Collingwood’s hopes of reaching the finals were dealt a double blow after Jamie Elliot suffered a setback in his return from injury and the club found themselves on the wrong end of a 21-point defeat to Geelong at the MCG. Just when things were looking up for the ‘Pies, a tough loss to Geelong has really taken the wind out of the club at the end of a week in which Elliot looked to suffer another injury concern. Having been plagued by injury in recent years, Elliot’s season has been disrupted by a hamstring problem that appeared to flare up again as the 25-year old managed less than 15 minutes of game time before coming off.
“AFL MCG” (CC BY 2.0) by anjsimmo
Lining up for Collingwood’s VFL team, his first appearance in four weeks, Elliot spent the first quarter of the game on the bench. After being introduced into the game at the start of the second term, the forward was then forced from the field with a recurrence of his hamstring injury. Ankle and hamstring problems have restricted Elliot to just one VFL appearance this season, in which he kicked five goals against Carlton. The prolific frontman has kicked 138 goals from his 89 appearances for Collingwood, who will now be hoping to get some good news about the forward’s latest injury.
While the loss to Geelong left the Magpies outside of the top eight, the club have shown enough this season to suggest they have what it takes to reach the finals, currently 3/4 with the latest AFL odds to secure a place in the top half of the ladder. Before the defeat to the Cats, Collingwood had gone on an impressive run of four wins from five, bouncing back from back-to-back losses at the start of the new regular season. Elliot’s goals would certainly be a welcome addition to a team that could have done with them against Geelong. Based on recent news, though, that may not be any time soon.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=cSHzT5Y8Eu8
Reaching the finals will be huge for the club in a number of ways, not least in the battle to convince their top players it is worth sticking around. At the front of that list is probably Jordan De Goey, who has put off contract talks in a bid to focus on re-establishing himself in this Collingwood team after a bumpy 12 months that has seen him suspended twice by the club. The talented youngster missed the first six weeks of last season after a bar fight left him with a broken bone in his hand, something he initially lied to the club about. He also missed the first three games of this season after a drink-driving arrest.
Since that latest indiscretion, De Goey has been one of the shining lights in this Collingwood team, catching the eye of a number of AFL teams after a series of outstanding performances. The likes of St Kilda, North Melbourne and Carlton have all been linked with the out-of-contract forward, and Collingwood may need to prove they are the club for the youngster to continue to evolve as a top player.
