Post Match. Pies prevail. All comments.

[VicParkTragic]

It was the loss we had to have, except we won!!

[Ronnie McKeowns boots]

Get the Browns in the centre next week, let them show what they can do

[Take_a_Screamer]

[Jezza]

[Greening gold]

It’s a curious thing. Lot of people complaining, justifiably in my view, about the poor performance of our midfield. Yet Taylor Adams featured well in the votes for the Gavin Brown Medal. Sorry but I don’t get it. Adams does not win it out of the centre.
Do the rucks and the mids actually know each other? Do they practise set plays? Do they have plans? Cox is a very good tap ruckman and yet Davies-Uniacke seemed to know every time where it was going while our blokes fumbled and seemed unprepared for it to appear in front of them.
Look at how Naitanui clears it, or how Clark Keating (Brisbane Lions) used to punch it well clear of the surrounding scrum, and ask yourself why Cox doesn’t do that. As for Grundy - he just taps it to his feet. Do we even have a ruck coach and a midfield coach and have they ever thought to invite their players to meet each other and talk about football?

[Greening gold]

[rambler]

So surreal to think we have won 7 in a row, all close games. Without a big monster up forward or back. Most teams weve beaten had both those. And with Ginny - it irks me when he tries to draw a free when he has a chance to get a quick snap in.

[Jezza]

[gurugeoff]

[gurugeoff]

[Pies4shaw]

[Pies4shaw]

[PyreneesPie]

It certainly seems that with these continual, hard fought, close wins, that at least the overall fitness level of the team cannot be questioned 😀

[Jezza]

Fly's presser

[question cut off]

[JC Hartley]

Collingwood were sluggish, lethargic and were outplayed for most of the day, but found the will to win when it counted in the final term to conquer North Melbourne by 7 points, after trailing by as much as 28 points late in the third term. For the first three quarters, the Kangaroos took the ascendancy away from the Magpies by winning centre clearances and exploiting a Collingwood defence that was significantly undersized and under constant pressure. Once the last quarter got under way, the Woods went to work by creating territory in their forward half and impacting the scoreboard in relatively quick time, and managed to not concede any more goals during the same quarter, which was tremendous given the amount of ground that been given up during the first three quarters. There will be frank discussions between Collingwood's coaches and players on getting back to playing four quarters of high-octane footy filled with quality, because for the first three quarters that level of performance was not there as it was expected, before a substantial shift in momentum in the fourth term allowed Collingwood to play the game how they wanted it to be played, which ultimately allowed them to get the points, despite deserving to lose them.

Collingwood only won a handful of statistical categories from the game against North Melbourne, which came from winning intercept possessions by +8 (71 - 63), +3 for hit-outs (40 - 37), tackles had a differential of +1 ( 69 - 68 ), with Tackles Inside 50 up by +13 ( 21 - 8 ), while Marks Inside 50 were won by +4 ( 12 - 8 ). North Melbourne dominated the stat sheet, winning most of the key statistical categories from sources such as disposals by +18 (359 - 341), kicks were won narrowly by +4 (219 - 215), +14 for handballs (140 - 126), while contested possessions had an advantage of +10 (140 - 130), and uncontested possessions were up by +14 (216 - 202). Clearances had a margin of +9 (40- 31), with centre clearances won by +9 (18 - 9), +8 for marks (102 - 94), with uncontested marks up by +5 (85 - 80), contested marks were won by +3 (17 - 14), and Inside 50s had a gap of +7 (59 - 52). Stoppage clearances (22 apiece) was the only statistical category in dispute from the game.

Josh Daicos (28 disposals @ 89%, 478 metres gained, 7 contested possessions, 21 uncontested possessions, 7 intercept possessions, 13 kicks, 15 handballs, 4 marks, 1 goal assist, 5 score involvements, 2 clearances, 2 stoppage clearances, 2 Inside 50s & 1 goal) performed reliably over the four quarters by kicking the team's first goal, before accumulating possessions that were effective and followed up his own work with repeat efforts to stay busy and remain an outlet for his teammates.

Taylor Adams (28 disposals @ 61%, 487 metres gained, 11 contested possessions, 17 uncontested possessions, 3 intercept possessions, 13 kicks, 15 handballs, 5 marks, 5 tackles, 2 goal assists, 8 score involvements, 6 clearances, 3 centre clearances, 3 stoppage clearances & 7 Inside 50s) won a lot of the ball and gave supply to the forwards, while his ball use came into question with numerous turnovers that marred an otherwise strong and competitive performance that we come to expect from Adams.

Scott Pendlebury (23 disposals @ 78%, 312 metres gained, 8 contested possessions, 15 uncontested possessions, 6 intercept possessions, 13 kicks, 10 handballs, 7 marks, 4 tackles, 1 goal assist, 4 score involvements, 3 Inside 50s & 2 Rebound 50s) offered leadership and class in the midfield when the team was under significant pressure, and became a viable marking option for the team so he had time and space to execute his possessions effectively and accurately.

Jack Crisp (18 disposals @ 56%, 291 metres gained, 7 contested possessions, 11 uncontested possessions, 5 intercept possessions, 14 kicks, 4 handballs, 7 marks, 6 tackles, 1 goal assist, 3 score involvements, 2 clearances, 2 centre clearances, 5 Inside 50s & 2 Rebound 50s) found it challenging to win possession, but he stayed active as a marking option and tackled with aggression and ferocity.

Patrick Lipinski (17 disposals @ 59%, 109 metres gained, 9 contested possessions, 8 uncontested possessions, 2 intercept possessions, 8 kicks, 9 handballs, 2 marks, 6 tackles, 4 Tackles Inside 50, 7 score involvements, 3 clearances, 2 stoppage clearances & 2 Inside 50s) did not provide much territory, but he did link up chains of possession that resulted in scores, and tackling pressure was at a good standard.

Steele Sidebottom (15 disposals @ 87%, 441 metres gained, 14 uncontested possessions, 2 intercept possessions, 12 kicks, 3 handballs, 5 marks, 2 tackles, 4 score involvements, 5 Inside 50s, 2 Rebound 50s & 2 goals) did not have the greatest of days, but he did kick 2 excellent goals, including the last goal of the match to give the team enough breathing space to win the game.

Jason Carmichael (14 disposals @ 43%, 199 metres gained, 7 contested possessions, 7 uncontested possessions, 2 intercept possessions, 6 kicks, 8 handballs, 2 marks, 3 tackles, 2 Tackles Inside 50, 1 goal assist, 6 score involvements, 2 clearances, 2 stoppage clearances & 2 Inside 50s) showed a bit on debut after a slow start where he struggled early. Carmichael linked up in scoring chains as the game progressed, and he was unfortunate not to have kicked any goals.

Darcy Cameron (12 disposals @ 67%, 197 metres gained, 10 contested possessions, 2 uncontested possessions, 3 intercept possessions, 21 hit-outs, 9 kicks, 3 handballs, 2 marks, 2 tackles, 4 score involvements, 2 clearances & 3 goals) lifted his game in the second half to contribute to the team's victory by impacting the scoreboard in a timely manner, and gave his midfielders an opportunity to win centre clearances in the final term.

Mason Cox (11 disposals @ 54%, 276 metres gained, 7 contested possessions, 4 uncontested possessions, 2 intercept possessions, 19 hit-outs, 10 kicks, 7 marks, 5 contested marks, 2 Marks Inside 50, 4 tackles, 4 score involvements, 3 Inside 50s & 2 Rebound 50s) dominated the airways by clunking numerous pack marks between the arcs to offer his team that option when his teammates were forced to kick to a contest. Cox also competed strongly in the ruck and tackled with energy.

Nick Daicos (21 disposals @ 90%, 441 metres gained, 5 contested possessions, 16 uncontested possessions, 4 intercept possessions, 15 kicks, 6 handballs, 4 marks, 3 tackles, 1 goal assist, 3 score involvements, 3 Inside 50s, 3 Rebound 50s & 1 goal) demonstrated poise and composure under pressure to maintain possession and keep the ball moving forward. Nick booted an inspiring goal from the MCC pocket that had everybody in raptures! His goal shaped the destiny of the contest as it allowed Collingwood enough time to win the game.

Brayden Maynard (21 disposals @ 76%, 336 metres gained, 9 contested possessions, 12 uncontested possessions, 8 intercept possessions, 11 kicks, 10 handballs, 5 marks, 2 tackles, 3 score involvements, 3 clearances, 3 stoppage clearances, 2 Inside 50s & 5 Rebound 50s) provided great resistance behind the ball by accumulating possessions, taking intercept marks and generating rebound that allowed more time for the team to defend behind the ball.

Jeremy Howe (20 disposals @ 85%, 334 metres gained, 7 contested possessions, 13 uncontested possessions, 7 intercept possessions, 11 kicks, 9 handballs, 6 marks, 3 contested marks, 2 score involvements & 8 Rebound 50s) played tall for his height in defence, and backed in his aerial power with supreme confidence. From each mark that Howe took, he would then maintain possession or kick to contests where teammates would force a stoppage, bring it to ground or take a mark.

John Noble (18 disposals @ 72%, 329 metres gained, 4 contested possessions, 14 uncontested possessions, 6 intercept possessions, 13 kicks, 5 handballs, 7 marks, 3 tackles, 3 score involvements, 2 clearances, 4 Inside 50s & 4 Rebound 50s) made it his objective to create run and carry once again from defence which he did successfully. Noble looked to take territory, irrespective of the number of errors he did make.

Isaac Quaynor (15 disposals @ 93%, 249 metres gained, 5 contested possessions, 10 uncontested possessions, 3 intercept possessions, 9 kicks, 6 handballs, 6 marks, 3 tackles, 2 score involvements & 4 Rebound 50s) backed his skills and marking ability to provide stability when it was required. Quaynor provided stability by maintaining possession effectively.

Jamie Elliott (20 disposals @ 65%, 278 metres gained, 8 contested possessions, 12 uncontested possessions, 14 kicks, 6 handballs, 7 marks, 3 Marks Inside 50, 4 tackles, 4 Tackles Inside 50, 6 score involvements, 2 clearances, 2 Inside 50s & 2 goals) gave Collingwood a great avenue to goal when he was up forward by taking marks, applying tackling pressure and impacted the scoreboard when the team needed him to do it.

Will Hoskin-Elliott (13 disposals @ 69%, 224 metres gained, 5 contested possessions, 8 uncontested possessions, 10 kicks, 3 handballs, 5 marks, 8 tackles, 2 Tackles Inside 50, 2 score involvements, 5 Inside 50s & 2 Rebound 50s) worked extremely hard up forward for his possessions by taking marks up the ground and he also applied numerous tackles. Hoskin-Elliott spent stints at various stages on the wing and showed some value when Josh Daicos or Steele Sidebottom weren't there.

Beau McCreery (11 disposals @ 58%, 315 metres gained, 7 contested possessions, 5 uncontested possessions, 2 intercept possessions, 9 kicks, 3 handballs, 7 tackles, 2 Tackles Inside 50, 1 goal assist, 6 score involvements, 3 Inside 50s & 1 goal) put on excellent pressure with his tackling exploits not going unnoticed. McCreery also managed to bob up forward with an early goal in the last quarter which generated momentum.

Jack Ginnivan (8 disposals @ 75%, 2 contested possessions, 6 uncontested possessions, 5 kicks, 3 handballs, 2 marks, 4 score involvements & 2 goals) impacted the scoreboard in the first term with both of his majors occurring during that quarter, before finding it harder and tougher to influence the remainder of the contest over the following three quarters.

Collingwood's next game will be against Adelaide on July 16 at the Adelaide Oval. The Magpies will want to make a statement in South Australia by stringing four quarters together and putting an adequate score on the board that allows the team to vanquish the Crows. This contest is also of high significance due to the fact that Scott Pendlebury is going to play his 350th game. Pendlebury will be the first player ever in Collingwood's history to reach this landmark milestone, and I'm sure he'll want to lead from the front, impact the contest and ensure his teammates follow his example in their quest to make sure that Pendles has a victory in his milestone game, which would mean that the Woods will also solidify their qualification for the finals in 2022.