We won....but...

[MrNatural]

I know it was good to get a win on the board, and a win on the road is always hard.
But i still dont think we can take that much out of the win.
I can still see alot of chinks in our armour.
We have to remember that we 'only' played the Eagles who are not a great gauge of form....

Obviously injuries havent been helping us.

But alot of things need to change and change ASAP

I remarked many times before Saturdays game that the side we had out on the park was one of our worst id seen in recent time.
We were just lucky that WC had an even weaker side.

I think too much and being left to the few.
Same names every week are doing the job.
Pendlebury, Davis, Swan, Presti then who....not many others are putting their hands up on a weekly basis.
Maxwell has impressed me since his suspension. What he lacks in skills he makes up with grit and determination.

But other than those 5, i cant think of too many other consistent contributors on the list.

Injuries never help, but they cant be an excuse all the time.
Look at the way Essendon is playing with a depleted list....

A wins a win, but i aint taking too much from it.

If we can string a few more together i will think about changing my opinion.

 

[Helfarch]

J. Anthony is still doing his thing despite going from third to first(?) tall.

 

[MrNatural]

J. Anthony is still doing his thing despite going from third to first(?) tall.

Ill give you that.
I assumed id forget someone
But still its only 7 or 8 players doing it week in week out
Not good enough in my mind

 

[Jedi01]

Injuries (way worse then Essendons), coming of 2 thrashings, travel, playing Eagles who have smashed some teams at home this year.

Very good win imo.

Lockyer is having a consistent year also. O'Bree is doing his stuff each week (tackles etc).

 

[Heritier 09]

people need to stop this maxwell lack of skills business.
twice on saturday night he hit a leading forward with a 50 metre bullet on the left foot.
his footskills are highly underrated even by our own, he had issues with his decision making, which i don't think he does anymore, and his contested grab skills are right up there. he's playing brilliantly, and has justified his captaincy selection 10 fold.

lot to like about the win, playing interstate, Wood dominating Cox, Brad Dicks pressure, you didn't mention tarkyn, 200 quality games. and with so many players missing.

Essendon are missing one player who would add to their game plan. mark mcveigh.
they've brought in players who can run, Fletcher and Lucas would actually stymie their progress. most of our class is missing currently. we'll see 2, possibly 3 big names back this week, and in my opinion we'll give our next 4 games a hell of a shake. cheers to the AFL for a somewhat friendly mid season draw.
8 and 5 baby.

 

[Soul_Pie]

I think a lot of us were just happy to get the four points. Sure, West Coast played quite poorly, but our performance was a marked improvement on the two previous matches. It was an ugly win, but sometimes that's enough when you're not in great form. Hopefully we can build on this victory and start to gain some momentum heading into the second half of the season.

We've got some great players still to come back into the side, we've got some winnable matches coming up, and we showed some plucker against the Eagles after the coach and the team came under pressure. We also have a situation whereby the middle tier teams of the competition are bunched so close together, and strangely enough we are only one game and a few percentage points away from being top four.

There is certainly a lot of improvement to go, and chinks in our armour still remain, but sometimes you need to slog it out for a little while before a team really "clicks". Hopefully this happens in the following weeks.

 

[DaVe86]

This win alone is not worth much. It is what we do from here that will count. Hopefully we can look back on this win as what kick-started us. Ultimately, a trip over the nullabour is never easy. Take out your best 5 players and its even harder. West Coast have some injuries but are relatively full strength.

I think we are in a similar boat to hawthorn. We have not looked near our best, yet are still sitting on the cusp of the 8. Now the Hawks are bringing back their better players and they are looking better.

The key for us is getting Medhurst, Didak, Thomas, Cloke and Rocca back asap. Keeping Fraser healthy is crucial.

That will eliminate a lot of the worries right there. It's fair to say we have a few passengers at the moment. I think a side is only as good as their bottom 5.

At the moment our bottom 5 are Cox, Goldsack, Brown, Dick and Cook. Within 2 weeks, our bottom 5 will be Thomas, Wood, Clarke, Toovey and Sidebottom. Clearly the 2nd list is very good and what's more has plenty of upside.


We are very reliant on Swan, Pendles and Davis at the moment. But considering they are playing at such a high level with little support is very pleasing. Once guys like Didak come into the side and demand attention, it will help out guys like Davis even more...or it will free Didak up which is another win.

 

[mattys123]

We Won....and;

* We have 5 very winnable games in the next 6 weeks (add the break)
* We got no injuries out of the game
* We have players returning over the next 2 weeks
* We are one game off top 4

Seems like a pretty good win to me.

 

[Primetime Pricey]

people need to stop this maxwell lack of skills business.
twice on saturday night he hit a leading forward with a 50 metre bullet on the left foot.
his footskills are highly underrated even by our own, he had issues with his decision making, which i don't think he does anymore.

im guessing you forgot about a couple occasions when he passed the ball on his right to blokes in paddocks of space and the ball went every way possible. His skills are decent but nothing special. I love Maxy so this isnt a knock on him just his skills arent great but makes up for it with committment work ethic.

 

[Optimax]

im guessing you forgot about a couple occasions when he passed the ball on his right to blokes in paddocks of space and the ball went every way possible. His skills are decent but nothing special. I love Maxy so this isnt a knock on him just his skills arent great but makes up for it with committment work ethic.

his skills are ok

his endeavor, tackling, and everything else even his marking this year is very good

 

[wixism]

We Won....and;

* We have 5 very winnable games in the next 6 weeks (add the break)
* We got no injuries out of the game
* We have players returning over the next 2 weeks
* We are one game off top 4

Seems like a pretty good win to me.

Exactly what i was going to say

 

[NatheM]

In order of best to worst so far this season, imo.

1. Davis - Easily one of the most skilled players in the AFL.
2. Swan - Easily one of the least skilled " " " ". But he works ****in hard and has an amazing ability to steal the ball in contested situations. Keeps his feet when it matters.
3. Pendlebury - Just wish the boy had a little more pace. Makes sure he is in the right spots and makes sure he doesn't miss his target.
4. Lockyer - Probably the most consistent player for us this year so far. Loving his work rate.
5. Maxwell - You feel safe when he's part of a marking contest.
6. Presti - Has he got another year in him?? coz we need it.
7. O'bree - Hasn't been at his best, but he is still our best at stoppages.

Didak, Medurst - You would think we are at least 5 goals better with these 2 in.

Thomas - Better than last year, he is reading the game better and is getting more involved, rather than snaping his 1 goal a game, he is doing that and more this year, very pleasing.


Special mentions: Brad Dick - His first game, albiet against Melbourne, he had equal most tackles in our team. I was very impressed. Then was dropped after the Geelong game.....
Stupid match commitee. Dick was replaced by Barham, who imo had a lucky game against Brisbane, and eventually match committee realised he couldnt hit a target.
Hopefully they see now that we need to persist with Dick, he has equal pace to Barham, not off the mark, but I think Dick is the winner simply because he always tries his guts out and chases real hard, lead the way for mine against WC. He also has a lot more upsides than Barham does.

Side Steelbottom - Surely one of the shortest, but one of the most skilled. He must be ambidextrous. Will be a star when he gets a few more kilos and a bit more pace.

Jack Anthony - I didn't know he could be such a bull. Super impressed with his agression at the ball. Only thing is he has to stop looking for options when he's within 60m. JUST HAVE A SHOT FFS!


WHO IS LETTING US DOWN AND WHO NEEDS TO STEP UP:

Marty Clarke - He is a defender, but is being to defensive. He needs to have a more attacking state of mind, he doesn't do enough, if any, rebounding.
Seems like his only priority is his man.
Needs to step up and work a bit harder.

Heritier O'Brien - Hasn't been as consistenly below par like Marty, but he loses focus a few times a game, and costs us goals because he lets his man get away too far.
Has dominated most opponents, but its probably a combined 30 seconds a game that is letting him down.

Cloke - He has been fantastic with his kicking this year. That's probably about it though. I feel really confident when he's having a set shot these days. He hasn't been any where near as bad as some people have been making out though.
Just a little bit of agression at the contests is all he needs to work on, pretty hard when it's always 2 vs 1 though.

 

[#1 pies]

As long as we get the 4 points i'm happy every week.

 

[OniAu]

Our backline hasnt been that bad of late.

Presti,OBrien,Maxwell and Shaw were all solid the other night, if we can keep those four on the park in our backline then we are going to be solid back there. Add in N Brown aswell who imo had his best game for a while for us.

Agree though a few more need to put their hand up for some consistent footy rather than the usual ones in pendles,swan,leon, obrien, presti and anthony

I really hope we dont persist with Cook or Stanley, netheir have got what it takes , as harsh as that sounds im only judging them off what ive seen and not on potential of what they can be. Stanley is slow on field and looks shell shocked when he gets the footy almost. Cook seems to panic when he gets the footy also if he has a bit of time to think about it. Netheir seem natural, id be happy to be proven wrong but so far netheir have impressed and id rather see the likes of barham and Mccarthy in before eitheir of those

 

[Ant85]

We Won....and;

* We have 5 very winnable games in the next 6 weeks (add the break)
* We got no injuries out of the game
* We have players returning over the next 2 weeks
* We are one game off top 4

Seems like a pretty good win to me.

And Carltank didn't score for a half.

Could it have been a better weekend?

 

[mattys123]

And Carltank didn't score for a half.

Could it have been a better weekend?

Was a great weekend, until Newcastle (also the Magpies) got relegated.

But then again, it's Soccer, so I dont really care that much.

I'm happy as long as Collingwood wins, I really couldnt care less about other teams, how we won, if we should have won by more, etc etc.

We won, so I was over the moon.

 

[mwalker]

And Carltank didn't score for a half.

Could it have been a better weekend?

Carlscum not scoring for a half put a smile back on my face too, but even with 5 or 6 minutes to go I still thought they were a chance to win. I wonder if Mick thought the same thing during the second half.

 

[Just Kick It]

We Won....and;

* We have 5 very winnable games in the next 6 weeks (add the break)
* We got no injuries out of the game
* We have players returning over the next 2 weeks
* We are one game off top 4

Seems like a pretty good win to me.

I think this sums up the positives from Saturday very very well. All positives.

We are just gong to get better and better as our x factor and match winning players return. It is this class that we have been lacking and I feel that we will be in pretty good form during the second half of the season.

Let's just hope that we win the games that we should.

 

[Shaunn]

We Won....and;

* We have 5 very winnable games in the next 6 weeks (add the break)
* We got no injuries out of the game
* We have players returning over the next 2 weeks
* We are one game off top 4

Seems like a pretty good win to me.

The next 5 out of the next 6 games might be very winnable but for some reason collingwood don't preform well when everyone thinks we are going to win.
Like two years ago if i remember we were in the top eight and we had 4 games left or so and they were the bottom two sides and two relatively easy teams and everyone thought yeah they should win atleast 3 of the 4 and make the top 4 but we only won 2 of the 4 and ended up being 6th or so(can't remember exactly).So don't count on us winning 5 of the next six or so just set us a goal at 3-4 or so.
And is anyone going to the Collingwood v Port Adelaide game this Sunday?

 

[mattys123]

The next 5 out of the next 6 games might be very winnable but for some reason collingwood don't preform well when everyone thinks we are going to win.
Like two years ago if i remember we were in the top eight and we had 4 games left or so and they were the bottom two sides and two relatively easy teams and everyone thought yeah they should win atleast 3 of the 4 and make the top 4 but we only won 2 of the 4 and ended up being 6th or so(can't remember exactly).So don't count on us winning 5 of the next six or so just set us a goal at 3-4 or so.
And is anyone going to the Collingwood v Port Adelaide game this Sunday?

What do you mean, is anyone going?

Of course most of us are, if you are in Melbourne, you should make sure you get along to this game, if any others for a few weeks.

It is a huge game, coming off a good win, which has to be consolidated against a very good football side that like us on their day is capable of matching the best.

Could be a cracker of a game if the 2 sides bring their best footy to the G.

As for the timeslot, I prefer it to Saturday night or Monday night, that's for sure.

I'll be there, not too concerned who else turns up, as long as 22 blokes in black and white jumpers run into the G, I'll be there and on edge.

 

[dswan]

Lets bring in a few other fowards and keep trialling some other youngsters on the list in the midfield and backs. Basically keep trialing players until we find some. I think Brown could be a key foward and perhaps developing a big to replace him would be easier than finding a new foward.

 

[KissStephanie]

i still dont think we can take that much out of the win.

Do you barrack for Carlton? Collingwood did well to beat a team that has belted some reasonable teams at Subiaco this season. Particularly with so many important players missing. Collingwood took four premiership points from the win at a time they were desperately needed.

I can still see alot of chinks in our armour.

Any pessimist can see weaknesses in any team if they look hard enough.

We have to remember that we 'only' played the Eagles who are not a great gauge of form....

I see it differently than you do. West Coast has beaten 8th placed Port Adelaide, and 3rd placed Western Bulldogs at Subiaco by a combined total of 83 points this season, and they were unlucky to lose in Sydney last week. At full strength, and at the MCG, then I would hope that Collingwood would have beaten them more convincingly, but to beat them in Perth, and with so many players out was a very good effort indeed.

Obviously injuries havent been helping us.

Obviously, so why haven't you taken that into account?

But alot of things need to change and change ASAP

I disagree that a lot of things have to change ASAP. Collingwood needs to get some players back, and they need to play more consistently after two seasons of inconsistent performances, but I don't see a lot of things that have to change. Collingwood is only one game behind 3rd place with some winnable games to come.

I remarked many times before Saturdays game that the side we had out on the park was one of our worst id seen in recent time.

And how long is "recent times" to you? Six weeks? Six months? Two years? Five years? Collingwood were definitely not at full strength on the weekend, but the team that played were not weak either in my opinion. The depth is improving, but no team can easily cover so many important players. There are some players that are irreplaceable for all teams, and Collingwood has had to deal with that problem over the past few weeks.

We were just lucky that WC had an even weaker side.

The club and the players must really dislike "supporters" like you that are so unwilling to give any credit for a good performance. For your info, there was no luck involved with the win on the weekend. West Coast are not a weak team, but an improving team that has been playing well this season at Subiaco. It took a good performance to beat them on their ground with so many irreplaceable players missing.

I think too much and being left to the few.

You think too much? Maybe you do, but this sentence doesn't make a lot of sense to me. If you were trying to say that too much is being left to too few, then I feel that is understandable considering how many important players are missing. It's neither fair or reasonable to expect depth players and inexperienced players to match the performances of players such as Davis, Swan, and Pendlebury.

Same names every week are doing the job. Pendlebury, Davis, Swan, Presti then who....not many others are putting their hands up on a weekly basis.

Well according to Supercoach rankings, Maxwell was the third most influential Collingwood player on the weekend. Lockyer was fourth, O'Bree was fifth, and Pendlebury was 6th, while Wood, Shaw (who is still trying to gain match fitness), Toovey, Dick, Anthony, O'Brien, Prestigiacomo, Sidebottom and Nathan Brown all definitely contributed. It's not that difficult to acknkowledge their efforts if you try.

I don't know exactly what you were expecting against West Coast, but whatever it was, it seems that your expectations were extremely unrealistic and unreasonable. You seem to have difficulty with the fact that there are a number of important players missing at the moment that most teams would struggle to find adequate replacements that are ready to walk straight in and perform in the manner that you appear to be expecting.

Last year, Collingwood were the youngest team to win a final since Brisbane in 2000, so hopefully that means there is improvement to come, but I understand that they need their most important players available to have a chance at beating the best in this competition. Do you understand that as well? It doesn't seem to me that you do.

But other than those 5, i cant think of too many other consistent contributors on the list.

That's probably because you're a pessimist that has difficulty with reality.

Injuries never help, but they cant be an excuse all the time.

I don't think that injuries are ever an excuse. They are a reason that contributes to performance though. Why are you so reluctant to accept that? I believe that imjuries have more of an effect on performance than anything else because it can change a side more than anything else can. I don't believe that Hawthorn would have won the premiership without 5-6 of their most important players missing on Grand Final day.

Look at the way Essendon is playing with a depleted list....

Oh come on now. This is just plain silly. It's never the amount of players that are missing, but the importance of those players to the team and it's structure. I would rather to have six players missing that are not the most important players that are easier to replace, than three of the most important players that are irreplaceable. What's the matter with you? Why is it that impartial commentators can see that but you can't?

A wins a win, but i aint taking too much from it.

Well you're probably not taking much from it because you're a pessimist that refuses to accept that it was a good effort to beat an improving team on their home ground with so many irreplaceable players missing.

If we can string a few more together i will think about changing my opinion.

Well actually, your opinion has absolutely no bearing whatsoever on what is going to happen with Collingwood for the rest of the season, so it doesn't matter at all whether you change it or not

 

[MrNatural]

I will take your opinion on board KissStephanie.
Id like to give you a reply to that all of that post but i cant be bothered.

But you did mention that i am pessimistic...
Now you can use that word, id say im realistic.
I try not to look through rose coloured glasses

I dont feel the win is worth that much. Its 4 pts yes, but in the context of our form i think its worth little.

Unless we can pull together 3-4 wins in a row coming up, i will keep this opinion.

The way people on this board suddenly changed from week to week amazes me.
If i hadve started this thread last week after the Carlton game, most people wouldve agreed with me. But because we won one game, suddenly noone agrees

 

[buzzbuzz]

If i hadve started this thread last week after the Carlton game, most people wouldve agreed with me. But because we won one game, suddenly noone agrees

I totally agree. It seems that our supporters are some of the most fickle in the AFL. It probably has a lot to do with why Malthouse is still at the club after 9 years of no success. As soon as we have a win we praise the daylights out of everyone at the club and Ed signs him up for another couple of years. We go from irrationally hating on 'dud' players to ignoring the faults of every single person at Collingwood in the blink of an eye.

I suppose that's a result of the passion. We can't handle losses and we make the most of the happiness of a win while we still can.

 

[stick_by_ur_pie]

Well Mr Buzz Buzz and other negative posters, I don't think any team enjoys a loss and all teams make the most of a win unless your stuck up like the Geelong football club.

I know many pies supporters go beyond passionate (I being one of them) and we can't simply go back to talking premierships again. But surely we can focus on the positives of our last performance rather than negatives especially since it was a win.

And while your talking about Malthouse's future on the basis of no success in nearly a decade we should look at both sides of the argument. Malthouse at collingwood never bottomed out. He took us a rock bottom and except for one or two years we have exceeded expectations. That's right, not the expectations of supporters but the media who are supposedly unbiased. It annoys me to think every year we are left out of the premiership race, the finals race, the brownlow race, the top 50 players race, all Australian race, yet for some reason we are still there in the final weeks (top teams) of the year. And yet we can say to Mick even though we don't expect you to win a premiership with such a developing list etc, because you havn't delivered you are no longer wanted.

And why when 02, 03 mentioned, they have to be ignored and we just concentrate on the other seven years. We should simply be judging him on the list we have now and the potential. Anyway enough on Mick.

Positives can be be taken from Steele's improvement since his debut. Maxy has really rose to the captains role that even i thought beyond him.
Nathan Brown continues to be looked over. He's in his second year and last year I only seen him disgraced by Buddy and Fev (If ya didn't notice they lead the goalkicking for the whole competition last year). If presties the quiet achiever then brownies silent.

Davis is no doubt finally delivering what I expected him to since his debut.
Swan definitely and pendles maybe are being hampered by injury yet still performing. Our leading goalkicker is a 21 year old backman. while Cloke hasn't been 100% and Steaky and Rocca have hardly played. Not to mention Didak who is a key to the team short on midfeilders(until Beams and Sidey get a couple more games.

And finally (sorry about the length of this post, but some things really annoy me) For the first time this year we:

showed glimpses of Mick's gameplan actually implemented by everyone in the team (going wide of course).

Had two ruckman share duties equally to win the overall impact of ruckman on the field.

showed the strength of our defense is what will get us a win like 02, 03.

Lets hope (and not be pessimistic) that a few more return this week and we can see the real collingwood magpies thrash port.