Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final Collingwood 4.2 8.3 12.5 14.8 92 Essendon 3.2 9.5 11.7 14.11 95
I could understand a team like Richmond keeping a bit in reserve in round 23. You could even forgive the Bulldogs for losing to Brisbane: they already knew that nothing hung on a win - and it had the much-appreciated consequence that Carlton won the wooden spoon.
But the teams outside the 8 won't be playing footy for several months. You'd think that they would have a red hot go for their last game of the year. Even a minor injury or two would have plenty of time to improve. It didn't seem to be what Collingwood brought to the MCG on Sunday.
The coaching staff should have canvassed each and every player, asking him if he felt he could deliver 100% or if he wanted to be rested. Everyone on the field should have felt that his future was on the line.
You would think that the coach might be saying something like ...
We're not expecting a big crowd today. Neither team will feature in finals action. There's really no need for any of the fans to come out, especially on Fathers' Day and especially when it's cold and windy. They have selected themselves because they really want to be here. So should you. Let's give those diehards a real treat, let's give them a warm reward for their unstinting support - above and beyond the call of duty. We've disappointed them since the bye. Let's really send them home with a warm feeling for next year. Let's really towel up Essendon.
But, no, we got a luke warm dish. Actually, what the fans got was pretty much, in one game, a summary of the year: optimism at first, and then a cold drenching of reality. It was deeply disappointing. I'm not talking about a 3-point loss. We had failed long before Essendon's final score. Anything less than a 5-goal win was below par. (The line was quoted as -24.5.) The Footy Bogan left immediately after the coup de grace - but by then the disappointment had well and truly set in.
The match started all right. With Cloke out, there were always multiple options in F50; this was reflected in the stats - we took heaps of marks inside the arc; the Bombers scoring mainly from snaps. They might have been a bit tinny, but that's not an excuse. By the second quarter, the Pies were looking flat and unenthusiastic. Perhaps that's why their disposals often missed their mark.
After the pressure we applied last week to Geelong, you might have expected us to go on; in fact, early in the game, Essendon laid way more tackles than we did (29-8 five minutes into the second quarter). By the end of the match, they'd evened up; but by then, we'd let them off the hook.
I repeatedly wonder if the coaching panel at Collingwood are up to the job. They just seem unable to learn from Collingwood's past successes. We were most awesome way back when we had a player who could reliably kick the ball in after an opposition behind. Now, we just let any jerk kick it in. At the start of the second quarter, Scharenberg picked up the ball at full back and aimed a pass to his captain. The kick dropped short (! we're talking barely 20m), uncharacteristically Pendles fumbled, the ball spilt, Scharenberg, eager to make amends for his part in the looming catastrophe, dived on the ball taking out Goddard's legs: free, goal.
When will they learn that it's the most important role in the game?!
If comparisons were necessary, near the end of Q2, Reid kicked in, De Goey marked 70 out and the ball was soon near Collingwood's F50.
Further, last week, the move of Pendlebury to defence was inspired and reaped huge rewards. Now that we have a midfield more than competent to take centre bounces, why wouldn't you start Pendlebury in defence all the time?
Pendlebury had another sub-par game with only 22 disposals and egregious misses for goal. After others had done good work, he ran forward and took a mark from De Goey, 30m out. His shot was dreadful. Similarly at the end of Q3.
One of Collingwood's better facets for the year has been its defence. You have to wonder, then, just how many goals Stanton had to kick before someone manned him up. Clearly, more than three.
In Q2, Collingwood mined its own tin with Kennedy kicking two off the ground.
After Essendon kicked the first 3 of the quarter, the Pies were playing catch-up.
Early in Q3, Collingwood had a kicking efficiency of 61% which is way below par. Essendon's was 65% which is barely better but does speak to the idea that there wasn't much opposition, making our effort pretty feeble.
Collingwood regained the lead half-way through Q3.
There were some bright spots. We got to see the improvement in Adams: Fasolo's pressured handpass falls short; Adams is wrong-footed but shows poise as he recovers, steps to space (like Pendlebury) and then drills a fine pass to White; mark and goal. Langdon still reads the ball well and marks almost everything. Marsh showed a few party tricks as he escaped a tackle and then a second.
But rarely after quarter time were the Pies able to string several plays together. And, then finally, they did. Deep in defence, Reid takes possession, is tackled immediately, gets off a 1m handball to Brown, whose high clearing kick just exceeds the arc. Sidebottom leaps, but is tunnelled by Melksham. Sidebottom's pass to the wing finds White who wheels, bounces and finds Grundy 80 out with no one inside F50. But White has continued his run and accepts Grundy's pass 43m out. Another kick finds Varcoe 20m out, little angle. But there would be tears before bed time as Varcoe's attempted pass to Fasolo barely 15m away - and not really in a better position - falls short! Panicky Pies handpass further and further from goal until Sidebottom saves the day, finding Greenwood, now 45m out, pretty much directly in front. He duly converted, but what was Varcoe thinking? Collingwood had kicked the last four.
Late in Q3, Collingwood had 18 tackles for the quarter, compared with 17 for the first half - which does seem to underline that it was more about intent and attitude than luck and/or skill. Really, no matter how badly a team is being beaten, it should always be able to lay tackles.
It wasn't like Collingwood didn't have its opportunities. Early in Q4, Fasolo marked and goaled. A minute later he was given an opportunity for another set shot and missed everything. He used to be a dead-eye.
The wrap
I reject entirely the notion that this game didn't mean anything. Every game is significant. If you need external motivation to play well, it's time to give the game away. Next time we meet Essendon, they will have a greater belief that we are pussies. In a game which trumpets the one-percenters, we should be cautious not to give any opponent an inch. To be successful, a team must always be ruthless.
The more I think about, the bigger the disaster this game becomes.
We were one game worse than last year without the excuse of massive injuries.
Sources, Notes, Footnotes, References
http://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/ft_match_statistics?mid=6153
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Urod7nN1k70J:http://www.sportsbet.com.au/betting/australian-rules%2BEssendon+Collingwood+betting+line&oe=UTF-8&tbs=ctr:countryAU&cr=countryAU&hl=en&&ct=clnk
Dear Mr TFB
ReplyDeleteYou posed the question which contained the answer, all in your first line. There must be a poetic term for it.
You wrote at the beginning of your accurate summary the following:
“This was expected to be a training run for Collingwood. It was anything but.”
I beg to differ. From my position in front of the TV, it looked for all the world LIKE a training run, but with perhaps less intensity or body contact than a Thursday morning.
Then one of the teams put in a little more effort and that was it, all over rover. Done and dusted for the season.
A couple of things stood out – how come Jesse White looked the complete footballer – finally? How come Fasolo looked almost unstoppable – finally? How come Karnesis isn’t in the team? How good are all the debutants going to be?
I have just watched the first of the finals matches. I might be presuming too much, but we may have seen the end of the eras of Geelong and Hawthorn. They are going to have to go through the horror years of rebuilding, just as we are. I doubt that either team will be so fortunate in picking up future stars in a short period of time, as they were a decade ago.
We are going to have to live with the ignominy of interstate teams being the masters of the game for another few years yet. And after that it could well be mainly a TV game anyway.
Floreat Pica
M