongest full forwards going around and Richo would probably be the most suited of our defenders to take care of him. The other bloke which is starting to kick more and more goals is Bradshaw, and I think Presti will be the ideal defender to match it with him not only in strength and height, but also speed.

Another area where we may be stretched is Brisbane's running midfielders/forwards. We do have our share of quality midfielders too, with N Davis, Lockyer, O'Bree and Buckley, but the problem with their midfield is that most of them end up kicking a couple of goals. I think we will not be able to play our normal free flowing game because that runs the risk of them getting the ball on the rebound and making us pay if we do not capitalise on our own opportunities. Although we should be playing our own game, it is important that you do not lose sight of the opposition's own style of play. There is a trade off playing your OWN game and stopping THEM playing THEIR own kind of game.

In our forward line, I really think we need to make it hard for Brisbane to rebound the ball out, and you can certainly expect Molloy to do this like he almost always does. There are not that many people chopping off his or others leads in our forward line anymore, as they can hear the D9 approaching at a 100 miles an hour. This kind of fear was last seen when 'Plugger' Lockett was still around. Molloy may end up playing on Mal Michael, who I really liked as a defender when he was down at Collingwood. I don't know exactly why he left, but if it was money, I really do hope he is made to feel very unwelcome back in Melbourne - perhaps Molloy can knock the crap out of him sometime Sunday. There is also a chance that our star forward Tarrant may have Michael line up on him as well. They are both athletic, but Tarrant WILL be way too quick for him, so if he does get the job on Tarrant, Tazza will be having a lot of shots on goal. The other bloke that Brisbane will need to stop is Rocca. He is generally too strong for any defender, but the question is whether he can mark the ball and kick goals right throughout the game. He generally starts off well but because of fitness, concentration or and opposition tactical move, he doesn't finish off that well.

The fact that the game is being played at the MCG, and is a 50:50 one, I am going to tip for Collingwood. We have normally won these kinds of games this year, and have mainly struggled to come up against the lesser sides in the competition. We cannot lose sight of the fact that we have been playing good football for most of the season, and that last week was probably one of those letdowns that all teams have, so lets not lose faith. Brisbane have also been playing good football too, and they have beaten Essendon, even though it was at the GABBA. It will be a great contest and will show us how good we are this year, and whether we are in fact good enough to challenge Essendon.

Tip: COLLINGWOOD by 10 points.
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'The heart of a club lies not in its location but in each and every one of its fans'
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BLACK & WHITE - For those who bleed Black & White

[Danzy Rocks!!!]

Collingwood by more than 10 points.

the great number 17