On recent form even the most one eyed Lions supporter is going to struggle to put their money on the Lions this week. Brisbane have looked a million miles away from the top 4 in recent matches and Collingwood look like a certain top 4 team atm. Things can turn around quickly though and for the Lions that must start with the work levels and finish with the skill levels. In very simple terms the Lions do not run hard enough and when they manage to get the ball they don’t use it particularly well. Considering our fitness was a feature early in the season I am not sure what has happened. Maybe we have done an Adelaide and overtrained and niggling injuries are catching up with us. Whatever it is we are looking like a bottom 4 side.
With all our problems Collingwood is not unbeatable by any stretch. They are a team with a good defense and excellent midfield but, for an aspiring premier, a very average forward line. The Pies can struggle to put up scores particular as they tire after half time. The last couple of weeks Collingwood have faded out of games and their accuracy in front of goal has been woeful. So if we can keep it close early we just might be a shot in the second half.
The offseason moves by the two sides make for an interesting comparison. Collingwood determined that they needed a quality onballer and tap ruckman and went out and secured the best option available at each position being Ball and Jolly. In contrast with the Lions needing an onballer as well as some speed and skill went out and got a heap of players none of whom addressed those needs. They did get a couple of players (Fevola and Maguire) who have performed reasonably but in each case they repeated the skill sets of the incumbents. The others are all depth players who did not give us the skills we needed. A big contrast in attitude to list management and one of the reasons I was happy to see the back of Gubby.
On Ball he was a bit quieter last week against Geelong but he has really been starting to find his feet after a slowish start for Collingwood. In the previous 3 or so matches he has been excellent in the clearances and has been responsible for giving Collingwood first use of the ball on many occasions. He looks to have found match fitness and is gelling with his teammates. If the Lions were serious about having a stab this year the Lions should have taken him ahead of Collingwood in the draft. He is exactly the type of in and under player we desperately need.
Jolly on the other hand has been a bit of a disappointment. He is certainly not performing to the standard he did in Sydney and is probably back in midpack now as far as rucks go. Wood has continued to slowly improve and personally I think he has been on par with Jolly this year. He is good in the ruck, reasonable around the grounds and capable of taking a nice mark. The battle between the ruck divisions I think will be pretty even with both sets of rucks having a fair bit of talent but an inclination to be a little wasteful with taps on occasions.
One of the keys for the Lions as far as I am concerned is ensuring Maxwell has to match up on someone. We need our third forward to work hard and be a target and our midfield to actually look to use him (a pet peeve of mine for about 5 years with the Lions). Maxwell is an excellent cut out loose defender who gives Collingwood a lot of their run. On the other side of the coin though he is actually a poor man defender and he can really be taken advantage of if the delivery is up to scratch. Forcing him to match up also disrupts the counterattack of the Pies. I would really like to see Cornelius get a chance to show what he can do. Alternatively Clark could float down there and cause issues.
Shaw is the other running defender who does not have a natural match up and accordingly might be left free which could seriously hurt us. Banfield is too pacy for Shaw so Shaw is unlikely to go to him but going the other way Banfield is going to have to work hard to shut down Shaw as soon as he can. If he is left to roam free he can rack up a heap of possessions and really hurt us. Presti has been unable to force his way back into the side the last couple of weeks but I would be shocked if he was not back this week. Presti usually does well on both Brown and Fevola and Nathan Brown struggled last week against Geelong. O’Brien has been a bit hot and cold this year and seems to be more focused on his offence rather than his defense and I am not sure that this helps his team too much. He is a very good defender when he concentrates on this role and I think he should try and regain his focus on that area.
In the middle would be where Collingwood seem to have a large edge over us. Ball as mentioned is starting to do very well, Swan has continued on from last year getting possessions at will and Pendlebury has been good although he hasn’t taken the step up into stardom that I thought he might at the beginning of the year. The other guy who I think has contributed significantly to Collingwood’s improvement this year has been Wellingham. He has stepped his running up and gets to good spots to receive the ball. He has been getting a lot of it and his disposal has been good and he delivers it into the 50 a lot. On the other side of the coin Ben Johnson also has been working hard and getting a bit of it but he is one guy you are usually happy to see get the ball as he has shocking disposal skills and is just as likely to hit a Lion as a Pie.
Sidebottom has established himself in the midfield this year and is showing he belongs at this level. He has not been a huge stand out but has been solid. Beams has had some issues this year and is playing more forward this year. He has been an impact player though and has looked very good with the ball in his hands. He picked up 4 goals against Geelong last week and has consistently delivered the ball into his forwards well all year. I think Didak has taken over a fair bit of the mid time Beams had last year. He continues to struggle with a tag and can disappear for long periods. Still when he gets it he is very dangerous and he has high hurt factor. He should definitely pick up a tag and I am thinking Polks might get the job. Swan or Pendlebury would be the other guys to consider tagging and I would play Selwood on Swan personally. Take out Swans easy link up possessions and you seriously disrupt the Collingwood run.
As mentioned up forward Collingwood have been disappointing. Cloke continues his mediocre career and looks incapable of taking a mark anywhere except out on the wing. With that said I don’t think Maguire matches up well on him and if ever Cloke was going to kick a few goals it would be this weekend. Dawes is a big boy but another who still has a lot to learn. I would be surprised if Anthony did not come into the side this week. Davis has been stuck in the forward pocket and has looked disinterested most of the year. He has gotten very little of the midfield time he saw last year and as a consequence he has largely been a non-factor all year.
With all our problems Collingwood is not unbeatable by any stretch. They are a team with a good defense and excellent midfield but, for an aspiring premier, a very average forward line. The Pies can struggle to put up scores particular as they tire after half time. The last couple of weeks Collingwood have faded out of games and their accuracy in front of goal has been woeful. So if we can keep it close early we just might be a shot in the second half.
The offseason moves by the two sides make for an interesting comparison. Collingwood determined that they needed a quality onballer and tap ruckman and went out and secured the best option available at each position being Ball and Jolly. In contrast with the Lions needing an onballer as well as some speed and skill went out and got a heap of players none of whom addressed those needs. They did get a couple of players (Fevola and Maguire) who have performed reasonably but in each case they repeated the skill sets of the incumbents. The others are all depth players who did not give us the skills we needed. A big contrast in attitude to list management and one of the reasons I was happy to see the back of Gubby.
On Ball he was a bit quieter last week against Geelong but he has really been starting to find his feet after a slowish start for Collingwood. In the previous 3 or so matches he has been excellent in the clearances and has been responsible for giving Collingwood first use of the ball on many occasions. He looks to have found match fitness and is gelling with his teammates. If the Lions were serious about having a stab this year the Lions should have taken him ahead of Collingwood in the draft. He is exactly the type of in and under player we desperately need.
Jolly on the other hand has been a bit of a disappointment. He is certainly not performing to the standard he did in Sydney and is probably back in midpack now as far as rucks go. Wood has continued to slowly improve and personally I think he has been on par with Jolly this year. He is good in the ruck, reasonable around the grounds and capable of taking a nice mark. The battle between the ruck divisions I think will be pretty even with both sets of rucks having a fair bit of talent but an inclination to be a little wasteful with taps on occasions.
One of the keys for the Lions as far as I am concerned is ensuring Maxwell has to match up on someone. We need our third forward to work hard and be a target and our midfield to actually look to use him (a pet peeve of mine for about 5 years with the Lions). Maxwell is an excellent cut out loose defender who gives Collingwood a lot of their run. On the other side of the coin though he is actually a poor man defender and he can really be taken advantage of if the delivery is up to scratch. Forcing him to match up also disrupts the counterattack of the Pies. I would really like to see Cornelius get a chance to show what he can do. Alternatively Clark could float down there and cause issues.
Shaw is the other running defender who does not have a natural match up and accordingly might be left free which could seriously hurt us. Banfield is too pacy for Shaw so Shaw is unlikely to go to him but going the other way Banfield is going to have to work hard to shut down Shaw as soon as he can. If he is left to roam free he can rack up a heap of possessions and really hurt us. Presti has been unable to force his way back into the side the last couple of weeks but I would be shocked if he was not back this week. Presti usually does well on both Brown and Fevola and Nathan Brown struggled last week against Geelong. O’Brien has been a bit hot and cold this year and seems to be more focused on his offence rather than his defense and I am not sure that this helps his team too much. He is a very good defender when he concentrates on this role and I think he should try and regain his focus on that area.
In the middle would be where Collingwood seem to have a large edge over us. Ball as mentioned is starting to do very well, Swan has continued on from last year getting possessions at will and Pendlebury has been good although he hasn’t taken the step up into stardom that I thought he might at the beginning of the year. The other guy who I think has contributed significantly to Collingwood’s improvement this year has been Wellingham. He has stepped his running up and gets to good spots to receive the ball. He has been getting a lot of it and his disposal has been good and he delivers it into the 50 a lot. On the other side of the coin Ben Johnson also has been working hard and getting a bit of it but he is one guy you are usually happy to see get the ball as he has shocking disposal skills and is just as likely to hit a Lion as a Pie.
Sidebottom has established himself in the midfield this year and is showing he belongs at this level. He has not been a huge stand out but has been solid. Beams has had some issues this year and is playing more forward this year. He has been an impact player though and has looked very good with the ball in his hands. He picked up 4 goals against Geelong last week and has consistently delivered the ball into his forwards well all year. I think Didak has taken over a fair bit of the mid time Beams had last year. He continues to struggle with a tag and can disappear for long periods. Still when he gets it he is very dangerous and he has high hurt factor. He should definitely pick up a tag and I am thinking Polks might get the job. Swan or Pendlebury would be the other guys to consider tagging and I would play Selwood on Swan personally. Take out Swans easy link up possessions and you seriously disrupt the Collingwood run.
As mentioned up forward Collingwood have been disappointing. Cloke continues his mediocre career and looks incapable of taking a mark anywhere except out on the wing. With that said I don’t think Maguire matches up well on him and if ever Cloke was going to kick a few goals it would be this weekend. Dawes is a big boy but another who still has a lot to learn. I would be surprised if Anthony did not come into the side this week. Davis has been stuck in the forward pocket and has looked disinterested most of the year. He has gotten very little of the midfield time he saw last year and as a consequence he has largely been a non-factor all year.
Tell me it isn't true!!! 
