Round 17 has us returning to the MCG to face the old enemy, and like a lot of fans, I’m not looking forward to this nor am excited the the prospect of being Smashed late in this season by these pricks again. My general approach to these previews has been to shelve my feelings and try and take a more positive approach. I also try to be light-hearted and jovial, and I figure if you want to hear idiots having sooks about their you can just listen to 10 minutes of SEN call-back before that inevitably has you contemplating sticking your head in the oven. I’m going to stick to that mantra as best I can here, but, I’m going to have a rant too.. Sorry.. but it's not about last night’s loss as least.
What the **** are we doing here when it comes to young players? How the **** is it a good idea to play Caddy one week, then drop him but have him as the holdover emergency and not have him play VFL. How the **** are you supposed to build match fitness and develop your game if you are not ****en playing any games! It hasn’t just happened to Caddy. We’ve seen Tsatas play as sub several games in a row meaning he played 1 full game spread over 4 weeks. It is such a stupid ****en way to select the team.. We have done shit for 20 ****en years you ****en morons.. This season doesn’t ****en matter, so how about making someone more senior for the sub and the emergencies and not destroying the continuity of younger players.
The Round Before The Round That Was
I spoke before the game about the clear mental fragility of our playing group…. And last night proved that we are still the most mentally weak side in the AFL. The umpiring was ****ed.. Especially that Menzie call when near exact ones haven’t been called for several seasons. I’m impressed that the ump that he was able to blow the whistle and then signal which way the free went with one of his hands down his pants.
But that 4th quarter.. We could have come out breathing fire. We could have shown that we are for ****en real for once.. We didn’t. We kicked one for the quarter to their five. That’s ****en pathetic… Sorry, I’m actually feeling really really shitty about this loss in particular, but it feels like it was season-ending. I thought we’d be shit this season, and I kinda wanted us to be proper shit. I’m ****en of sick of the middle of the road kinda competitive, getting a shitty top-10 pick cycle. I was really hoping I’d be proven wrong, but no.. Geelong did it again and removed all hope I have… until we win on Friday and suddenly I’ll be back on the wagon.
GEELONG 3.2 6.4 11.6 16.9 (105)
ESSENDON 4.2 7.3 8.3 9.6 (60)
GOALS
Geelong: Stengle 3, Dempsey 2, Cameron 2, Rohan 2, Duncan, Neale, Holmes, Bowes, Blicavs, Close, Knevitt
Essendon: Stringer 2, Wright 2, Gresham, Merrett, Hind, Guelfi, Langford
BEST
Geelong: Dempsey, Bowes, Holmes, Tuohy, Rohan, Stewart
Essendon: Caldwell, Durham, Merrett, Martin, Guelfi
INJURIES
Geelong: Nil
Essendon: Nil
SUBSTITUTES
Geelong: Mark O'Connor
(replaced Mitch Duncan in the fourth quarter)
Essendon: Nik Cox (replaced Harry Jones in the fourth quarter)
Crowd: 54,698 at the MCG
Collingwood lost to the Suns after once again making a strong comeback after being 30+ points down in the 3rd and taking the lease late in the 4th, suns we able to kick 2 in a row to take home the chocolates.
GOLD COAST 4.2 8.6 12.11 14.17 (101)
COLLINGWOOD 4.3 5.4 8.9 13.12 (90)
GOALS
Gold Coast: King 4, Lukosius 2, Long 2, Ainsworth 2, Holman, Flanders, Day, Graham
Collingwood: Mihocek 2, De Goey 2, N.Daicos 2, Pendlebury, Lipinski, Kreuger, Howe, Hoskin-Elliott, Hill, J.Daicos
BEST
Gold Coast: Witts, Flanders, Anderson, Uwland, Miller, Long, King
Collingwood: N.Daicos, De Goey, Howe, J.Daicos, Sidebottom
INJURIES
Gold Coast: Nil
Collingwood: McCreery (calf)
SUBSTITUTES
Gold Coast: Bailey Humphrey (replaced David Swallow
in the third quarter)
Collingwood: Joe Richards (replaced Beau McCreery in the third quarter)
Crowd: 23,029 at People First Stadium
The Last Time We Met
In hindsight, our last game was a vision of the future; we dominated just about every stat except this one.
And that’s the extent of my technical analysis capabilities.
ESSENDON 6.1 7.6 9.11 12.13 (85)
COLLINGWOOD 2.6 6.11 9.12 12.13 (85)
GOALS
Essendon: Langford 4, Wright 2, Stringer, Jones, Parish, Draper, A. Davey, Martin
Collingwood: Mihocek 3, Elliott 2, Hoskin-Elliott, N. Daicos, Lipinski, Schultz, J. Daicos, Harrison, McCreery
BEST
Essendon: Merrett, Parish, Langford, Martin, Stringer, McGrath
Collingwood: N. Daicos, Pendlebury, Moore, Mihocek, Noble, J. Daicos
INJURIES
Essendon: Jones (nose)
Collingwood: Nil
SUBSTITUTES
Essendon: Nick Hind
(replaced Jones in the fourth term)
Collingwood: Harvey Harrison (replaced Mitchell in the fourth term)
Crowd: 93,644 at the MCG
The Selection Table - Yeah, I'm still grumpy
Possible Outs -
Draper - Won’t happen, but he will soon be the most underrated playing the AFL as everyone is starting to realize how well and truly bad and overrated he has been. I don’t buy what Scott said in the press conference. (Geelong have arguably the worst ruck combination in the AFL and he didn't do shit against them, should have dominated)
Goldstein - Again, wont’ happen, but most teams play one ruck.. We play two.. Oh yeah we really good at being innovators as showin the last 20 years.
Stringer/Langford/Wright - One of these has to go - The forward line doesn’t work with these three in there.
Menzie - Not fast enough or clever enough for a small forward or back pocket.
Perkins - Didn’t do enough - Too up and down despite the talent (I didn't have to change this from last week.. Surprise surprise)
Jones/Cox - Can’t play both - I prefer Cox currently
Possible Ins - (Hey, the vfl team won this week)
Hobbs - Would love to say this is based on a good VFL.. but of course he didn’t ****en play at all this weekend
Caddy - Copy and past from above
Davey - Copy and past from above
Shiel - Was very good in the VFL and maybe we can get his value up from a 4th to 3rd by playing him
Bryan - Don’t care about the GC game - Was probably BOG in the VFL again and Draper and Goldstein aren’t the answer going forward - Let’s find out if Bryan can become something or not.
My Prediction -
Collingwood by 30
What the **** are we doing here when it comes to young players? How the **** is it a good idea to play Caddy one week, then drop him but have him as the holdover emergency and not have him play VFL. How the **** are you supposed to build match fitness and develop your game if you are not ****en playing any games! It hasn’t just happened to Caddy. We’ve seen Tsatas play as sub several games in a row meaning he played 1 full game spread over 4 weeks. It is such a stupid ****en way to select the team.. We have done shit for 20 ****en years you ****en morons.. This season doesn’t ****en matter, so how about making someone more senior for the sub and the emergencies and not destroying the continuity of younger players.
The Round Before The Round That Was
I spoke before the game about the clear mental fragility of our playing group…. And last night proved that we are still the most mentally weak side in the AFL. The umpiring was ****ed.. Especially that Menzie call when near exact ones haven’t been called for several seasons. I’m impressed that the ump that he was able to blow the whistle and then signal which way the free went with one of his hands down his pants.
But that 4th quarter.. We could have come out breathing fire. We could have shown that we are for ****en real for once.. We didn’t. We kicked one for the quarter to their five. That’s ****en pathetic… Sorry, I’m actually feeling really really shitty about this loss in particular, but it feels like it was season-ending. I thought we’d be shit this season, and I kinda wanted us to be proper shit. I’m ****en of sick of the middle of the road kinda competitive, getting a shitty top-10 pick cycle. I was really hoping I’d be proven wrong, but no.. Geelong did it again and removed all hope I have… until we win on Friday and suddenly I’ll be back on the wagon.
GEELONG 3.2 6.4 11.6 16.9 (105)
ESSENDON 4.2 7.3 8.3 9.6 (60)
GOALS
Geelong: Stengle 3, Dempsey 2, Cameron 2, Rohan 2, Duncan, Neale, Holmes, Bowes, Blicavs, Close, Knevitt
Essendon: Stringer 2, Wright 2, Gresham, Merrett, Hind, Guelfi, Langford
BEST
Geelong: Dempsey, Bowes, Holmes, Tuohy, Rohan, Stewart
Essendon: Caldwell, Durham, Merrett, Martin, Guelfi
INJURIES
Geelong: Nil
Essendon: Nil
SUBSTITUTES
Geelong: Mark O'Connor
PLAYERCARDSTART
42
Mark O'connor
- Age
- 27
- Ht
- 189cm
- Wt
- 88kg
- Pos.
- D/M
Career
Season
Last 5
- D
- 13.2
- 3star
- K
- 8.1
- 3star
- HB
- 5.1
- 4star
- M
- 4.4
- 4star
- T
- 2.3
- 4star
- MG
- 174.8
- 3star
- D
- 12.4
- 3star
- K
- 8.9
- 4star
- HB
- 3.5
- 2star
- M
- 4.5
- 4star
- T
- 1.6
- 3star
- MG
- 199.8
- 3star
- D
- 10.4
- 3star
- K
- 4.8
- 2star
- HB
- 5.6
- 4star
- M
- 3.8
- 4star
- T
- 2.0
- 4star
- MG
- 67.4
- 1star
PLAYERCARDEND
Essendon: Nik Cox (replaced Harry Jones in the fourth quarter)
Crowd: 54,698 at the MCG
Collingwood lost to the Suns after once again making a strong comeback after being 30+ points down in the 3rd and taking the lease late in the 4th, suns we able to kick 2 in a row to take home the chocolates.
GOLD COAST 4.2 8.6 12.11 14.17 (101)
COLLINGWOOD 4.3 5.4 8.9 13.12 (90)
GOALS
Gold Coast: King 4, Lukosius 2, Long 2, Ainsworth 2, Holman, Flanders, Day, Graham
Collingwood: Mihocek 2, De Goey 2, N.Daicos 2, Pendlebury, Lipinski, Kreuger, Howe, Hoskin-Elliott, Hill, J.Daicos
BEST
Gold Coast: Witts, Flanders, Anderson, Uwland, Miller, Long, King
Collingwood: N.Daicos, De Goey, Howe, J.Daicos, Sidebottom
INJURIES
Gold Coast: Nil
Collingwood: McCreery (calf)
SUBSTITUTES
Gold Coast: Bailey Humphrey (replaced David Swallow
PLAYERCARDSTART
24
David Swallow
- Age
- 31
- Ht
- 186cm
- Wt
- 87kg
- Pos.
- M/F
Career
Season
Last 5
- D
- 21.1
- 5star
- K
- 11.7
- 4star
- HB
- 9.4
- 5star
- M
- 3.2
- 3star
- T
- 4.4
- 5star
- CL
- 4.2
- 5star
- D
- 18.4
- 4star
- K
- 11.1
- 4star
- HB
- 7.3
- 4star
- M
- 4.3
- 4star
- T
- 4.6
- 5star
- CL
- 4.0
- 5star
- D
- 19.4
- 5star
- K
- 10.0
- 4star
- HB
- 9.4
- 5star
- M
- 2.8
- 3star
- T
- 5.0
- 5star
- CL
- 4.4
- 5star
PLAYERCARDEND
Collingwood: Joe Richards (replaced Beau McCreery in the third quarter)
Crowd: 23,029 at People First Stadium
The Last Time We Met
In hindsight, our last game was a vision of the future; we dominated just about every stat except this one.
And that’s the extent of my technical analysis capabilities.
ESSENDON 6.1 7.6 9.11 12.13 (85)
COLLINGWOOD 2.6 6.11 9.12 12.13 (85)
GOALS
Essendon: Langford 4, Wright 2, Stringer, Jones, Parish, Draper, A. Davey, Martin
Collingwood: Mihocek 3, Elliott 2, Hoskin-Elliott, N. Daicos, Lipinski, Schultz, J. Daicos, Harrison, McCreery
BEST
Essendon: Merrett, Parish, Langford, Martin, Stringer, McGrath
Collingwood: N. Daicos, Pendlebury, Moore, Mihocek, Noble, J. Daicos
INJURIES
Essendon: Jones (nose)
Collingwood: Nil
SUBSTITUTES
Essendon: Nick Hind
PLAYERCARDSTART
19
Nick Hind
- Age
- 30
- Ht
- 180cm
- Wt
- 78kg
- Pos.
- D/F
Career
Season
Last 5
- D
- 10.7
- 3star
- K
- 7.2
- 3star
- HB
- 3.5
- 3star
- M
- 2.0
- 2star
- T
- 1.9
- 4star
- MG
- 117.0
- 2star
- D
- 9.5
- 2star
- K
- 4.0
- 1star
- HB
- 5.5
- 3star
- M
- 2.0
- 2star
- T
- 2.0
- 3star
- MG
- 117.0
- 2star
- D
- 10.2
- 3star
- K
- 7.2
- 3star
- HB
- 3.0
- 3star
- M
- 2.0
- 3star
- T
- 2.2
- 4star
PLAYERCARDEND
Collingwood: Harvey Harrison (replaced Mitchell in the fourth term)
Crowd: 93,644 at the MCG
The Selection Table - Yeah, I'm still grumpy
Possible Outs -
Draper - Won’t happen, but he will soon be the most underrated playing the AFL as everyone is starting to realize how well and truly bad and overrated he has been. I don’t buy what Scott said in the press conference. (Geelong have arguably the worst ruck combination in the AFL and he didn't do shit against them, should have dominated)
Goldstein - Again, wont’ happen, but most teams play one ruck.. We play two.. Oh yeah we really good at being innovators as showin the last 20 years.
Stringer/Langford/Wright - One of these has to go - The forward line doesn’t work with these three in there.
Menzie - Not fast enough or clever enough for a small forward or back pocket.
Perkins - Didn’t do enough - Too up and down despite the talent (I didn't have to change this from last week.. Surprise surprise)
Jones/Cox - Can’t play both - I prefer Cox currently
Possible Ins - (Hey, the vfl team won this week)
Hobbs - Would love to say this is based on a good VFL.. but of course he didn’t ****en play at all this weekend
Caddy - Copy and past from above
Davey - Copy and past from above
Shiel - Was very good in the VFL and maybe we can get his value up from a 4th to 3rd by playing him
Bryan - Don’t care about the GC game - Was probably BOG in the VFL again and Draper and Goldstein aren’t the answer going forward - Let’s find out if Bryan can become something or not.
My Prediction -
Collingwood by 30
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