I am confident Pies will go back to back!

[daics cousin]

Let me say on the eve of the finals, that the only thing to stop collingwood going back to back is themselves.

Also with relation to Terry Wallets article what he says happens to all teams! What he doesn't say i will cover in a moment.

A week in football is long time.

Malthouse actually gave the players free reign against the cats last week.

He allowed the players to play their own selfish game and told them that if a team doesn't stick to structures,you lose.
A team must play like a team,not as individuals.On that basis he allowed his players to do what ever they wanted to prove a point.

His point was proved,which was that if players don't play hard aggressive football and help and play for each other and stick to the team plan you lose,and that's exactely what happened last friday night.

Ok so are Collingwwod a better team than last year?
Yes we have had injuries and reports senior players have missed games.but the young players that have come in and played their roles have
done very well and we still have won many games,why becuase they all play their roll,its not the player its the role they have to play.

Look at the league ladder,the stats never lie.Collingwood are still the best team in the competition this year.

So who's gonna beat us?

Are Geelong as good as they were last year ? Abletts loss and a few injury clouds over the older players in that side only takes an ottens or scarlett to go down during the finals and they become unstuck.

Chris Scott really doesn't coach them the core older players coach themselves.Scott will find out about real coaching come finals.
If Geelong don't beat Hawthorn,on Friday they will be in trouble,no rest the older bodies won't make it through.

Hawthorn have played hard,tough footy all year and have fought tooth and nail to stay top and the blooding of young players like poulopoulo
etc have attained fantastic results,but how will these young guys go over
a tough gruelling finals campaign ? We will find out soon enough.
The losses of Roughead and stratton and afew others have caused headaches for the hawks,but fighting hard to stay on top all year,may catch up with the hawks come finals time.

The Eagles are the big improvers this year.From bottom to top 4 the eagles supporters have got a new voice and so they should.
Cox abd Natanui are excellent,they have unearthed a real gem in Jack Darling and they a have a formidable forward structure.
Their midfield doesn't run very deep and i reckon aside from glass they have some backline tweeking to do.
These two areas will bring the Eagles unstuck this finals campaign.
The Eagles will be huge prospects next year.

So if collingwood stick to their structures and play their usual unrelenting brand of football this finals campaign ain;t anyone gonna come close.
I mean smashings no close games,i will stick to what i said at the start of the year.If they field a close to full strength side,we are still a cut above the rest. Sticking to team structure and each player playing therir role,tha's all they have to do.


Go Pies !

 

[mattys123]

So am I.

I always have been confident, and I don't see the need to change that after a practice match turned bad.

We finished 20-2, that ain't too bad.

 

[Markfs]

I was worried about winning a premiership until I read this thread..... thank you so very much for posting it...

 

[rachhanley]

I've got a huge framed poster from the 2010 premiership win up on my wall, and last weekend I started rearranging the furniture to decide how the room should look when the 2011 one joins it.. I've got the space, I've got the hooks ready and waiting.. Premature?? No way, I'm confident there'll be another glorious peice of premiership memorabilia hanging there next month.

 

[Ricky90]

I don't have any reason to not be confident.

Oh round 24? Don't be silly. What were we playing for? If I were the coach I would've instructed the players to get out on the ground and do a full 120 minutes of sitting down with hands on heads.

But alas, I'm not the coach. And the competition is professional. There'd be a lot of trouble had that happened.

 

[Dundalis]

People have said you can't turn on form. I think this carries some weight. Whether we win or lose this week against West Coast, the most important thing to take out of the game is how we play, because that will basically be an indicator of our ability to switch it on for the whole Finals series. I hope and expect that we see the full press employed for the full four quarters. Note that we haven't really employed it for a full game for pretty much the whole year. We've hopefully left it for Finals, else we may be in a bit of trouble.

 

[Beastie03]

I wouldnt be so confident if i were you and like you said stats never lie. Heres a few facts of the 2 game played against geelong this year.

Collingwood

goals (r8) = 9 behinds= 8 scoring shots = 17 inside 50s =42
goals (r24) = 8 behinds= 5 scoring shots =13 inside 50s=35

Total= 17 goals, 13 behinds, 30 scoring shots and 77 inside 50's

Geelong

(r8) goals= 8 behinds=17 scoring shots= 25 inside 50s= 62
(r24) goals=7 behinds= 17 scoring shots = 39 inside 50s= 68

Total= 30 goals, behinds=34, scoring shots= 64 and inside 50s =130

Have a look at the inside 50's DOUBLING. I think if magpies stick to their current structures which were designed agsint geelong to over use the handball they will lose. Have a look at another stat that doesnt lie the handball kick ratio was heavily favouring the kick for geelong. Geelong have worked out if you use the ball the quickest route down the ground against a press and kick long to a one on one then they will back themselves with their kicking skills and speed. Geelong is the only team in the comp that has the skills to go through the middle all the time because they have the class and skill to hit their targets. If you guys think your versing the geelong team you guys beat in the finals last year think again. Geelong have worked out your gameplan is using it themselves and has modified their game not to overuse the ball.

In conclusion i would be very worried for collingwood if they have to play against a team that beat them by 100 points. Confidence is everything in football and mick malthouse would be a fool to think their confidence wasnt shattered after a loss like that. People say MM stayed cool as a cucumber after the press conference after the game! ofcourse he is going to act like that. If he panicked in his press conference his playing group will lose even more confidence if they face geelong again.

And i know people will say yeah they have lost in their last round since 2006! but when they lose against their main rival by 100 points. Not good !!!!

 

[Beastie03]

i mean 22 goals for round 24 oooops

 

[daics_35]

I am confident as well, I am happy we didnt play our best players against Geelong this year and also Mick would be stupid to show Geelong our tricks, we will unleash them in the finals, just like last year. I am as confident as I was last year this time, we started to slow down towards the end of the home and away season and tried new things just like we did last week. My biggest worry is Hawthorn though, we need a fit Tarrant against them. GF will be Collingwood v Hawks IMO. Go Pies!

 

[rachhanley]

i mean 22 goals for round 24 oooops

Felt like 30. And then some..

 

[jonbe54]

I wouldnt be so confident if i were you and like you said stats never lie. Heres a few facts of the 2 game played against geelong this year.

Collingwood

goals (r8) = 9 behinds= 8 scoring shots = 17 inside 50s =42
goals (r24) = 8 behinds= 5 scoring shots =13 inside 50s=35

Total= 17 goals, 13 behinds, 30 scoring shots and 77 inside 50's

Geelong

(r8) goals= 8 behinds=17 scoring shots= 25 inside 50s= 62
(r24) goals=7 behinds= 17 scoring shots = 39 inside 50s= 68

Total= 30 goals, behinds=34, scoring shots= 64 and inside 50s =130

Have a look at the inside 50's DOUBLING. I think if magpies stick to their current structures which were designed agsint geelong to over use the handball they will lose. Have a look at another stat that doesnt lie the handball kick ratio was heavily favouring the kick for geelong. Geelong have worked out if you use the ball the quickest route down the ground against a press and kick long to a one on one then they will back themselves with their kicking skills and speed. Geelong is the only team in the comp that has the skills to go through the middle all the time because they have the class and skill to hit their targets. If you guys think your versing the geelong team you guys beat in the finals last year think again. Geelong have worked out your gameplan is using it themselves and has modified their game not to overuse the ball.

In conclusion i would be very worried for collingwood if they have to play against a team that beat them by 100 points. Confidence is everything in football and mick malthouse would be a fool to think their confidence wasnt shattered after a loss like that. People say MM stayed cool as a cucumber after the press conference after the game! ofcourse he is going to act like that. If he panicked in his press conference his playing group will lose even more confidence if they face geelong again.

And i know people will say yeah they have lost in their last round since 2006! but when they lose against their main rival by 100 points. Not good !!!!

Did you actually watch anything except your own players?

Collingwood players deliberately played out of position. Collingwood players making half hearted tackles?? Collingwood players not bothering to chase hard?? Did you even notice that Mick pulled Penders off the ground for 10 minutes in the 2nd quarter?? There was nothing wrong with Penders, Mick was RESTING him. With niggle injuries to Cloke and Tarrant, arguably two very important players to our finals campaign I bet Scott would have done EXACTLY what Mick did - put the cue in the rack and wait for next week.

 

[Cousin of Daicos]

I'd say most Pies fans who aren't taking last Friday seriously would still be confident.

I'm just surprised anyone could take last Friday seriously. I actually would have been more worried if we had only lost by a few points or goals.

96 points just makes it obvious we were trolling.

 

[daics cousin]

Now that's better guys get POSITIVE we have another flag to win.

Look if we didn't win it will the players themselves going off the boil.not the fact that we got beaten by a better side.Remember that!

COS WE ARE THE BEST SIDE !
AT OUR BEST NO ONE CAN CLOSE !

Guess what have we played at our best yet...............no way we will save that for Grand Final Day !

GO PIES FANS WE WANT THAT FLAG!
BACK TO BACK then we will be considered as a POWERHOUSE !

 

[Didak Wine]

Dear Geelong supporters, take half an hour out of your day and watch the 2nd qtr you played at Subiaco against the eagles. Now multiply that eagles effort by 5 because that is what is coming your way from the Collingwood fc. Hard running, youthful, relentless forward pressing like you’ve never experienced before.

Dear Geelong supporters, be cheerful and merry that you defeated us this year, twice! Once the red has gone from your hands from all the high fiving, sit down, relax and ask yourselves. Are we really better than Collingwood? Don’t listen to your subconscious which is screaming out “Look, there’s hope, there’s hope” and don’t look at round 24 with all the confirmation bias you can muster. Take a long hard look at that game against the eagles where you had zero to offer when the forward press was on. That is the game plan you have to beat.

Dear Geelong supporters, what did you learn in Round 24. Nothing. Tactically, you got zilch out of that game. You don’t know how to deal with Leon, or the press (which we are saving for when Johnny Young sings “Close your eyes and I’ll listen”. If you thought our midfield ran deep last year, add Beamer to that list.

Dear Geelong supporters, a few years back (3 years ago maybe) we defeated you mid-year by 70 odd and I was in no way delighted by the result. Later in the year, in the prelim you murdered us. Ben Reid’s words after the game were : Next week is what we are waiting for, read nothing into tonight’s game. NUF SAID.

 

[lgarth80]

I wouldnt be so confident if i were you and like you said stats never lie. Heres a few facts of the 2 game played against geelong this year.

Collingwood

goals (r8) = 9 behinds= 8 scoring shots = 17 inside 50s =42
goals (r24) = 8 behinds= 5 scoring shots =13 inside 50s=35

Total= 17 goals, 13 behinds, 30 scoring shots and 77 inside 50's

Geelong

(r8) goals= 8 behinds=17 scoring shots= 25 inside 50s= 62
(r24) goals=7 behinds= 17 scoring shots = 39 inside 50s= 68

Total= 30 goals, behinds=34, scoring shots= 64 and inside 50s =130

Have a look at the inside 50's DOUBLING. I think if magpies stick to their current structures which were designed agsint geelong to over use the handball they will lose. Have a look at another stat that doesnt lie the handball kick ratio was heavily favouring the kick for geelong. Geelong have worked out if you use the ball the quickest route down the ground against a press and kick long to a one on one then they will back themselves with their kicking skills and speed. Geelong is the only team in the comp that has the skills to go through the middle all the time because they have the class and skill to hit their targets. If you guys think your versing the geelong team you guys beat in the finals last year think again. Geelong have worked out your gameplan is using it themselves and has modified their game not to overuse the ball.

In conclusion i would be very worried for collingwood if they have to play against a team that beat them by 100 points. Confidence is everything in football and mick malthouse would be a fool to think their confidence wasnt shattered after a loss like that. People say MM stayed cool as a cucumber after the press conference after the game! ofcourse he is going to act like that. If he panicked in his press conference his playing group will lose even more confidence if they face geelong again.

And i know people will say yeah they have lost in their last round since 2006! but when they lose against their main rival by 100 points. Not good !!!!

OK Troll, you joined BF in 2011 in September, hmmm, I wonder what your other aliases are.

Completely agree on the result, it was cataclysmic for Collingwood. The Pies have slumped to a walk, and will be smashed out in straight sets.

Some key facts that need to be noted:
1) Geelong have had a bye recently to rest their players. Pies have not, hence a different preparation. Interesting the Pies took an interstate game with Freo more seriously than a game at the MCG. 7 day break but interstate trip from Perth, and the Pies were never going to go full tilt for the duration.

2) For the first meeting between the two sides, Collingwood played Geelong after the bye. Majority of the result was determined by a flat first quarter. Not taking anything away from Geelong who in this game were the better team in the final term.
The quarter time score was 2.9 to 1.1. After that (and a rocket from Mick to wake the team up) it was 6.8 (Geelong) to 8.7 (Collingwood). Interesting. So let it be noted that the bye early in the season made a difference to many teams intensity levels, generally in the first quarter, but also in the last.

3) Collingwood have been beaten in Q4 for the past 4 weeks, after being untouchable most of the season. Pies have gone 16-6 in their last terms. Losing to Geelong in R8 (after bye), then only to Gold Coast, and the past 4 games.
To my mind, this looks like they are doing what the Cats have done in the past, and many other successful teams - training with an intense loading. It's therefore not overly surprising to see players struggling on match day to run out games.
This probably best explains the quirky final terms from the Pies in the last 4 games...
Saints kick last few goals of the game
Lions kick 7 goals to 2 in final term
Dockers kick 4 to 3 in final term despite kicking only 4 the rest of the game
Cats kick 6 goals to 1.

So, after all that, not really too sure how to view the two matches between the two clubs.
I'm not convinced the result of R22 is much to write home about, and the R8 game was too long ago to really make too much fuss over (even the Geel v Syd game at Skilled has been considered irrelevant because Geelong "didn't try")

4 different preparations from the leading teams:
WCE - run their team into the ground, keep the motor hot (Momentum)
Coll - rest players during games, play different positions (Tanking)
Geel - enjoy the benefit of the late bye (Fixturing)
Haw - rest players from playing an irrelevant late game (Resting)

Which approach is the best, we will find out. Geelong have certainly had the benefit of the better late-season fixturing though, of that there is no doubt.

It will be an interesting finals series. I think for Collingwood to win it, they will need a week's rest, so that makes this weekend crucial to future success.

 

[lgarth80]

. Pies have gone 16-6 in their last terms. Losing to Geelong in R8 (after bye), then only to Gold Coast, and the past 4 games.

Sorry just done more research. Pies have gone 14-8 in last terms.
Sydney (after bye) and Hawthorn (two after bye)

Sydney 3.3 v 2.6
Hawthorn 3.5 v 2.6

Not too much to write home about, but I still think there is something in the training loads.

 

[Beastie03]

Players play out of position all the time. Geelong rested players on the bench. Geelong had players out of position. Daicy dont forget which team has been more successful in the past 5 years and which team has more all australian players. Collingwood dont have the skill to take the ball up the guts because their players arent skillful enough.( sinclair has more skill than your captain! was does thta say) Thats why the boundary is their best friend. Geelong rested their players after the first half and still added another 50 points. And you cant say you werent trying in the first because MM admitted they were and were getting smashed and argued the point in fighting back. This was a training drill for Geelong. In my opinion geelong were in 2nd gear last friday night. And for people like you to say it was a master stroke to get thumped by geelong who themselves werent even trying you obviously have never played a game of football in your life or werent very good at undertsanding the game. My brother ( a collingwood supporter) was sitting next to mick malthouses coaches box on friday night and he said mick was going berserk and heard him shout "What the f*&k is going on" (fact). I would be very worried....very worried

 

[rachhanley]

quite interesting that we've started to slack off in the final quarters, whereas earlier in the year we were doing really well in the final term? Remember against the Bulldogs, Adelaide and Essendon? (Not sure what rounds sorry). But in these games we played the first three quarters as a bit of an arm wrestle, then came out smashing each team in the last quarter. What do you think has changed?

 

[jonbe54]

quite interesting that we've started to slack off in the final quarters, whereas earlier in the year we were doing really well in the final term? Remember against the Bulldogs, Adelaide and Essendon? (Not sure what rounds sorry). But in these games we played the first three quarters as a bit of an arm wrestle, then came out smashing each team in the last quarter. What do you think has changed?

Injuries are more likely to happen towards the end of quarters or toward the end of the game. Therefore ease up and preserve bodies.

 

[Beastie03]

Players play out of position all the time. Geelong rested players on the bench. Geelong had players out of position. Daicy dont forget which team has been more successful in the past 5 years and which team has more all australian players. Collingwood dont have the skill to take the ball up the guts because their players arent skillful enough.( sinclair has more skill than your captain! was does thta say) Thats why the boundary is their best friend. Geelong rested their players after the first half and still added another 50 points. And you cant say you werent trying in the first because MM admitted they were and were getting smashed and argued the point in fighting back. This was a training drill for Geelong. In my opinion geelong were in 2nd gear last friday night. And for people like you to say it was a master stroke to get thumped by geelong who themselves werent even trying you obviously have never played a game of football in your life or werent very good at undertsanding the game. My brother ( a collingwood supporter) was sitting next to mick malthouses coaches box on friday night and he said mick was going berserk and heard him shout "What the f*&k is going on" (fact). I would be very worried....very worried

If it was a masterstroke by MM would he be shouting 'what the f&$k is going on". half way through the 2nd term?????

 

[rachhanley]

Injuries are more likely to happen towards the end of quarters or toward the end of the game. Therefore ease up and preserve bodies.

Of course! So.. we had something to fight for earlier in the season and didn't want to lose, towards the end of the season knew we'd make finals, knew we'd probably top the ladder regardless, and went into preservation mode.. Cool, I'm back to being confident again..

 

[Dundalis]

Players play out of position all the time. Geelong rested players on the bench. Geelong had players out of position. Daicy dont forget which team has been more successful in the past 5 years and which team has more all australian players. Collingwood dont have the skill to take the ball up the guts because their players arent skillful enough.( sinclair has more skill than your captain! was does thta say) Thats why the boundary is their best friend. Geelong rested their players after the first half and still added another 50 points. And you cant say you werent trying in the first because MM admitted they were and were getting smashed and argued the point in fighting back. This was a training drill for Geelong. In my opinion geelong were in 2nd gear last friday night. And for people like you to say it was a master stroke to get thumped by geelong who themselves werent even trying you obviously have never played a game of football in your life or werent very good at undertsanding the game. My brother ( a collingwood supporter) was sitting next to mick malthouses coaches box on friday night and he said mick was going berserk and heard him shout "What the f*&k is going on" (fact). I would be very worried....very worried

I agree that we aren't as skilful as Geelong, but that's why we play to a gameplan that suits our strengths, not the oppositions.

We didn't play to the gameplan because the players clearly didn't give a shit. We didn't do any of the things we do better than any other side in the comp. You think playing completely differently to how we've played for almost 2 years is a trend and not an anomoly?

Didn't we smash your mob back in 2008 when you were meant to be at the peak of your powers, while we were an up and coming team that were no genuine Premiership threat? Was that a trend or an anomoly?

Geelong are not a 15 goal better side than us. They certainly have the ability to beat us on GF day, but it will be a close fought thing. It was never going to be any other way, we were never a shoe in for the flag. No team ever is.

 

[jonbe54]

Of course! So.. we had something to fight for earlier in the season and didn't want to lose, towards the end of the season knew we'd make finals, knew we'd probably top the ladder regardless, and went into preservation mode.. Cool, I'm back to being confident again..

ESPECIALLY this last round, ZERO to play for although our last month especially has been bloody boring to watch with the boys just doing enough early in the game to coast through. It's a great tactical play but like most fans I want my team to get out there and SMASH the opposition every time

 

[Snag Breac]

If it was a masterstroke by MM would he be shouting 'what the f&$k is going on". half way through the 2nd term?????

Don't pin your hopes on any of Mick's antics. No doubt we stuffed up the game - just cruising, we get behind, suddenly by a few goals, and the lads intuit that it's time to back off. The prize isn't worth chasing.

Because this mind-set affected so many in the team, it looked bad; but don't make the mistake of judging the Pies by that carry-on. There'll be no quarter given when next we meet.

 

[Beastie03]

I agree that we aren't as skilful as Geelong, but that's why we play to a gameplan that suits our strengths, not the oppositions.

We didn't play to the gameplan because the players clearly didn't give a shit. We didn't do any of the things we do better than any other side in the comp. You think playing completely differently to how we've played for almost 2 years is a trend and not an anomoly?

Didn't we smash your mob back in 2008 when you were meant to be at the peak of your powers, while we were an up and coming team that were no genuine Premiership threat? Was that a trend or an anomoly?

Geelong are not a 15 goal better side than us. They certainly have the ability to beat us on GF day, but it will be a close fought thing. It was never going to be any other way, we were never a shoe in for the flag. No team ever is.

Your gameplan actually doesnt work against geelong. A forward press wont work against an opposition who goes quick through the middle. it puts you in a one on one situation with the more skilled geelong players to take advantage of the out of positioned slow collingwood defenders. Were collingwood trying in round 8 this year?????? if they were it was the exact same outcome as the round 24 game except for the scoreboard. was round 8 a dead rubber??? 130 inside 50s to geelong this year against collingwood thats is INSANE. and a measley 70 inside 50's to collingwood. Will interesting to see how bad leon davis will choke this year in a final seeing that he chokes every final game. hope ur skipper who cant hit a target comes in aswell. Im sure his teamates find great inspiration on watching their captain fail whenever he goes near a footy. The whole of australia know collingwood are going to use the forward press a.k.a their only trick. Geelong know what to expect.