Only a few years ago Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs played off in a qualifying final after both finished in the top 4. Four years later and the two couldn’t be much further apart with percentage the only thing stopping the Dogs from being 2^nd bottom and the Pies from being 2^nd from the top. It’s been a dramatic fall from grace for the Dogs who contested three straight preliminary finals from 2008 to 2010. The Bulldogs aren’t the only side to fall away from being in premiership contention since that period, but the fall has been quite dramatic although only now is the pressure coming down from the media on the Dogs poor recent form.

This Sunday the two will face off in a round 13 matchup that is important for each club for different reasons. The Dogs need a win to boost support, membership numbers but also club morale while the Pies need a win to stay in contention for a top 4 spot. The Bulldogs haven’t defeated the Magpies since 2009 and they will face a tough task in breaking the 6 game losing streak. It is a big game for the Dogs with a national TV audience on Channel 7 and a big crowd sure to be in attendance at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

COLLINGWOOD PREVIEW

Before the season started if you’d offered any Magpies fan an 8-3 record after 11 games they would have taken it straight away. The Magpies have a very young list and coming into the season it was hard to predict just how the young Pies would go but despite injuries to a few key players they have performed remarkably well so far. On Monday against old foe Melbourne the Magpies may not have been impressive to the eye but the they got the job done, defeating the Demons by 33 points in a low scoring game. It was a win that top teams win, they find a way to break through a uber defensive game plan and come out with a very handy win. Once again the young Collingwood backline stood tall only allowing a total of 28 points against them for the entire game. Lachlan Keeffe, Jack Frost, Marley Williams, Clinton Young, Paul Seedsman and Alan Toovey are starting to form a strong grouping down back and there’s still ex skipper Nick Maxwell to return to that defense.

The Magpies forward line may be of more concern for coach Nathan Buckley though as once again Travis Cloke wasn’t his dominant self of years past and Jamie Elliott and Alex Fasolo struggled to get into the game. The defensive forward work of Tyson Goldsack and Jarryd Blair was great though and forced the Demons to make plenty of errors. It would have been a pleasing win for the whole club with the poor loss in Adelaide only a few weeks back still fresh in the mind. The win sets the Magpies season up at the half way point and with Reid and Maxwell among those soon to return the Pies may well be a premiership threat after all.

At the selection table this week there won’t be any forced changes with all 22 players getting through the game on Monday relatively injury free. The VFL side continues to impress though and the likes of Tim Broomhead, Kyle Marting, Ben Kennedy and Ben Reid will all be pushing their case for inclusion on Sunday. Reid returned in the VFL on the weekend to play his first game of the year at any level and probably played a larger role than expected helping the young and inexperienced Magpies over the line against Casey. Whether Reid plays seniors or reserves this weekend it is a promising sign indeed that he got through the game unscathed. Jesse White should return after a finger injury so the Pies will go into this game with a stronger squad to choose from than last week which isn’t good news for the Dogs. The Pies will expect to win this game and they should meet those expectations quite easily. 

 

OPPOSITION ANALYSIS

Coming into the 2014 season the Dogs were talked up as one of the most likely to improve and move up the ladder. They finished last year off so well and most expected that trend to continue and for them to even push for a spot in the finals. 11 games in and it really has been a poor first half of the season for the Dogs. Three wins only and only against 3 other lowly sides doesn’t make for good reading. There is potential there for the Dogs with a young list and a bright future for many of those young players but at the moment it simply isn’t showing on the field. The 8 point loss on Saturday to the previously bottom team Brisbane was the last straw for many with the club taking a pounding in the press this week. It is a big game for the Dogs for many reasons and they really do have show some signs of improvement this week or their may indeed become irrelevant, at least for this season.

If there’s an area of strength in this Bulldogs team it would have to be the midfield, with the likes of Boyd, Griffen, Cooney, Liberatore, Mcrae and Higgins providing a very good list of players, at least on paper. On the weekend though this midfield grouping was defeated by a group who are younger and less inexperienced than them and that has to be a major concern. The form of several of their big name midfielders is part of the reason why they are struggling so much to win games and it’s an area they will have to improve upon quickly. If there’s a positive in the middle it’s Will Minson, who even if he’s not as dominant as he was last year is still one of the league’s premier ruckman at the moment. Of course the Magpies midfield looks super strong on paper too, but it also hasn’t impressed statistically so far this season at times. The midfield battle is always crucial to the outcome of a game and this week is no different.

The Western Bulldogs forward line is a mess it seems, they’ve been struggling to find a consistent tall forward for several years now and still they are searching. Liam Jones battles through a game and provides a decent target but only average one goal a game isn’t good enough really. New recruit Stewart Crameri has been a success of sorts averaging close to 2 goals a game but he doesn’t have a heap of support inside forward 50. Luke Dalhaus is still improving and does look dangerous down forward but the next best option is the oldest one, in Daniel Giansiracusa and he’s been used as the substitute more often than not. They run into a young Magpies defense that is in form and coming off the back of one of the defensive performances of the year so far, so something has to change for the Dogs forward line to look dangerous this weekend.

The Bulldogs defense is a little more solid it seems with Dale Morris leading the way down back and the Dogs would love to see the way he’s returned after all that time off with injury. Jordan Roughead looks to be improving and has now become a main stay in defense also which is a positive going forward. There is decent drive coming out of the defensive zone too with Murphy, Wood, Picken and Higgins all providing run and skill off half back. The face a Collingwood forward line that is firing really with a reliance on midfielders to assist the struggling forwards. Morris and Roughead should be able to contain White and Cloke but a matchup for Elliott may be harder with Picken a possible choice. It’s likely that the ball will spend a fair amount of time inside the Magpies forward line so the Dogs backline will have to perform well to keep their side in the game.

This is an important game for the Western Bulldogs as a club and you would think it’s about time they lifted and actually played four quarters at a high intensity. Whether they are actually capable of doing that has been some of the criticism from the media as well as the coaching decisions and game plan that coach Brendan McCartney has created. It’s a tough ask though for the Dogs to go from losing to the bottom team to defeating a top four placed opposition so a respectable loss on this occasion may be all they can achieve.

 

TIP

No need to beat around the bush here, Collingwood should and will win this game. They are a team in decent form with a strong backline, a talented midfield and are capable of putting a score on the board against any opposition. The pressure the Magpies bring each week in terms of tackling and forcing the opposition into errors is close to the leagues best and that should ensure a comfortable win for the Pies to make it 7 wins in a row over the Bulldogs.

PIES BY 46 POINTS.

 

VFL

After yet another strong win that saw them move into the top 4 on the VFL ladder, the Magpies reserves team heads out to Sandringham this weekend for their next clash. Game time is Saturday 2pm at Trevor Barker Beach Oval.

Pre match Discussion Thread  on the BB – Round 13 – Collingwood vs Western Bulldogs - All comments

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