As the 2013 AFL Premiership season edges closer to the finals series, it gives us all a chance to reflect at the season that has come before us. Take the West Coast Eagles for example, a playing group that pre season were tipped by many not only as a top four chance, but as a genuine premiership contender. Many good judges had actually selected the Eagles as their premiership team for season 2013 yet after 21 rounds of action (20 games) West Coast sit in 11^th place. The Eagles will not play finals this season and that’s a great shock to most. Then there’s Collingwood, yet another team that many good judges chose as a genuine premiership contender, yet the Magpies, who at least will partake in the finals series, have had a season of under achievement themselves. Collingwood currently sit sixth on the AFL ladder which is definitely a few places lower than what the club would have hoped for. Of course both clubs have excuses and reasons as to why they have fallen down the ladder this season but in the end, the ladder tells the story and both aren’t premiership threats.

This Friday night, the two get a chance to make some atonement for their season so far when they face off at the MCG in the round 22 opener. It will be the first time these two massive clubs have faced off in 2013 which is itself another weird quirk of the AFL fixture. The last time these two sides met was also at the MCG, but under much different circumstances as they fought to avoid elimination in last years semi final. The Pies came out on top that night by 13 points in a tight game where one man was probably the difference, Dale Thomas. Thomas hasn’t played much since, in fact he’s only managed the 5 senior games in 2013 and last week broke down again while trying to return through the VFL. Injuries have been a major cause for the decline of both teams this season but realistically it’s not the only excuse, or reason. Both teams are at the cross roads with several of their more experienced players, with the likes of Didak, Johnson, Jolly, Krakouer and Hudson nearing the end for Collingwood while the Eagles have their own problems with Nicoski, Adam Selwood and Daniel Kerr. These problems though have meant that the clubs have tried plenty of youngsters and new players in 2013 and it is easy to see both teams fighting back hard next season.

PREVIOUS FORM

The Eagles have mixed their form all season and just when it seemed they may have been ready to make one last push at a spot in the eight, West Coast put up what might have been their most insipid performance of the season last week. The Cats smashed them from the first bounce, winning the first quarter by 4 goals and the second by even more to put the game to bed by half time with a 56 point lead. The final margin of 66 points may have even flattered the Eagles, that’s how bad they were at home last week. Before that they had given their fans some hope with wins over the Gold Coast Suns and Essendon yet any hope died early on during last weeks game. Rarely do you see the Eagles basically give up so easily at home and it’s increased calls from some quarters for coach John Worsfold’s head, although the club seems more likely to retain him. Maybe the only positive of the night was the performance from ex Magpie Sharrod Wellingham who was the Eagles best player on the night. Wellingham will help the Eagles for many years to come, and if their 2013 form is anything to go by they will need all the help they can get.

The Magpies also gave their fans some hope leading into last weekend’s round with two wins over top quality opponents in Essendon and Sydney. Yet like the Eagles they were bought crashing back to earth as their nemesis, the side the Magpies just don’t seem to be able to beat, the Hawks, once again disposed of the Pies in pretty easy fashion by 35 points. Collingwood fans, and players alike went into the game with confidence a plenty after a great win over the reigning premiers in Sydney, yet early on the signs weren’t great as the Hawks piled on both the pressure and the score, to lead by almost 6 goals just before half time. Collingwood had their best period of the game just before the main break, kicking the last three goals to get the margin back to 15 points. After half time though the Hawks once again took over, starving the Collingwood forwards of scoring opportunities and the result was never really in doubt as the third quarter drew to an end. It was a loss that ended any faint hope that Collingwood had of a top four finish and may have all but ended their premiership dreams for 2013 as well.

COLLINGWOOD PREVIEW

It’s been a tough year for Collingwood but may well be the year that we all look back on and see as the pivotal one in terms of their next premiership. Early in the season it became quite apparent that the Magpies would struggle to match it with the best sides, and apart from wins over Geelong and Sydney that has been true for the season so far. The Magpies have had their fair share of injuries, with Toovey, Thomas, Fasolo, Beams, Ball, Krakouer, Jolly, Keeffe and Williams all missing significant games but it has given plenty of young and upcoming players an opportunity to test themselves at senior level. Some have failed, some have starred while some are clearly developing before our eyes into stars of the future. It’s the path Collingwood had to take if it was to be a serious challenger for years to come although it may have come at the sacrifice of season 2013.

The season isn’t over yet though and the Pies will play in their 8^th consecutive finals series in a few weeks time, an achievement that is unmatched by any one else in the AFL at the moment. The positive of this season has been the emergence of some talented players with Keeffe, Williams, Elliott and Grundy now all firmly entrenched in the Magpies senior line up.

This Friday night may see the introduction of a few more youngsters with injuries to Jamie Elliott (hamstring) and Ben Sinclair (shoulder) requiring at least two additions this week. On form Ben Kennedy and Paul Seedsman would be the most likely to replace those two, but there’s one familiar name that is making one last push for senior selection, maybe ever. Alan Didak was in the best players last week in the Magpies season saving VFL win and this is the closest Didak has come to claiming a spot back in the side since his last appearance back in round 11. Also in the VFL were ruckman Jolly, Hudson and Witts and with Quinten Lynch continuing to struggle at senior level one of those three may be included at the expense of the ex Eagle. The VFL side’s win over Sandringham kept it in contention for the finals and with a win in the final VFL game this Saturday, the Magpies will have a reserves side in action for at least one week longer than last year.

This isn’t a must win game for the Magpies as it seems almost certain that they’ll finish 6^th or 7^th now, but if Richmond were to slip up at any point (again) the Pies could still finish 5^th. Also it pays to enter the finals with a bit of form and if Collingwood can win it’s final 2 games it would have won 5 of it’s last 6 games, with the only loss coming to the premiership favourite.

OPPOSITION ANALYSIS

It’s been a tough year for the West Coast Eagles with injuries, form slumps and the beginning of the end for some players adding together for a wasted season. The list of Eagles players who have missed significant game time in 2013 is long, with Natanui (11 games played), Nicoski (0 games), Kerr (10 games), Waters (7), Wellingham (8), Hurn (12 – out for season now), LeCras (15 – out for season) among those affected. The current injury list has most of those names on it and all of those on the round 22 injury list have now been ruled out for the season. Added to that has been the less than stellar season of several senior players, as well as an un West Coast like home record. Even when the Eagles have struggled in seasons, Subiaco Oval has been a place where they could come home to and dominate at, yet the Eagles have lost a remarkable 8 games on their home ground this season. In fact their away record is better than their home record in season 2013.

The Eagles still have an array of talent on their list and their forward line leads the way with a four pronged attack. Kennedy, Darling, LeCras and Hill have all contributed heavily to the Eagles scoring this year with Kennedy currently leading the Coleman Medal chase with 60 goals. When the Eagles have been able to get it inside their forward 50 they are a dangerous team indeed, and while the absence of Nic Natanui for long periods has restricted them a little bit, their forward line is still very effective. This week it runs into a Pies backline that does a nice impression of Jekyll and Hyde, one week it’s as good as any in the AFL and then the next week it’s leaking goals at an alarming rate. At one stage last week it looked as if the Hawks would post a massive total and even the 118 they ended up on was way too high for that defensive groups liking. If the Eagles can get the ball inside forward 50 enough, they could make a game of this one yet.

If you go solely by statistics the Eagles midfield is still performing quite well, as it’s ranked 3rd for clearances, 6^th for centre clearances and 7^th for contested possessions. Yet in some games it’s seemed as if the Eagles midfield has struggled for large periods of the game to gain any ascendancy over their opponents. Champion ruckman Dean Cox is still going around for the Eagles, and while his best days may be behind him Cox has still carried the Eagles to the second most hitouts of any team so far this season. It’s an area that the Eagles will have to be very good at this week, coming up against a midfield that is in sparkling form, with Ball, Pendlebury, Beams, Swan and Sidebottom all gathering close to or over 30 possessions on a regular basis. Of course Cox should dominate the ruck, but it will be interesting to see if youngster Brodie Grundy is asked to carry the ruck duties or if the experienced Darren Jolly is included. The Eagles may well be missing several players through injury but apart from Kerr their midfield isn’t greatly affected by this, and should be assisting the rest of the team a bit more, even if the stats show a rosy picture.

The Eagles backline may have been hardest hit by injuries this year with Hurn and Waters both missing a lot of football in 2013. Darren Glass has still been the rock down back and is almost certain to get Travis Cloke on Friday night, which will leave McKenzie or Mitch Brown to take Reid and the secondary ruck. Where Collingwood has improved recently though is finding goals from it’s small/medium forwards and midfielders and this may be an area that the Eagles find hard to restrict them in. The Eagles are also lacking that run off half back that makes the really good sides so strong, although with the missing players they have that’s not entirely a shock. West Coast have been using youngsters like Wilson and Carter to cover the loss and while they have shown promising signs, they aren’t near the level of Hurn and Waters yet. This may be the area of the ground that West Coast really need to lift in or else the Pies forwards may have a field day/night.

It’s a tough game for the Eagles to get up for this weekend, their finals hopes are gone but there’s always pride as well as list places to play for. Coach John Worsfold stated just that in his weekly media conference that several players are playing for their careers in the closing rounds and with a long injury list of talented players hopeful of returning next season, you can see what Worsfold is on about. The Eagles injury list isn’t as long as some have been banging on about though and their fans will want to see them finish the season with a bit of fight, something that was missing for sure last Saturday night against the Cats.

TIP.

Collingwood should win this game, they simply are the better team at the moment and have a lot more to play for. The Eagles will want to put up a better performance than last week but as soon as a club starts putting injured players out for the year, usually to get surgery done sooner rather than later, they seem to fall away on field. The Magpies do lose two players of their own to injury but I can’t see it making much difference, they should win this by plenty.

PIES BY 38 POINTS.

Pre match Discussion Thread  on the BB – Collingwood v West Coast Round 22 - All comments

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