After a promising start in the first term, Collingwood squandered their momentum over the following three quarters to fail comfortably against the reigning premiers West Coast. The Magpies attempted to replicate the style of play that the Eagles like to play, which is an uncontested, high-possession and marking game which became less effective as the game wore on.
Collingwood had a remarkable number of stats in their favour without getting the points. The Woods were +52 for disposals (384 - 332), +53 for handballs (165 - 112), contested possessions were +8 (134 - 126), uncontested possessions were won by a differential of +40 (246 - 206), while marks had a differential of +18 (115 - 97), with further gains in Contested Marks by +4 (14 - 10), +14 for uncontested marks (101 - 87), and Marks Inside 50 were +2 (14 - 12). Hit-outs were won by +23 (42 - 19), stoppage clearances were +3 (25 - 22), while tackles had a positive differential of +3 (41 - 38), and Tackles Inside 50 had a positive differential of +2 (9 - 7). West Coast had their advantages with centre clearances by +3 (15 - 12), kicks by +1 (220 - 219), and Inside 50’s by +8 (50 - 42). Clearances were even (37 each).
Dayne Beams (26 disposals @ 69%, 202 metres gained, 8 contested possessions, 18 uncontested possessions, 3 intercept possessions, 4 marks, 6 score involvements, 2 clearances, 2 stoppage clearances, 2 Inside 50’s, 2 Rebound 50’s & 1 goal) started well, before dropping off. Taylor Adams (26 disposals @ 65%, 369 metres gained, 10 contested possessions, 16 uncontested possessions, 4 marks, 3 goal assists, 6 score involvements, 4 clearances, 3 centre clearances & 7 Inside 50’s) had a solid return in his first game of the season. Adam Treloar (25 disposals @ 64%, 230 metres gained, 9 contested possessions, 16 uncontested possessions, 2 intercept possessions,8 marks, 2 tackles, 6 score involvements, 2 clearances, 2 Inside 50’s & 2 goals) had an imposing second term with two majors, but was fairly quiet outside of that quarter. Steele Sidebottom (25 disposals @ 88%, 352 metres gained, 9 contested possessions, 16 uncontested possessions, 2 intercept possessions, 7 marks, 4 tackles, 3 score involvements, 3 clearances, 2 stoppage clearances, 2 Inside 50’s, 4 Rebound 50’s & 1 goal) had a solid second half after a slow start. Chris Mayne (24 disposals @ 75%, 241 metres gained, 7 contested possessions, 17 uncontested possessions, 5 intercept possessions, 8 marks, 2 tackles, 8 score involvements, 2 clearances, 2 stoppage clearances & 2 Inside 50’s) played his role. Brodie Grundy (22 disposals @ 73%, 13 contested possessions, 9 uncontested possessions, 40 hit-outs, 4 marks, 5 tackles, 4 score involvements, 11 clearances, 5 centre clearances, 6 stoppage clearances & 2 Rebound 50’s) was the only player in the midfield group that cleared the ball regularly, while Scott Pendlebury (21 disposals @ 81%, 256 metres gained, 6 contested possessions, 15 uncontested possessions, 6 marks, 3 tackles, 4 score involvements, 4 clearances, 3 stoppage clearances & 6 Inside 50’s) got the footy forward quite a lot with a below-average number of disposals.
Brayden Maynard (23 disposals @ 83%, 342 metres gained, 6 contested possessions, 17 uncontested possessions, 4 intercept possessions, 11 marks, 4 tackles, 5 score involvements, 2 clearances & 3 Inside 50’s) was Collingwood’s most prolific defender for the evening. James Aish (21 disposals @ 76%, 156 metres gained, 2 contested possessions, 19 uncontested possessions, 3 intercept possessions, 6 marks, 2 score involvements & 5 Rebound 50’s) found the footy, without using it productively. Jeremy Howe (21 disposals @ 90%, 328 metres gained, 7 contested possessions, 14 uncontested possessions, 9 intercept possessions, 7 marks, 2 Contested Marks, 7 score involvements & 7 Rebound 50’s) competed well at marking contests, and contributed to the team’s ball movement on transition. Tom Langdon (19 disposals @ 95%, 126 metres gained, 3 contested possessions, 16 uncontested possessions, 6 intercept possessions, 6 marks & 4 score involvements) had a mellow game and Darcy Moore (17 disposals @ 88%, 284 metres gained, 5 contested possessions, 12 uncontested possessions, 6 intercept possessions, 6 marks, 3 tackles, 2 score involvements, 2 Inside 50’s & 3 Rebound 50’s) managed to overcome an ankle injury to play out the game.
Jordan De Goey (18 disposals @ 67%, 353 metres gained, 9 contested possessions, 9 uncontested possessions, 7 marks, 3 Marks Inside 50, 3 tackles, 2 Tackles Inside 50, 7 score involvements & 3 goals) was the only scoring threat for the majority of the game, especially in the first term when he started like a house on fire as did the team. Brody Mihocek (13 disposals @ 77%, 279 metres gained, 5 contested possessions, 8 uncontested possessions, 9 marks, 2 Contested Marks, 2 Marks Inside 50, 2 score involvements & 1 goal) provided a secondary target on an otherwise dour night. No other forwards worthy of a mention.
Collingwood’s next game will be on April 12 against the Western Bulldogs at the MCG. More tackling, more clearances and Inside 50’s from the midfield division will be required to ensure that the contest is made into a forward-half game that is played on Collingwood’s terms.