Eight rounds into the 2013 AFL premiership season and the ladder is starting to take shape, and it’s no surprise to see Collingwood and Sydney, two great rivals, only separated by 2 premiership points. These two sides are no strangers to each other and on Friday Night they will matchup in a crucial round 9 game at the MCG. Of course the last time these two sides met was in the 2012 preliminary final in Sydney, a game in which the Swans won and would of course go on to take the premiership the next week. In that game the Swans played some of their best football of recent times while the gallant Magpies failed to overcome the obstacles that had restricted their performance throughout the season. While the Swans may have come out on top in the most important matchup in reason times between these two sides, the Magpies have a rather dominant record over Sydney as before that season ending loss last year Collingwood had won 11 games in a row over the Sydneysiders. This weekend for the first time since 2009 the Magpies get to host Sydney at their home ground, the MCG, which is a plus for a Collingwood side that is still being hit hard by injuries to star players.

PREVIOUS FORM

Both Collingwood and Sydney played their respective round 8 fixtures at the same time last week and both came away without a loss on Saturday Night. I say without a loss because while the Pies notched a much needed win over Geelong, the Swans held on for a nail biting draw against a fast finishing Fremantle Dockers side at the SCG. The Swans started the better in that game and held a 27 point lead in the final term before the Dockers came charging home, kicking the final four goals of the game and just missing out on what would have been a remarkable upset win. Sydney were saved from the embarrassment of yet another home loss when forward Sam Reid, somewhat mimicking his brother Ben, took a sensational defensive pack mark on the line to keep the scores level with only seconds remaining. While the Swans would have been slightly disappointed with the draw, their midfield still got plenty of the ball and their work rate was high, with 90 tackles being laid by the men in red and white. The Swans will endeavour to bring that same pressure this week against a side that if allowed to run free can do some damage, as showed last week.

What the Magpies showed on Saturday night was when their players bring a high level of intensity and effort they rarely lose, and despite being faced with the daunting task of beating the previously undefeated Geelong the Pies fought tooth and nail till the end and came away with a club lifting 6 point win in one of the best games in 2013 so far. Collingwood led for the entire first half but after half time the Cats come a charging, booting 8 goals to the Magpies 2 to take a 13 point lead into half time and leaving Collingwood’s top four chances hanging by a thread. But somehow the Magpies found a way to win as their small forwards in Krakouer and Elliott finished off the good work up field from the likes of Swan, Pendlebury, O’Brien and Sam Dwyer. Collingwood kicked the last 3 goals of the match to take the win and boost their season record to 5 wins and 3 losses and maintain touch with the top sides in the competition. Interestingly as soon as the song had been sung in the rooms coach Nathan Buckley locked the team away for a good 20 minutes, no doubt telling them that they had now set the standard as to where their intensity and effort had to be near each week.

COLLINGWOOD PREVIEW

The Magpies were struggling leading into last week’s game against Geelong but it’s amazing what a win over the top of the ladder team will do for your confidence and belief. The club, it’s players and coaches now have to believe that they can compete against any one on any given day and that’s good because this week it doesn’t get much easier with a matchup against the reigning premiers. Once again Collingwood has been hit hard by the injury curse, with Dale Thomas ruled out for at least the next 12 weeks with an ankle injury, Alex Fasolo likely to miss the rest of the season with a foot injury and Dayne Beams still isn’t any closer to making his season debut after yet another setback with his quadriceps injury. Yet there were a lot of positive signs out of the win last week and the two that stood out were Sam Dwyer and Harry O’Brien. Both were maligned a few weeks back after poor performances yet now they seem as if they may be part of the solution, rather than the problem moving forward. The Pies will have some cattle to call upon this week with stalwarts Alan Didak and Ben Johnson both available for selection as well as Marty Clarke and Tyson Goldsack who missed last weeks games with minor problems. Also impressing in the VFL is Kyle Martin who week after week continues to rack up the possessions and would easily be leading the clubs best and fairest for the reserves. It’s a nice problem to have that the club actually has some depth to call upon even when they are being hit hard by injuries to key players. The Magpies will get Heath Shaw back after missing last week through suspension and he will be opened back with open arms, even if his suspension was for a stupid action.

The one thing Collingwood will have to bring this week is intensity, because if they let their guard down for just a few moments they’ll quickly discover why Sydney are the reigning premiers and just what they are capable of. Luke Ball made a good return to senior football last week and he’s just the type of player that your really need against the Swans who are the kings of contested football and pressure on the ball carrier. The Magpies will be confident of carrying on the form from last week and with a few classy players returning they may well be too good for a Swans side that is struggling themselves at the moment.

OPPOSITION ANALYSIS

The Swans may enter this game slightly down on their best form but even last week, in a game that Fremantle dominated late Sydney still managed to lay 90 tackles. This shows that the work rate is still there and as the Pies showed last week if you keep working hard and keep the intensity up good football will eventually be produced. It wasn’t a fluke that this side won the flag last year, they were one of the best four sides all season and arguably the best defensive team and also the best team when it came to placing pressure on the opposition ball carrier. They also have talent on every line though which you obviously need if you are to be successful in the AFL, no matter how hard you work.

The Swans midfield is a group built to be strong at stoppages and it’s no shock to see that the Swans have the most stoppages of any team so far in 2013. This may slightly over rate the fact that they are the no.1 clearance team in the competition but when you have hard nuts like Kennedy, Hannebery and Jack in the middle you are always going to be a force in terms of winning clearances. This midfield group also has a number of experienced stars rotating through it with Goodes, O’Keefe and Mcveigh all spending time in middle. Some criticised the Swans midfield at times last year saying that it lacked outside run but in the form of Lewis Jetta they found that run last year, and although the enigmatic speedster has had a slower start to 2013 his famous run against the Pies in the preliminary final will be in the back of every Pies players head leading into Friday Night. The Swans rucks are also a strength with Mumford and Pyke leading the way although there is a slight doubt over Mumford this week as he tries to overcome a groin strain suffered at training. The Swans will want Mumford against Collingwood’s number one ruckman, ex Swan Darren Jolly.

The Sydney forward line spreads the goals out and seeks assistance from it’s midfield and it’s a system that worked so well last year that many questioned the need to recruit the controversial Kurt Tippett from Adelaide in the off season. But at the moment the Swans are screaming out for a key forward, someone who can not only kick goals but make a consistent contest in the air to assist the talented group of small forwards that the Swans have. The major concern is that Sam Reid hasn’t developed into the tall forward option that the Swans need and there’s even talk of him being moved to the backline once Tippett returns from his suspension for breaking player contract rules. If you look at the clubs leading goal kickers you see that the have 5 players in double figures but none of those could be considered tall forwards with Jude Bolton and Ben McGlynn leading the list on 14. Adam Goodes has 10 goals but that also shows that at the moment the Swans are relying more on their resting midfielders to kick their goals than their regular forwards. This week they run into a Collingwood backline that apart from one quarter last week is coming off a great performance, and the Swans will have to manufacture ways to score once again.

The backline that the Swans possess doesn’t look overly talented on paper but as a unit it is as effective and efficient as any going around. This backline has been hit hard by injury though with Roberts-Thomas out for the season, Rhyce Shaw yet to return and Martin Mattner also missing the last few games. In their absence Ted Richards, Nick Malceski and Heath Grundy have led the way down back and apart from the one game versus the Hawks the backline could not have been blamed for any of the recent below average performances. This week of course they run into Travis Cloke and while the Pies leading power forward has a decent recent record against the Swans Ted Richards is a more than capable matchup option for the Swans. The Swans will be hoping at least one of Mattner or Shaw are ready to return because last week against the Cats it was the Pies small forwards that did most of the damage, especially late as Andrew Krakouer and Jamie Elliott returned to form.

The Swans, not unlike the Magpies, will go into this game a little under manned but their depth is every bit as good as Collingwood’s with several options to call on from their reserves team if they so desire. Names like White, Armstrong, Everitt and Lamb could be called upon if Mattner and Shaw don’t come up and just like the Pies they won’t hesitate in playing youngsters if they have warranted selection with strong performances in the reserves. Sydney’s record against the Pies hasn’t been great in recent years but the MCG will hold no fears for the side that held aloft the premiership cup on the ground last season, and the win over Collingwood in the preliminary final will give them belief that they have finally figured out how to beat the Magpies. The Swans will turn this game into a contested possession slugfest and it will have a finals like atmosphere and feel to it all night, something the Swans will also relish.

TIP

This game is vital when you consider both sides will be fighting for one of those vital top four positions come the end of the season and if the Swans could upset the Pies they would get a game and a half gap (6 premiership points) over their rivals. Collingwood on the other chance will see it as an opportunity to get to a 6-3 win/loss record which would be a stunning result given their shocking run of injuries so far this year. Collingwood has a stunning recent record against the Swans that goes all the way back to 2006 and I firmly believe the Magpies have caught the Swans at the right time once again.

Sydney will be a contender come the end of the season but just at the moment they are struggling just a little bit and with the confidence the Pies players got from last weeks win I can see the Pies winning a close game on Friday Night.

PIES BY 14.

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