Collingwood and Melbourne once had the fiercest and most contested of any domestic sporting rivalry in Australia. During the 1950′s and 1960′s the Magpies and Demons regularly met in finals and Grand Finals although at the time the Demons came out on top more times than not. But since the 1964 Grand Final, which coincidentally happens to be Melbourne’s last premiership win, the two great clubs have only met in two minor finals. Since 2001 though the two have been involved in an annual contest on the Queen’s Birthday public holiday. It was on the Monday holiday that the AFL/VFL home and away record attendance was set  in 1958 (99,346). The Monday clash in June has been well attended too with regular crowds over 70,000 and only two crowds below 60,000 since 2001. It’s a nice way to pay some respect to the old rivalry that exists between these two clubs.

Once again this Monday the two will go head to head in the annual clash at the MCG. For the first time in several years Melbourne are a chance of winning the game too as under new coach Paul Roos there has been a marked improvement in form and performance. The Demons started the 2014 season poorly with three straight losses but since then have managed to win 3 of their last 7 games. It’s not only the fact they’ve won a few games that has impressed many though, it’s the way they are playing. Roos has them playing a more defensive brand of footy and apart from the round 2 loss to the Eagles they haven’t conceded 100 points at all to an opposition team. It’s an improvement that was badly needed after several poor years. Collingwood is also performing above the level that most experts considered it would in 2014. It sits inside the top 4 after 11 games with a 7 and 3 win/loss record. They are realistically a chance of staying or improving upon that position in the final 11 home and away games too.

COLLINGWOOD PREVIEW

It’s been an inconsistent start to the year for the Magpies but as we approach the half way mark of the home and away series they do sit inside the top 4 on the ladder. With only 3 losses in 10 games you would think everything is going well but one of those losses, just a few games back against Adelaide, still burns the Magpies faithful as it was clearly one that got away. Since that loss the Pies have scraped home against a struggling West Coast at the MCG and then destroyed a poor St Kilda outfit that is as uncompetitive as anyone in the competition at the moment. It leaves the Magpies form as sort of unknown, yes they’ve been winning but not at a consistent rate and manner so this game in itself may give us a true guide to Collingwood’s form.

The win over St Kilda was impressive in that it was the first time this season that the Pies have been ruthless in the last quarter and smashed a side off the park. The 86 point win came with plenty of positives with Travis Cloke finally finding some form with 5 goals and the Magpies backline continuing to restrict sides to low scores. There were two negatives out of the game though with the inspirational ex captain Nick Maxwell injuring his calf early on (he will miss 3-4 weeks) and Steele Sidebottom copping a 3 match ban for a stupid and ill advised bump early in the game. Those two players will be missed over the next few weeks but there’s a few handy names ready to return on Monday for the Pies. Dane Swan, Luke Ball and Brodie Grundy all didn’t take their place against the Saints but are said to be 100% right to return against the Demons. Also returning this week is the super talented Ben Reid, all be it through the VFL. Reid is so important to the Pies chances of doing some damage in the finals so a lot of eyes will be on Casey fields in Melbourne’s outer suburbs this Saturday.

With Swan, Ball and Grundy almost certain to return and Maxwell and Sidebottom definite outs for this game, selection really isn’t that hard for coach Nathan Buckley, with only one choice to be made. Taylor Adams is probably the most likely unlucky player although another youngster like Langdon or Witts might be given a week off also. No matter what the final seleciton is for this game it’s a match that the Pies should be winning, especially if they want to get one of those vital top 4 positions come finals time.

OPPOSITON ANALYSIS

Melbourne came into season 2014 with renewed hope after the appointment of premiership coach Paul Roos. For the first time in a long time the Demons had a coach they could rely on, a coach who would teach their young list how to play the modern game and more importantly how to defend. Early on the signs weren’t good with three straight losses to start the season but a record of 3 wins and 4 losses in the last 7 games has given the Dees fans hope for the first time in a long time. The loss last week to Port Adelaide of indicative of that future hope, with the huge outsiders taking the lead in the last quarter before Port’s class won out in the end by 20 points. It was a performance Roos and the coaching staff would have been proud off with plenty of positives coming out of it in many areas.

Despite sitting 15^th on the ladder the Demons defense is ranked 9^th in the AFL when it comes to points conceded. Yes the game style of Paul Roos has something to do with that but their defensive unit has improved from the version that ran out last year. One of the strange things is they have done with with star defender James Frawley not playing down back for large periods of games. This has left Terlich, Garland, McDonald, Grimes and Dunn as the main stay defenders and so far in 2014 they have done pretty well. Of course they will be tested by a Collingwood offense who in the last two weeks has been very efficient and accurate when going forward. Most of the focus goes to Travis Cloke but it’s been Jamie Elliott who has scored consistently in 2014. He sits 9^th on the AFL’s goal kicking tally and he will have to be restricted for the Demons to have any chance of winning.

When most think of Melbourne they think of a young and inexperienced team that is developing both on and off the field to improve long term. If there’s one area they don’t lack for experience it’s their midfield with the likes of Nathan Jones, Bernie Vince, Mark Jamar and Daniel Cross protecting and assisting the young midfielders. The midfield hasn’t been performing overly well though as it ranks in the bottom four in regards to clearances and centre clearances. The shock is that they don’t rank much lower than the Magpies star studded midfield does in these categories. In fact last week was one of the few times this season that the Pies have won the clearances in a game, which gives the Dees midfield grouping some help. Melbourne should win the ruck contests too with Mark Jamar having plenty of years and games in hand over the Pies two youngsters Grundy and Witts. The midfield is where most games are won and lost and this week bodes to be no different.

If the Demons have an apparent weakness it’s their forward line. At the start of the season most Demons fans thought they’d have a tall forward set up of Dawes, Hogan and Clark, but with injury to Hogan and a forced retirement for Clark, Dawes has been left alone as the lone consistent tall forward. Coach Paul Roos has tried several different players up forward to fill the hole but Dawes is still the only player averaging over one goal a game after 10 completed matches. The move of James Frawley forward has worked at times but 9 goals in 9 games isn’t a significant return, even if he’s playing a defensive forward role at times too. Jay Kennedy-Harris and midfielder Dom Tyson look dangerous at times too up forward but it’s no shock that the Dees have the lowest total score in the AFL going into this game. They do run into a Pies backline that has been weakened though, with Nathan Brown out for the year and now Nick Maxwell missing, if ever the Melbourne forward line was going to post a decent score it would be this week.

This is a massive game for Melbourne, losing in a respectable manner only gets praise for a short period, and they simply have to start winning games to be considered an improving team. It’s the clubs’ biggest fixture of the year too with a national TV audience and the largest club in the land bringing more interest than normal to a Melbourne match. How that correlates to performance is hard to know as the Dees have been smashed in the last two Queen’s birthday games by the Pies. One would think that their form will keep up though and they will push the Magpies a long way in this game, or at least believe they can.

TIP

Collingwood are unpredictable I believe with recent results showing that on their day they can destroy sides yet the Adelaide and West Coast games show they do struggle from time to time. To win this game the Demons will have to start well, defend in an effective manner like they have on most occasions this year but more importantly find a way to score. It’s there that I see a massive problem for Melbourne, yes the Pies backline is weakened but it still has a strong core group that has performed well in recent matches.

I can’t see anything other than a Magpies win here, the return of Swan, Ball and Grundy covers the loss of Maxwell and Sidebottom and the Pies should improve to an 8-3 record with a solid win on the Monday holiday.

MAGPIES BY 22 POINTS.

 

VFL

After yet another week off, this time for the interstate game, the Collingwood VFL side returns to action against Casey out at Casey fields. The game starts at 2pm on Saturday and sees the return of Ben Reid after months out through injury.

Pre match Discussion Thread  on the BB – Round 12 – Collingwood vs Melbourne - All comments

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