On one of the grandest stages of the season, Collingwood withstood an almighty challenge from Essendon and produced incredible goalkicking accuracy to bomb the Bombers out by 11 points. The Magpies lost a key number of categories against an opponent who monopolised possession, had more forward entries, and subsequently produced more scoring shots. None of that ultimately mattered, as the Woods produced quality outcomes with less quantity over the course of four quarters. The first three quarters were evenly poised by both sides, before a consistent flow of goals from Collingwood in the final term eventually allowed them enough breathing space to outlast the Dons when it truly mattered in the dying stages of the game.
Collingwood won their statistical categories from sources such as kicks by +12 (207 - 195), intercept possessions had a differential of +5 (59 - 54), +10 for marks (105 - 95), Contested Marks were won by +6 (14 - 8), and uncontested marks had an advantage of +4 (91 - 87). Tackles had a reading of +12 (52 - 40), while Tackles Inside 50 were up by +8 (11 - 3). Essendon won their categories from disposals by +49 (387 - 338), +61 for handballs (192 - 131), contested possessions were up by +9 (123 - 114), while uncontested possessions had a margin of +50 (267 - 217). Clearances were won by +12 (43 - 31), +7 came from centre clearances (18 - 11), stoppage clearances were claimed by +5 (25 - 20), while Marks Inside 50 had a differential of +8 (17 - 9), and Inside 50s were up in Essendon's favour by +4 (52 - 48). Hit-outs (36 each) was the only category that was evenly shared.
Jordan De Goey (27 disposals @ 63%, 402 metres gained, 12 contested possessions, 15 uncontested possessions, 15 kicks, 12 handballs, 8 marks, 2 tackles, 3 score involvements, 7 clearances, 5 centre clearances, 2 stoppage clearances, 8 Inside 50s & 3 Rebound 50s) continued his prolific run of stats which looked good, but did not provide the substance the team needed. It was delightful that he won clearances and took marks around the ground, but his forward entries did not marry up to the score involvement numbers that he would've had otherwise.
Jack Crisp (24 disposals @ 75%, 386 metres gained, 8 contested possessions, 16 uncontested possessions, 2 intercept possessions, 12 kicks, 12 handballs, 5 marks, 5 tackles, 2 Tackles Inside 50, 3 score involvements, 4 clearances, 2 centre clearances, 2 stoppage clearances, 4 Inside 50s, 3 Rebound 50s & 1 goal) ensured he got greater value for his possessions than he did in his previous game. Crisp was quite prolific from clearances and contributed nicely on transition where linked up by hand and kicked to his team's advantage. Great goal in the second quarter by running back towards goal from defence and finish what he started. Tremendous game, Jack!
Josh Daicos (20 disposals @ 75%, 419 metres gained, 5 contested possessions, 15 uncontested possessions, 4 intercept possessions, 11 kicks, 9 handballs, 3 marks, 3 tackles, 5 score involvements & 2 Inside 50s) put three solid quarters of footy together, before drifting slightly out of the game in the last quarter, partly because the team won crucial centre clearances in that quarter which went forward, and his position did not need to be utilised as it otherwise would've been on other occasions.
Patrick Lipinski (18 disposals @ 83%, 236 metres gained, 6 contested possessions, 12 uncontested possessions, 7 kicks, 11 handballs, 4 tackles, 1 goal assist, 3 score involvements, 4 clearances, 4 stoppage clearances & 2 Rebound 50s) worked hard for his possessions, but did not make any impact on influencing the game when he had the ball in his hands.
Taylor Adams (18 disposals @ 61%, 305 metres gained, 4 contested possessions, 14 uncontested possessions, 11 kicks, 7 handballs, 5 marks, 3 Marks Inside 50, 4 tackles, 1 goal assist, 7 score involvements, 2 clearances, 4 Inside 50s & 1 goal) contributed in a different manner to what we come to expect of Taylor, where he normally wins that contested ball inside the contest from clearances. To stay busy in scoring chains and score a crucial goal from long range in the last quarter while his greatest strengths were diminished says a lot about his fortitude.
Brodie Grundy (16 disposals @ 81%, 241 metres gained, 10 contested possessions, 6 uncontested possessions, 4 intercept possessions, 33 hit-outs, 9 kicks, 7 handballs, 6 marks, 2 Contested Marks, 2 tackles, 2 goal assists, 6 score involvements, 3 clearances, 3 stoppage clearances, 2 Inside 50s, 2 Rebound 50s & 1 goal) had an indifferent performance after three quarters. Thankfully for the Magpies, Brodie's best work came in the final 30 minutes where he gave silver service to Collingwood's midfielders, took a couple of clutch marks, laid a great tackle, and reminded everybody he can still kick a long goal which proved to be match-defining. Take last quarter's form into Sunday against the Suns, Brodie!
Scott Pendlebury (25 disposals @ 88%, 364 metres gained, 11 contested possessions, 14 uncontested possessions, 5 intercept possessions, 11 kicks, 14 handballs, 3 marks, 4 tackles, 5 clearances, 3 centre clearances, 2 stoppage clearances, 2 Inside 50s & 5 Rebound 50s) displayed his trademark poise behind the ball in defence for three quarters, before being dispatched into the midfield in the final term to generate forward entries from clearances, which Pendlebury was able to do successfully.
John Noble (23 disposals @ 83%, 470 metres gained, 3 contested possessions, 20 uncontested possessions, 3 intercept possessions, 16 kicks, 7 handballs, 8 marks, 1 goal assist, 4 score involvements, 2 Inside 50s & 2 Rebound 50s) provided great run and carry from defence where he took marks and hit most of his targets with a high level of accuracy. Noble would know to not attempt a short kick into the corridor if a teammate is not there to mark it. Other than that moment of madness in the third term, Noble applied himself brilliantly.
Nick Daicos (23 disposals @ 70%, 276 metres gained, 6 contested possessions, 17 uncontested possessions, 4 intercept possessions, 11 kicks, 12 handballs, 6 marks, 2 tackles, 3 score involvements, 3 clearances, 3 stoppage clearances, 4 Inside 50s & 3 Rebound 50s) was given assignments all over the field. He was given stints up forward and in the midfield rotations with reduced success. Nick was put back behind the ball for the last quarter and played with a relatively high level of comfort.
Jeremy Howe (22 disposals @ 91%, 325 metres gained, 6 contested possessions, 16 uncontested possessions, 9 intercept possessions, 14 kicks, 8 handballs, 13 marks, 4 Contested Marks, 4 score involvements & 6 Rebound 50s) was colossal in displaying his intercept marking prowess which was glorious to watch. Howe saved numerous goals from being conceded, while setting a few scoring opportunities at the other end himself. Additionally, Howe's ball use was highly exquisite and gave the team more time to defend while allowing teammates to attack with flair, dare and aggression.
Brayden Maynard (15 disposals @ 80%, 237 metres gained, 7 contested possessions, 8 uncontested possessions, 8 intercept possessions, 5 marks, 6 tackles, 3 score involvements & 3 Rebound 50s) had one of his more modest games in recent memory. Very rare to go through the last quarter without registering a possession, but I'm sure that won't bother him too much. Here's to a more productive game this coming weekend, Brayden! Looking forward to your response.
Isaac Quaynor (13 disposals @ 85%, 288 metres gained, 4 contested possessions, 9 uncontested possessions, 5 intercept possessions, 10 kicks, 3 handballs, 6 marks, 5 tackles, 1 goal assist, 3 score involvements, 4 Inside 50s & 1 goal) maximised his impact on the contest with fewer disposals than most of his teammates. Quaynor was able to balance and blend defence with attack exceptionally well. It was also bloody good for Quaynor's goal in the second quarter to be in front of a crowd, after his first goal last season against West Coast at the MCG had no crowd.
Darcy Moore (12 disposals @ 92%, 345 metres gained, 3 contested possessions, 9 uncontested possessions, 5 intercept possessions, 12 kicks, 7 marks & 6 Rebound 50s) produced a reasonable game of intercept marking and ensured he did not waste any of his disposals coming out of defence.
Will Hoskin-Elliott (18 disposals @ 61%, 298 metres gained, 5 contested possessions, 13 uncontested possessions, 2 intercept possessions, 12 kicks, 6 handballs, 5 marks, 1 goal assist, 3 score involvements & 3 Inside 50s) did not leave much to the imagination of his game as a high half-forward, where he ran up the ground to win possession and take marks, but nothing else.
Jack Ginnivan (12 disposals @ 58%, 355 metres gained, 3 contested possessions, 9 uncontested possessions, 11 kicks, 5 marks, 3 Marks Inside 50, 5 score involvements, 2 Inside 50s & 5 goals) produced the greatest accomplishment of his short career so far to not only steer the Pies home with a win, but managed to win the ANZAC Day Medal to highlight how influential that Ginnivan was on the game. Ginnivan's conversion at goal was amazing and kept Collingwood above water when there were stages that the team appeared to be sinking.
Darcy Cameron (8 disposals @ 75%, 7 contested possessions, 2 intercept possessions, 3 hit-outs, 5 kicks, 3 handballs, 5 marks, 2 Contested Marks, 2 score involvements, 2 Inside 50s & 1 goal) gave Collingwood a marking target throughout the day up forward, chipped in with some good ruck work late, and ended up snapping an excellent goal from the Olympic Stand pocket.
Brody Mihocek (8 disposals @ 75%, 121 metres gained, 5 contested possessions, 3 uncontested possessions, 7 kicks, 3 marks, 2 Contested Marks, 2 Marks Inside 50, 5 score involvements & 4 goals) made the most of his limited opportunities up forward and supported Ginnivan nicely.
Collingwood's next game will be against the Gold Coast Suns on May 1 at the MCG. The Magpies will need to restructure their forward half, after Nathan Kreuger injured his shoulder yet again. Ball use to a relatively small to medium-sized forward line will need to be exceptionally good and smart, while there will be emphasis on not losing contested ball, clearances and Inside 50s this weekend. More time in forward half usually means there are more opportunities to score goals, and that's what Collingwood will embark on doing against the Suns on Sunday.
Collingwood won their statistical categories from sources such as kicks by +12 (207 - 195), intercept possessions had a differential of +5 (59 - 54), +10 for marks (105 - 95), Contested Marks were won by +6 (14 - 8), and uncontested marks had an advantage of +4 (91 - 87). Tackles had a reading of +12 (52 - 40), while Tackles Inside 50 were up by +8 (11 - 3). Essendon won their categories from disposals by +49 (387 - 338), +61 for handballs (192 - 131), contested possessions were up by +9 (123 - 114), while uncontested possessions had a margin of +50 (267 - 217). Clearances were won by +12 (43 - 31), +7 came from centre clearances (18 - 11), stoppage clearances were claimed by +5 (25 - 20), while Marks Inside 50 had a differential of +8 (17 - 9), and Inside 50s were up in Essendon's favour by +4 (52 - 48). Hit-outs (36 each) was the only category that was evenly shared.
Jordan De Goey (27 disposals @ 63%, 402 metres gained, 12 contested possessions, 15 uncontested possessions, 15 kicks, 12 handballs, 8 marks, 2 tackles, 3 score involvements, 7 clearances, 5 centre clearances, 2 stoppage clearances, 8 Inside 50s & 3 Rebound 50s) continued his prolific run of stats which looked good, but did not provide the substance the team needed. It was delightful that he won clearances and took marks around the ground, but his forward entries did not marry up to the score involvement numbers that he would've had otherwise.
Jack Crisp (24 disposals @ 75%, 386 metres gained, 8 contested possessions, 16 uncontested possessions, 2 intercept possessions, 12 kicks, 12 handballs, 5 marks, 5 tackles, 2 Tackles Inside 50, 3 score involvements, 4 clearances, 2 centre clearances, 2 stoppage clearances, 4 Inside 50s, 3 Rebound 50s & 1 goal) ensured he got greater value for his possessions than he did in his previous game. Crisp was quite prolific from clearances and contributed nicely on transition where linked up by hand and kicked to his team's advantage. Great goal in the second quarter by running back towards goal from defence and finish what he started. Tremendous game, Jack!
Josh Daicos (20 disposals @ 75%, 419 metres gained, 5 contested possessions, 15 uncontested possessions, 4 intercept possessions, 11 kicks, 9 handballs, 3 marks, 3 tackles, 5 score involvements & 2 Inside 50s) put three solid quarters of footy together, before drifting slightly out of the game in the last quarter, partly because the team won crucial centre clearances in that quarter which went forward, and his position did not need to be utilised as it otherwise would've been on other occasions.
Patrick Lipinski (18 disposals @ 83%, 236 metres gained, 6 contested possessions, 12 uncontested possessions, 7 kicks, 11 handballs, 4 tackles, 1 goal assist, 3 score involvements, 4 clearances, 4 stoppage clearances & 2 Rebound 50s) worked hard for his possessions, but did not make any impact on influencing the game when he had the ball in his hands.
Taylor Adams (18 disposals @ 61%, 305 metres gained, 4 contested possessions, 14 uncontested possessions, 11 kicks, 7 handballs, 5 marks, 3 Marks Inside 50, 4 tackles, 1 goal assist, 7 score involvements, 2 clearances, 4 Inside 50s & 1 goal) contributed in a different manner to what we come to expect of Taylor, where he normally wins that contested ball inside the contest from clearances. To stay busy in scoring chains and score a crucial goal from long range in the last quarter while his greatest strengths were diminished says a lot about his fortitude.
Brodie Grundy (16 disposals @ 81%, 241 metres gained, 10 contested possessions, 6 uncontested possessions, 4 intercept possessions, 33 hit-outs, 9 kicks, 7 handballs, 6 marks, 2 Contested Marks, 2 tackles, 2 goal assists, 6 score involvements, 3 clearances, 3 stoppage clearances, 2 Inside 50s, 2 Rebound 50s & 1 goal) had an indifferent performance after three quarters. Thankfully for the Magpies, Brodie's best work came in the final 30 minutes where he gave silver service to Collingwood's midfielders, took a couple of clutch marks, laid a great tackle, and reminded everybody he can still kick a long goal which proved to be match-defining. Take last quarter's form into Sunday against the Suns, Brodie!
Scott Pendlebury (25 disposals @ 88%, 364 metres gained, 11 contested possessions, 14 uncontested possessions, 5 intercept possessions, 11 kicks, 14 handballs, 3 marks, 4 tackles, 5 clearances, 3 centre clearances, 2 stoppage clearances, 2 Inside 50s & 5 Rebound 50s) displayed his trademark poise behind the ball in defence for three quarters, before being dispatched into the midfield in the final term to generate forward entries from clearances, which Pendlebury was able to do successfully.
John Noble (23 disposals @ 83%, 470 metres gained, 3 contested possessions, 20 uncontested possessions, 3 intercept possessions, 16 kicks, 7 handballs, 8 marks, 1 goal assist, 4 score involvements, 2 Inside 50s & 2 Rebound 50s) provided great run and carry from defence where he took marks and hit most of his targets with a high level of accuracy. Noble would know to not attempt a short kick into the corridor if a teammate is not there to mark it. Other than that moment of madness in the third term, Noble applied himself brilliantly.
Nick Daicos (23 disposals @ 70%, 276 metres gained, 6 contested possessions, 17 uncontested possessions, 4 intercept possessions, 11 kicks, 12 handballs, 6 marks, 2 tackles, 3 score involvements, 3 clearances, 3 stoppage clearances, 4 Inside 50s & 3 Rebound 50s) was given assignments all over the field. He was given stints up forward and in the midfield rotations with reduced success. Nick was put back behind the ball for the last quarter and played with a relatively high level of comfort.
Jeremy Howe (22 disposals @ 91%, 325 metres gained, 6 contested possessions, 16 uncontested possessions, 9 intercept possessions, 14 kicks, 8 handballs, 13 marks, 4 Contested Marks, 4 score involvements & 6 Rebound 50s) was colossal in displaying his intercept marking prowess which was glorious to watch. Howe saved numerous goals from being conceded, while setting a few scoring opportunities at the other end himself. Additionally, Howe's ball use was highly exquisite and gave the team more time to defend while allowing teammates to attack with flair, dare and aggression.
Brayden Maynard (15 disposals @ 80%, 237 metres gained, 7 contested possessions, 8 uncontested possessions, 8 intercept possessions, 5 marks, 6 tackles, 3 score involvements & 3 Rebound 50s) had one of his more modest games in recent memory. Very rare to go through the last quarter without registering a possession, but I'm sure that won't bother him too much. Here's to a more productive game this coming weekend, Brayden! Looking forward to your response.
Isaac Quaynor (13 disposals @ 85%, 288 metres gained, 4 contested possessions, 9 uncontested possessions, 5 intercept possessions, 10 kicks, 3 handballs, 6 marks, 5 tackles, 1 goal assist, 3 score involvements, 4 Inside 50s & 1 goal) maximised his impact on the contest with fewer disposals than most of his teammates. Quaynor was able to balance and blend defence with attack exceptionally well. It was also bloody good for Quaynor's goal in the second quarter to be in front of a crowd, after his first goal last season against West Coast at the MCG had no crowd.
Darcy Moore (12 disposals @ 92%, 345 metres gained, 3 contested possessions, 9 uncontested possessions, 5 intercept possessions, 12 kicks, 7 marks & 6 Rebound 50s) produced a reasonable game of intercept marking and ensured he did not waste any of his disposals coming out of defence.
Will Hoskin-Elliott (18 disposals @ 61%, 298 metres gained, 5 contested possessions, 13 uncontested possessions, 2 intercept possessions, 12 kicks, 6 handballs, 5 marks, 1 goal assist, 3 score involvements & 3 Inside 50s) did not leave much to the imagination of his game as a high half-forward, where he ran up the ground to win possession and take marks, but nothing else.
Jack Ginnivan (12 disposals @ 58%, 355 metres gained, 3 contested possessions, 9 uncontested possessions, 11 kicks, 5 marks, 3 Marks Inside 50, 5 score involvements, 2 Inside 50s & 5 goals) produced the greatest accomplishment of his short career so far to not only steer the Pies home with a win, but managed to win the ANZAC Day Medal to highlight how influential that Ginnivan was on the game. Ginnivan's conversion at goal was amazing and kept Collingwood above water when there were stages that the team appeared to be sinking.
Darcy Cameron (8 disposals @ 75%, 7 contested possessions, 2 intercept possessions, 3 hit-outs, 5 kicks, 3 handballs, 5 marks, 2 Contested Marks, 2 score involvements, 2 Inside 50s & 1 goal) gave Collingwood a marking target throughout the day up forward, chipped in with some good ruck work late, and ended up snapping an excellent goal from the Olympic Stand pocket.
Brody Mihocek (8 disposals @ 75%, 121 metres gained, 5 contested possessions, 3 uncontested possessions, 7 kicks, 3 marks, 2 Contested Marks, 2 Marks Inside 50, 5 score involvements & 4 goals) made the most of his limited opportunities up forward and supported Ginnivan nicely.
Collingwood's next game will be against the Gold Coast Suns on May 1 at the MCG. The Magpies will need to restructure their forward half, after Nathan Kreuger injured his shoulder yet again. Ball use to a relatively small to medium-sized forward line will need to be exceptionally good and smart, while there will be emphasis on not losing contested ball, clearances and Inside 50s this weekend. More time in forward half usually means there are more opportunities to score goals, and that's what Collingwood will embark on doing against the Suns on Sunday.
