Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final GWS 2.2 8.5 12.8 15.12 102 Collingwood 6.4 8.6 12.7 15.9 99
They must be handing around the stupid pills at Collingwood. Shane Mumford looks like taking a mark on the boundary 30m from goal. His opponent, Darcy Moore, helping out in the ruck, is a long way from his man. Nevertheless he sprints towards the fall of the ball and barrels into Mumford some time after the mark has been completed. This asinine play converts a low-percentage shot at goal into a gimme.
This game was more like the Geelong and Sydney games than our many losses this year. Even allowing for the fact that every time we play the Giants they lose players like ninepins (a bit like what Brisbane used to do to us in the early years of the millennium), at times Collingwood played a pretty good brand of footy - less dependent on individual heroics and more on good team play. Of course we fans enjoy the sight of Jeremy Howe head-surfing Stevie J, but you can't build a game plan around speckies. Jamie Elliott's less spectacular but very strong grabs were vastly more influential in Collingwood's cause, especially when coupled with his largely accurate kicking for goal.
The game started with Collingwood conceding the first 2 goals but responding with the next 6 in Q1. (As I said, at times Collingwood played a pretty good brand of footy.) By half time, the margin was negligible. The rest of the game was an arm wrestle, the two sides trading goals. Sadly, when the music stopped, the Giants had kicked the last goal. This game could have been won - and should have been won - in oh so many ways.
The game
Collingwood jumped out of the blocks with intent. They looked really switched on. Unfortunately, they reverted to form when it came to set shots. Moore missed a fairly difficult shot from the pocket, a shot that many players have learnt to regularly drive home. Then Wells missed from in front.
Grundy was doing really well in the ruck, but the Giants scored the next goal. At the next bounce, De Goey did 2 good things: he smothered a Giants kick, then picked up the ball and drilled a pass into F50 where Elliott marked under really intense pressure from Heath Shaw. And goaled.
After weeks of indecisive play, finally Fasolo was awake after marking 70 out. It probably helped that F50 was fairly open and that Blair was leading into space. Fasolo wheeled and speared the pass: mark, goal.
Another kick into F50, a huge leap by Elliott: mark, miss.
Another one partaking of the stupid pills. Hoskin-Elliott marks just outside F50. The arms of an opponent are around him as Greenwood runs past. He attempts the handball but the ball drops impotently at his feet. Players dive; ball up. Aish a quick kick into F50, Blair a strong mark; goal.
Ball up 15m out, Mumford runs at Grundy who steps around him, grabs it out of the ruck, drops it on his boot; goal.
Greenwood snaffles a crumb, sidesteps, snaps: miss.
After a GWS behind, Dunn kicks to himself, runs kicks to the centre where Reid takes a huge grab under intense duress. After a few handpasses Pendlebury kicks to Moore 70 out; he looks clumsy as he runs away from goal not noticing what's going on inside F50. Finally he turns and kicks - but to Hoskin-Elliott rather than the better positioned De Goey. Hoskin-Elliott gets a free when his arms are chopped; goal.
Hoskin-Elliott on the wing kicks to Moore who marks 70 out, kicks long to the leading Grundy, the ball spills to Sidebottom jammed against the boundary, but convinced he's Daicos; without breaking stride he drops the ball onto his boot and watches it dribble along the boundary, jump up and turn right through the goals. 6.4-2.2.
Q2 belonged to the Giants who trailed by a single point at the main break.
The teams went goal for goal through Q3, GWS moving from a point down to a point up at the last break.
The Pies kicked the first major of Q4; then gave it back with a handpass (Maynard) that completely missed its target. There followed a missed set shot (Phillips); Blair missed a snap when he could have run closer. At least in one regard the Pies are really drilled well: they keep making the same mistakes week after week eg kicking straight to opponents inside their F50. It makes a mockery of I50 stats.
Finally a play came off: Sidebottom found Reid on the lead just inside 50; mark, huge goal. The Pies in front.
Goldsack in the middle of the ground handpassed straight to an opponent, was lucky not to concede a goal.
Patton goaled for GWS.
GWS were down 2 players when another went down with an ankle. Greenwood inside 50 handpassed to Maynard for his second goal of the quarter and the Pies to regain the lead.
De Goey ran across 50 and kicked, but his shot went out on the full. Those behind him had given up the chase; he could have bounced his way to goal.
The Pies were using all their skills to lose the game. Elliott (persistence) on a back flank kicked aimlessly into the centre but missed an opponent; but the ball came back to him and this time he kicked down the line and found Patton. (If at first ...)
The clock ticked down to 50 seconds, the ball in dispute on the wing. Blair took out an opponent's legs; there was some confusion - did he play on or not? The umpire signalled play on, a long kick out of the very centre of the ground to a pack 20m out, the ball spills to Stevie J, goal. Game over. GWS by 3 points.
Positives
15.9
The wrap
The optimists might say that we led the premiership favourites with less than a minute to go so we aren't that bad. In truth, the consensus was that, with 3 more players in Q4, we should have run the Giants off their feet. But the 2017 Pies lack class, poise, system, confidence. They can turn it on in patches (Q1), but watching in the stands or on TV, you never feel confident. Every delightful passage of play is followed by a clanger of epic proportions.
We may be a little more enjoyable to watch, but we are not contenders in 2017. To these aging eyes, despite pretty much replacing the entire team with one made in his image, Buckley is vastly further from a premiership in 2017 than he was in 2012. Why that's particularly damning is that in 2012 he had a team that could have been a dynasty; he had a team that was capable of a winning record similar to that of Geelong and Hawthorn this millennium. Nice call, Eddie.
Sources, Notes, Footnotes, References
http://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/ft_match_statistics?mid=9373
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