cats_09
Otters United
- Jun 21, 2011
- 56,502
- 114,023
- AFL Club
- Geelong
- Moderator
- #1
After a solid win on Saturday night against Port who were second on the ladder heading into the round & where we fought back from an 8-point deficit early in the last quarter, the task on Friday night doesn’t get any easier as we face top of the table Collingwood
For added fun on Friday night, much like our last match where Port was coming off a 3-game losing streak, Collingwood are currently on their own 2-game losing streak including a real upset loss against the 17th placed Hawthorn – a team who in recent weeks has conceded they aren’t in the running for the Harley Reid Cup but can still cause havoc for the teams above them
We know the task on Friday night won’t be easy, that Collingwood will want to bounce back after not just an unexpected loss last Friday but to win & put in what may be close to the last nail in the coffin of our year
While Hawthorn is long seen as our #1 rival, we shouldn’t forget the century plus of history we have with the Black & White strips of the Magpies – we’ve faced off in finals on 26 occasions, with the Blue & White leading the head to head 14-12, winning our most recent finals clash just a little under 12 months ago. And of our 19 grand final appearances, 6 have been against the Magpies, with the head to head over the clashes again going the way of the mighty Blue & White, 4 vs 2
One consistency over the years is that no matter where these two teams are placed on the ladders, the clashes tend be nail bitters that go down to the last quarter more often than not, and there’s no reason for that to change in just a few short days
We may see the return of Tommy Hawkins from a hamstring injury after he missed his first match following 90 consecutive games from the start of 2020, while there’s an amount of uncertainty over the availability of Jack Henry and how serious (or not) his foot “injury” is following a less than impact half against Port
Friday night will be one of the biggest matches of the Home & Away season having been declared a sell out on Monday night – let’s go in with some excitement and look at positives this opportunities present, because if we scrap into finals, this match just 3 weeks out may be the best preparation of the lot and allow a few of our newer players a chance to learn what it’s like to run out onto the MCG in front of an 80k hostile crowd
Bring it on
For added fun on Friday night, much like our last match where Port was coming off a 3-game losing streak, Collingwood are currently on their own 2-game losing streak including a real upset loss against the 17th placed Hawthorn – a team who in recent weeks has conceded they aren’t in the running for the Harley Reid Cup but can still cause havoc for the teams above them
We know the task on Friday night won’t be easy, that Collingwood will want to bounce back after not just an unexpected loss last Friday but to win & put in what may be close to the last nail in the coffin of our year
While Hawthorn is long seen as our #1 rival, we shouldn’t forget the century plus of history we have with the Black & White strips of the Magpies – we’ve faced off in finals on 26 occasions, with the Blue & White leading the head to head 14-12, winning our most recent finals clash just a little under 12 months ago. And of our 19 grand final appearances, 6 have been against the Magpies, with the head to head over the clashes again going the way of the mighty Blue & White, 4 vs 2
One consistency over the years is that no matter where these two teams are placed on the ladders, the clashes tend be nail bitters that go down to the last quarter more often than not, and there’s no reason for that to change in just a few short days
We may see the return of Tommy Hawkins from a hamstring injury after he missed his first match following 90 consecutive games from the start of 2020, while there’s an amount of uncertainty over the availability of Jack Henry and how serious (or not) his foot “injury” is following a less than impact half against Port
Friday night will be one of the biggest matches of the Home & Away season having been declared a sell out on Monday night – let’s go in with some excitement and look at positives this opportunities present, because if we scrap into finals, this match just 3 weeks out may be the best preparation of the lot and allow a few of our newer players a chance to learn what it’s like to run out onto the MCG in front of an 80k hostile crowd
Bring it on
