But on a brighter note, the Footy Bogan gets to see another great game of footy: Richmond v Port Adelaide. This was a much closer game than St Kilda v Fremantle. Port Adelaide kept coming back, so all the more kudos to Richmond for finding responses. The final margin was 20 points but it felt a lot closer than that.
Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final Collingwood Magpies 3.0 5.4 8.8 12.10 82 Adelaide Crows 5.5 7.8 9.13 14.14 98
I don't have much to say about the Adelaide game. In the last quarter, Collingwood clawed its way to a 6-point lead. Not for the first time, we dared to hope. In less than a minute of game time, we were down by the same margin. It basically went bounce, kick, mark, goal; bounce, kick, handpass, kick, goal. Yet again we were unable to stem the flow. In those two goals, I don't think we touched the ball.
Luck
Maybe we were unlucky. At one point, the member next to me bemoaned the fickle bounce of the ball. It also seemed to me demoralisingly unlucky the way our players were hypnotised into kicking the ball to an Adelaide player 30m in the clear. Repeatedly.
Surely we were treated unfairly.
A forgotten player
In a recent post, I went through a cast of characters. I left out Leon Davis. The Neon, who didn't play in the 2010 premiership team. The same Leon who was not considered good enough to make our best 22. What would we give for him now? On current form, he would have to be better than half the current players.
The wrap
The danger is that we interpret our ability to get a goal ahead in the last quarter as a positive. Good luck to Adelaide for winning. They played reasonable footy - but nowhere near top-4 footy. Of course, they can improve.
But had we held on to the slim lead, or even extended it, we still would not have been close to good enough. Realistically, to be a contender and not just making up the numbers, we needed the sort of 10-goal quarter we conjured in 2011 at Docklands against the same opponent.
We are a mere shadow of that team.
Dear Mr TFB
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I have only just watched the game and it is Wednesday night.
TBH, we are in the correct place on the ladder and slipping downwards.
We were noticeably less muscular and less slick than the Crows. However, I am not as disappointed as I was the previous game.
My particular take from my viewing:
• White is no CHF. In the old days, if you couldn’t mark the ball, you went to the backline. He can’t mark the ball.
• We were always going to get smashed in the ruck. Did we in fact train to play to a losing ruck? It didn’t look it. Witts is terrific but he needs a few years to catch up to the big boys.
• The strategy of bombing the ball with a high floater into the forward line is a losing strategy. It fails in probably 6 out of 7 times. Cloke is monstered, gets no support from the umpires, always has at least two on him and he is buffeted and gets frustrated. He has to lead and have the lead honored. But hey, he is now an accurate kick at goal and could conceivably kick 5 or more goals each week.
• We have to look at what to do when we get a free or a mark. Sure, if someone is free, pass to him. The problem is if there is no movement. I suggest the team rule should be that the player with the kick can signal he wants someone to lead directly towards him – a hand on top of his head or pick his nose or whatever, but make a player move directly towards him. Any player.
• Buy a big strong experienced centreman who can run like the wind
• Broomhead was good, wasn’t he. The concept of H. in the centre appealed to me.
• Those misses at goal with eminently gettable shots were devastating.
• Benny Reid’s realistic task was to lead to the far forward pocket and take a defender with him, not go up for marks
• The last quarter fade out is what you get with very young players. It isn’t a concern. One day we will start to win the last quarters.
Floreat Pica
M