Post Match. Pies sink Saints. All comments.

[pietillidie]

[kymbo5@yahoo.com.au]

[Raw Hammer]

McCreery won me over. He’s an animal.

[Pipes1970]

[Magpietothemax]

[Big T]

Re T Brown i saw a few things on TV that had me thinking rowdy was back out there

[Big T]

[Ronnie McKeowns boots]

[Ronnie McKeowns boots]

[Ronnie McKeowns boots]

[Ronnie McKeowns boots]

[Pies4shaw]

[JC Hartley]

Collingwood have turned pre-season predictions on their head by getting their 2022 season off to a flyer and a winning note, prevailing against St Kilda by 17 points. The Magpies looked impressive for the majority of the contest by looking to kick and handpass the footy in an aggressive and offensive manner, while reducing the lateral and retreat mode of play that has previously been a hallmark of how Collingwood used to use the ball in recent seasons. There was also a huge emphasis on the Woods kicking to contests when the football could not be disposed to a player who had separation and space to receive handballs or take marks from kicks in an attacking or better position. This style of play leads to more competing in aerial contests, groundball gathers of the footy at ground level, while there would be overall pressure with tackles, smothers and spoils to create stoppages when the team was not in a dominant field position. These changes of the game plan allowed Collingwood's forwards to be threatening at all times and also gave them opportunities to keep the ball in Collingwood's front half up forward for long enough to kick enough goals to deny the Saints momentum and victory when it was all said and done at the end of the game.

Collingwood won most of the key statistical indicators, starting with a margin of +20 for disposals (388 - 368), +29 for handballs (170 - 141), contested possessions had a narrow advantage of +3 (147 - 144), intercept possessions had a narrow advantage of +2 (73 - 71) while uncontested possessions were up by +16 (237 - 221). Hit-outs were won by +14 (41 - 27), +2 for clearances (38 - 36), centre clearances were +9 (18 - 9), tackles had a differential of +9 (60 - 51), while Tackles Inside 50 was in Collingwood's favour by +2 (12 - 10). Inside 50s were up by +7 (54 - 45), while Marks Inside 50 were won by +3 (12 - 9). St Kilda won their portion of statistical categories from sources such as kicks by +9 (227 - 218), stoppage clearances were won by +7 (27 - 20), while Marks were up by +11 (98 - 87), with Uncontested Marks clinched by +8 ( 86 - 78 ), and Contested Marks in favour of the Saints by +3 (12 - 9). I'd like to highlight that the Pies had 27 scoring shots from 54 forward entries, which means that Collingwood were scoring from 50% of their Inside 50s, and scored goals for every third or fourth entry as a rough estimate.

Patrick Lipinski (30 disposals @ 77%, 389 metres gained, 13 contested possessions, 17 uncontested possessions, 5 intercept possessions, 17 kicks, 13 handballs, 4 tackles, 5 marks, 2 goal assists, 8 score involvements, 5 clearances, 4 stoppage clearances, 7 Inside 50s & 1 goal) made an immediate impression and impact on club debut with classy ball use, heavy contribution to forward supply from the midfield and scoring chains, and topped it off with a neat goal that he snapped off his left foot (non-preferred foot) in the opening term where he racked up 10 disposals, which highlighted his influence on the contest then and throughout the evening at crucial junctures.

Jordan De Goey (27 disposals @ 70%, 464 metres gained, 9 contested possessions, 18 uncontested possessions, 15 kicks, 12 handballs, 2 tackles, 5 marks, 2 Marks Inside 50, 12 score involvements, 5 clearances, 4 centre clearances, 4 Inside 50s & 2 goals) put a difficult pre-season behind him with an accumulative and prolific performance through the midfield with stints up forward. De Goey won clearances out of the centre square, got dangerous up forward where he could easily have had 5 goals, but only ended up with 2 majors that were still telling and crucial to the team's result. Score involvement numbers were a testament of De Goey's ability to create scoring opportunities for his teammates up forward, when he was not impacting the scoreboard himself.

Taylor Adams (25 disposals @ 68%, 315 metres gained, 16 contested possessions, 9 uncontested possessions, 2 intercept possessions, 9 kicks, 16 handballs, 3 tackles, 2 goal assists, 7 score involvements, 11 clearances, 8 centre clearances, 3 stoppage clearances & 5 Inside 50s) played a crucial part as the main extractor from the packs to free the sherrin to the outside from the inside at will without fail. Adams played his role as an inside-midfielder to perfection by giving off to teammates who had separation and space from their opponents to give the forwards plenty of looks and chances.

Josh Daicos (21 disposals @ 86%, 185 metres gained, 7 contested possessions, 14 uncontested possessions, 2 intercept possessions, 7 kicks, 14 handballs, 4 marks, 5 score involvements, 3 clearances, 3 stoppage clearances & 1 goal) found confidence and form back in his normal habitat on the wing, where he contributed to the team's ball movement nicely, and hit his targets with the majority of his possessions. I went into raptures when Josh kicked an excellent goal that he snapped off his left foot in the third term. The reason I went into raptures was because Josh Daicos is my favourite player, and has been ever since Jaidyn Stephenson went to North Melbourne.

Broidie Grundy (17 disposals @ 53%, 200 metres gained, 9 contested possessions, 8 uncontested possessions, 4 intercept possessions, 37 hit-outs, 9 kicks, 8 handballs, 5 tackles, 2 Tackles Inside 50, 2 marks, 1 goal assist, 6 score involvements, 5 clearances, 4 centre clearances & 5 Inside 50s) had an unenviable game for three quarters, before bursting to life in the final term with a productive and superb culmination after an indifferent display early on where was not offering much other than hit-outs during the first three quarters.

Nick Daicos (27 disposals @ 70%, 419 metres gained, 5 contested possessions, 22 uncontested possessions, 7 intercept possessions, 15 kicks, 12 handballs, 4 tackles, 5 marks, 3 score involvements, 2 Inside 50s & 6 Rebound 50s) recovered from an early error to produce an excellent debut and displayed class beyond his years with steady and daring ball use to maintain possession or open the game up further up the field.

Scott Pendlebury (24 disposals @ 75%, 359 metres gained, 7 contested possessions, 17 uncontested possessions, 6 intercept possessions, 16 kicks, 8 handballs, 2 tackles, 4 marks, 1 goal assist, 6 score involvements, 3 Inside 50s & 4 Rebound 50s) adapted nicely in his new role as a creative decision-maker in defence. Having a player of Pendlebury's ilk now available as a defender will give the team leadership and composure, especially at times when Collingwood is under pressure behind the ball and concedes momentum at the wrong times.

John Noble (22 disposals @ 82%, 366 metres gained, 4 contested possessions, 18 uncontested possessions, 4 intercept possessions, 14 kicks, 8 handballs, 2 tackles, 7 marks, 5 score involvements & 6 Inside 50s) displayed excellent poise and effective ball use by running high up the ground from defence to link up and break lines when the team required speed on the ball to catch St Kilda's defence off balance and off guard.

Jeremy Howe (22 disposals @ 73%, 249 metres gained, 7 contested possessions, 15 uncontested possessions, 7 intercept possessions, 14 kicks, 8 handballs, 9 marks, 2 Contested Marks, 4 score involvements & 2 Rebound 50s) performed admirably as Collingwood's second key defender where he backed his leap to complete his marks and provided steady ball use coming out of the defensive third of the ground when the team needed it. Howe was also able to take the mark of the night to tell everyone that he has not lost his trademark leap.

Isaac Quaynor (20 disposals @ 75%, 322 metres gained, 7 contested possessions, 13 uncontested possessions, 8 intercept possessions, 8 kicks, 12 handballs, 5 marks, 2 Contested Marks, 4 score involvements, 3 Inside 50s & 3 Rebound 50s) sprung into action with plenty of run and carry coupled with long kicking to avert danger at every turn. There were also one percenters that Quaynor was able to execute defensively that kept the team in the contest when the tide was not in Collingwood's favour.

Darcy Moore (16 disposals @ 81%, 297 metres gained, 2 contested possessions, 14 uncontested possessions, 4 intercept possessions, 15 kicks, 2 tackles, 7 marks, 1 goal assist, 3 score involvements, 2 Inside 50s & 6 Rebound 50s) competed well as the club's best available key defender in partnership with Jeremy Howe. Moore was able to nullify the influence of Max King after Jeremy Howe had difficulties containing him in the second term. Moore was able to blend his marking prowess with sound ball use to give the team control of the game.

Jack Madgen (16 disposals @ 94%, 200 metres gained, 7 contested possessions, 9 uncontested possessions, 8 intercept possessions, 9 kicks, 7 handballs, 3 tackles, 5 marks, 3 score involvements, 2 Inside 50s & 2 Rebound 50s) played his role well without being a star. Madgen was effective when he had the ball in his hands, and made an effort to reduce his errors, where he is often maligned, but not on this occasion. Madgen won a crucial contest late in the last quarter where he executed a spoil before successfully executing a tackle that allowed Collingwood to regain possession when the team needed it.

Jamie Elliott (17 disposals @ 71%, 231 metres gained, 7 contested possessions, 10 uncontested possessions, 10 kicks, 7 handballs, 4 tackles, 2 Tackles Inside 50, 5 marks, 1 goal assist, 7 score involvements, 4 Inside 50s & 1 goal) got on his bike to provide an outlet for the ball carrier at every opportunity as a high half-forward. Elliott was also able to reach his 200th AFL goal at a crucial time during the second quarter, courtesy of an excellent kick from Taylor Adams which Elliott marked before converting that opportunity.

Steele Sidebottom (16 disposals @ 62%, 329 metres gained, 5 contested possessions, 11 uncontested possessions, 4 intercept possessions, 10 kicks, 6 handballs, 5 tackles, 2 Tackles Inside 50, 4 marks, 5 score involvements, 2 Inside 50s, 2 Rebound 50s & 2 goals) converted two excellent goals on his left foot (Sidebottom is very proficient on his non-preferred foot), put pressure on up forward, took a few marks and won enough of the ball to contribute to the team's ball movement.

Brody Mihocek (14 disposals @ 71%, 148 metres gained, 7 contested possessions, 7 uncontested possessions, 2 intercept possessions, 9 kicks, 5 handballs, 3 tackles, 3 Tackles Inside 50, 4 marks, 2 Marks Inside 50, 1 goal assist, 7 score involvements & 3 goals) made a telling contribution on the scoreboard with majors at the right time and provided a contest and marking target up forward when he was needed to compete aerially.

Beau McCreery (13 disposals @ 85%, 100 metres gained, 6 contested possessions, 7 uncontested possessions, 2 intercept possessions, 3 kicks, 10 handballs, 5 tackles, 2 Tackles Inside 50, 2 marks, 6 score involvements, 2 clearances, 2 stoppage clearances & 1 goal) may not have had many kicks, but he put plenty of pressure on and tackled well when it was his turn to do it, while staying involved in scoring chains and bobbed up with a major to keep Collingwood ahead of the game.

Oliver Henry (10 disposals @ 60%, 210 metres gained, 3 contested possessions, 7 uncontested possessions, 8 kicks, 2 handballs, 2 tackles, 3 marks, 2 Marks Inside 50, 4 score involvements & 2 goals) struggled for the first three quarters, before bursting to life with 2 match-defining goals in the last quarter, including the sealer that put the result beyond doubt.

Jack Ginnivan (10 disposals @ 60%, 207 metres gained, 3 contested possessions, 7 uncontested possessions, 8 kicks, 2 handballs, 2 tackles, 3 marks, 1 goal assist, 5 score involvements & 2 goals) was lively on occasions and produced two very good goals, including a pearler in the opening quarter from the pocket which could be the goal of the round. Ginnivan could have had 4 goals, but still struck gold in front of the sticks at the right time.

Collingwood's next game will be against Adelaide on March 26 at the MCG. All of a sudden, there is a new level of excitement and anticipation at the Magpies with their new brand of footy that could win a number of games this season. This game is highly winnable for a team of Collingwood's stature as it stands right now, and I believe the Magpies will be better equipped from their opening game by having defenders in the right position to compete and not lose team structures as easily as they did at stages against the Saints. The next part of the equation is to not miss too many simple goals up forward. I felt as though Collingwood left a few goals out there that could've been costly, so correcting that slightly will go a long way to ensuring that a bigger score and margin can be achieved if all of the best-laid plans come to fruition against the Crows.

[Cam]

All this talk about transformation, i reckon the Pies played like this in 2018 pretty much after not doing it in 2017 (avg 88 pts/g), kicking 14 or more goals in 11 and averaging 93 pts a game over regular season games. But then unfortunately went back into their shells in '19 (avg 85 pts/g), '20 (56!)and half of '21 (70). (After Bucks walked - 67).

For coverage (2002 - 95, '03 - 103, '04 - 86, '05 - 85, '06 - 106, '07, 91, '08 - 103, '09 - 98, '10 - 107, '11 - 118, '12 - 96, '13 - 97, '14 - 80, '15 - 89, '16 - 86).

I saw a couple of knock ons to space (in our forward line, mind you we were yelling wtf did you do that for) and cheating at stoppages ala Brisbane Lions threepeaters. Will be interesting if more of that brand becomes our default one. St Kilda by the looks are trying to be Richmond with the chaos footy into their forward line, we got found out a few times because our guys didn't attend quickly to their opponents after a rebound 50, if it was turned over and bounced straight back in they were on their own.

[Raw Hammer]