Autopsy Round 3 = Collingwood 91-104 Geelong

[Mollythedolly]

People need to realise as well, 5 goals in modern footy is nothing, can easily be ran down in half a qtr especially with such an experienced side like Geelong

Not adding any of our own doesn't help.

 

[TheGreatGrundy]

Seriously?

He had 20 possessions, an = game high 8 clearances, an = game high 8 tackles, a game high 24 hit outs. We didn't loose this game because Grundy didn't contribute.

20 possessions most of which were hurried kicks or handballs. 0 marks or goals.

 

[lenny20]

Seriously?

He had 20 possessions, an = game high 8 clearances, an = game high 8 tackles, a game high 24 hit outs. We didn't loose this game because Grundy didn't contribute.

Grundy's a fine contributor, he broke even with Stanley and never gave up. Stanley had more score involvements a lot more marks, Grundy had three more possessions and a handful more hitouts. Split points decision.

We lost the game because we spent $1mill on a guy who breaks even with journeymen ruckman, while the Cats spent less than that on a guy who kicks six goals and wins the game off his boot.

 

[Peter Sidorkiewicz]

McRae got horribly out coached in the last quarter.
Grundy spent far too long on the bench and it’s absolute criminal letting Tom Stewart run free without an opponent.
Why I don’t get if he was the free man for Geelong, who was our free man?
Very disappointing. If you are up by 5 goals at 3rd quarter time, you shouldn’t lose.

 

[Ugene41]

Grundy's a fine contributor, he broke even with Stanley and never gave up. Stanley had more score involvements a lot more marks, Grundy had three more possessions and a handful more hitouts. Split points decision.

We lost the game because we spent $1mill on a guy who breaks even with journeymen ruckman, while the Cats spent less than that on a guy who kicks six goals and wins the game off his boot.

What kinda idiotic logic is this lol. We didn't lose this game cause of salary cap allocation. If you wanna focus on salary cap, per dollar contribution wise, Grundy provided way more than the $750k we spend p.a. on Moore and his contribution for this game.

But again, that's just a stupidly idiotic way of assessing this game.

 

[Mollythedolly]

Disappointments:
WHE

Harsh on WHE. Thought he was okay.

 

[Dead Eye Didak]

Such a shame to lose that one, but we just ran out of legs as a young team, against a seasoned team (of campaigners).

We will learn from that, i am very sure. Go Pies!

Don't think we ran out of legs, as we had all the momentum going into that last quarter.
I think we had the game won already in our heads, and then when Geelong got the momentum, every kick, handball or attempt to gather a loose ball by us, was panicked. We completely lost our way in the first 15 mins of the last quarter.
Poor turnovers, especially both Crispy's on either wing. One an over kick, the other a unnecessary handball, were costly.
Were some good signs, particularly the 3rd quarter. Thought both Daicos boys were very good, Quaynor excellent and McInnes debut was impressive. Henry currently has butter fingers, but still is an exciting talent. Thought Ginnivan struggled tonight, and Moore and Maynard were down.
Like to see Johnson come in next week, to give us another target up forward, maybe for WHE. Also think we really would like Roughy back, to assist Moore and Howe.
Be interesting to see how we back up against WCE next week, as a loss like this, where you get victory snatched from you, can rattle a young team.

 

[domus]

Far more positives than negatives. I enjoyed tonight's game more than some of our victories under Bucks. WE ran out of legs. At one stage our half forward line was McInnes, Henry and Ginnivan. About 12 games experience between the three of them. Roughy is desperately needed down back. Our ball movement and willingness to take the game on was exhilarating for most of the night despite the occasional tuff up.

I can see a huge upside to our boys. Still shattered by the loss but I think we are way ahead of where most of us expected us to be in the preseason. 37 points up late in the third had me thinking finals. We may fall away but I can see there is genuine talent in our young boys. I'd love to see Harvey Harrison get a run at some stage soon. Beau would have tidied up our inaccuracy and applied more pressure had he been out there in that last term.

 

[domus]

Don't think we ran outof legs, as we had all the momentum going into that last quarter.
I think we had the game won already in our heads, and then when Geelong got the momentum, every kick, handball or attempt to gather a loose ball by us, was panicked. We completely lost our way in the first 15 mins of the last quarter.
Poor turnovers, especially both Crispy's on either wing. One an over kick, the other a unnecessary handball, were costly.
Were some good signs, particularly the 3rd quarter. Thought both Daicos boys were very good, Quaynor excellent and McInnes debut was impressive. Henry currently has butter fingers, but still is an exciting talent. Thought Ginnivan struggled tonight, and Moore and Maynard were down.
Like to see Johnson come in next week, to give us another target up forward, maybe for WHE. Also think we really would like Roughy back, to assist Moore and Howe.
Be interesting to see how we back up against WCE next week, as a loss like this, where you get victory snatched from you, can rattle a young team.

Definitely ran out of legs. Every time the ball spilled out of the pack or was kicked wide to a wing we were outnumbered three to one. The players just couldn't get to enough contests.

 

[cityslick1]

Pretty much this is the key takeaway - yes, we lost but I’d much rather be in our position with the rebuild and a lot of promising youngsters than Geelong’s. A bunch of old men, no promising youth and no danger of doing anything meaningful in September yet again. That’s not salty at the loss, just cold hard reality.

The team will learn from it and move on. Next.

They must be the oldest team in the history of the game. Would also have loved to win that, but no one stood up in the last. Credit due to get our side to be that competitive / dominant at times, but the holes are there for all to see. And I’d be pissed if we didn’t end up with a top draft pick at years end. So the joke is well and truly on geelong…

And Nick Daicos could end up being one of the greatest footballers ever. Has it all, and already showing up some of our leaders for smarts and skill execution

 

[Mollythedolly]

Players under 50 games …

Reef McInnis - 1st game
Nick Daicos - 3rd game
Jack Ginnivan - 8th game
Oliver Henry - 13th game
Darcy Cameron - 31st game
Jack Madgen - 43rd game

Issac Quaynor - 38th game
Jack Noble - 47th game

 

[Cousin of Daicos]

Seriously?

He had 20 possessions, an = game high 8 clearances, an = game high 8 tackles, a game high 24 hit outs. We didn't loose this game because Grundy didn't contribute.

While he’s still a ways off the lofty heights of 18/19, this was probably Grundy’s best game in a long time. Couldn’t really complain about him too much tonight.

 

[PonsfordMagpie]

Chin up guys.

I was a little deflated immediately after the game. Upon reflection, I feel upbeat about the direction we're heading in. There's a lot to be excited about despite the manner of the defeat which stings because we relinquished a 37 point lead.

Geelong are a battle hardened and experienced team. They're not the sort of team to panic even if the game is going against them at various stages. Everyone did note pre-match that their talls and bigger bodied players would be our biggest challenge which proved to be the case in the final quarter.

The first half was good in a lot of areas except in front of goal. Missed too many shots early, which haunted us later on.

The third quarter was outstanding. Won the clearances, moved the ball quickly and started getting rewarded on the scoreboard. That part of the game is what will keep supporters optimistic going forward. It was great to watch.

The last quarter collapse occurred because we lost the centre clearances badly and we tired ourselves out after exerting ourselves hard for the first three quarters. We simply need to get fitter, but that takes a few pre-seasons for it to show tangible results especially among younger players.

Tonight is a good lesson for the young players and our coaching staff and will hopefully serve us well going forward in addressing our weaknesses. It's going to be a season of ups and downs, but everyone was prepared for that.

The long term aim for the recruiters is to find a proper key forward which we've been lacking for years. We have a lot of good mid-sized forwards but that reliable tall marking forward is essential in winning premierships.

If someone said we'd be 2-1 and nearly 3-0 before the season started, I would have taken it in a heartbeat.

Play with the same intensity as we did tonight against West Coast next week, I'm confident we'll rebound with a strong victory.

 

[Mollythedolly]

Four young players I'd say there. Two more in their mid 20s. That can be a lot in a game. Be interesting to see how many sub 50 game players Geelong fielded.

Four of their 23 v 8 of our 22 <50 games.

We had 7 >150 games, they had 12.

Our average age was 26 years 2 months, theirs 28 years 3 months.

Our games average was 107.4, theirs 157.7.

 

[BoneBones]

Haven’t checked the stats but first three quarters we were all over them in the middle of the park. Last quarter I don’t remember us getting one clearance. They got every single ball around the bounce and because of that we only played defensively. I’m presuming coach tried to slow it down a bit in the final which seemed like the right thing to do but in hindsight we should have continued the third qtr offensive in the middle And tried to score a goal or two. Nontheless lot of fun to watch live at the G

 

[Dead Eye Didak]

Definitely ran out of legs. Every time the ball spilled out of the pack or was kicked wide to a wing we were outnumbered three to one. The players just couldn't get to enough contests.

Bit of both, l think. We didn't play that last quarter to smartly, and panicked alot, particularly in defence and through the middle of the ground. Geelong had nothing to lose in that last quarter, and they just wanted chaos, fast footy to get the ball quickly to the 2 big forwards and we played straight into their hands.

 

[swoop42]

When you're up against a side with 2 AA quality key forwards you need your best key defender to sacrifice their attacking inclinations and be given a more old fashioned lock down role on one of them for the night. Without Roughead in support this was even more critical.

Moore for all of his ability has a habit of giving his opponent to much freedom and puts to much faith in his own ability to read the play or make up the ground required because of his athleticism.

Moore should have been given the task on Hawkins, Maynard on Cameron when he pushes up the field with Howe roaming the D50 in support when he plays deep.

 

[eyeroller]

We had 2 players with over 200 games and they had 10. I feel like that is pretty significant

 

[SouthernPie]

Like most here, I love the manic, attacking game style that we're currently developing. It's simply unbelievable to think we could kick 9 goals in a quarter against Geelong.
However, I am a bit surprised that the coaching box did nothing to try and stop the Cat's run on in the last quarter. McFly said in his presser that they knew it was coming, but couldn't stop it.
I would suggest then that between himself, Leppitsch and Bolton, that they come up with an emergency plan to fit such scenarios!! Like propping up the defence or resorting to some tempo footy. It can't be manic attack all the time, because as has been mentioned here, 5 plus goal leads are nothing in today's footy. Solid defensive footy surely still has a role to play during certain periods in certain matches. We can't just be one trick ponies.

Loved the spirit and determination on display today, but think the coaching team also has some mistakes to fix.
That's fine - plenty of time to do so.

 

[Jen2310]

We play at such a high intensity, just learning to do that for 4 quarters. Definitely a lot more positives than negatives that's for sure.

They'll learn from this and adjust. With such a young group, with adapting to a new game plan; inconsistencies will happen.

Onto next week.

 

[PonsfordMagpie]

Fly's post match presser:

What did you say to the players after the game?

"It's hard not to be disappointed when you get to the stage of the game where you're up by 5 goals at 3QT and not get a result. I just think with where we're at, at the moment that we're still finding out a little bit about ourselves; at what level we can compete at against mature opposition and quality team, so we're still finding out a little bit about ourselves. I thought there was a lot of positives to take out of it. I think one of the good things that we reflected on was the fight, particularly when the Cats got a couple of goals up in the third quarter and our ability to fight back and then end up kicking 9 goals in the quarter. I think that's something we will definitely take out of it".

What do you think shifted for Geelong to get momentum in the last quarter?

"We knew what was coming. We knew that they would get more aggressive, go through the corridor and play a really attacking mark and play on type style so we knew it was coming. It's one thing to know it's coming but another thing in trying to stop it. I think with our group we're playing a really high energy, ferocious attack of the game and the ball. We're just finding out whether we can do that for four quarters at the moment or try to do it for four quarters. That's two weeks in a row where we haven't really scored much in the last quarter so they're little things we're finding out about ourselves".

Did you anticipate the struggle to play four quarters of football or is it surprising?

"Nah, we've had an enormous pre-season. Jarrod Wade [has] come down from the Rabbitohs and has got them [players] really fit. The players have had a huge body of work. It's not a fitness thing. It's about being able to do our style for long enough and clearly when you're playing a team like the Cats, they're not going to allow you to do your style for four quarters so we're just finding out about ourselves a little bit".

What was it like in the coaches box in the second half with the extremes of the third and final quarter?

"There's moments of that. I think the momentum shifts is about making the most of them. I even thought about the second quarter where I think we only kicked 4.11 up until half time, but we just didn't capitalise on the chances that we had. The game felt like it was how we wanted it to look. The inside 50 battle we won, we won the contested possession and pressure at times was really high. It looked like how we want the game to be played, but funny sometimes you don't always get the result. We got shown tonight that you've got to be able to do it for longer".

You used Nick Daicos as a mid-forward tonight. Is that a preference going forward or is it a side balance type thing?

"We are conscious of Nick's workload. Funnily enough, that player that's played through the midfield, Tyler Brown

21

Tyler Brown

Age

24

Ht

192cm

Wt

84kg

Pos.

M/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

11.0

3star

K

4.0

2star

HB

7.0

4star

M

1.0

1star

T

1.4

3star

CL

0.6

3star

D

11.0

3star

K

4.0

1star

HB

7.0

4star

M

1.0

1star

T

1.4

2star

CL

0.6

3star

D

11.0

3star

K

4.0

2star

HB

7.0

5star

M

1.0

1star

T

1.4

4star

CL

0.6

3star

has been doing it for the last couple of games and [N Daicos] has not been getting much mid time so we thought we would just play a guy like Nick who can play everywhere and make the most of those minutes he's got. He's capable of playing multiple roles. I think futuristically he'll probably play more mid-forward. We're trying to look after him and play him a bit up half back as well".

What did you make of Nick Daicos' goal?

"Yeah, it's a nice first goal of his career. He's going to be an outstanding player for our footy club. We've got to make sure we look after him and get him through and make sure he can show everyone what he's capable of for the whole year".

The current game style is radically different to last year. Do you feel like from a teaching perspective it's still developing each week and that there's still growth?

"I've been really pleased to be honest. I wasn't sure if we would pick up the game style this quick. We've been really competitive and again tonight you saw our style. You come and watch us play and you think 'wow this is an exciting brand, our pressure is really high' and you know how we're trying to play. We've got to try and do it for longer. I think ultimately the players after tonight felt like they can trust the system and it works. I think these games even though you don't get the result, there's a level of belief in what we're doing is right and now we've just got to be able to do it for longer".

Is the style you brought because you think it's going to be more successful or is it due to the personnel and what would suit them specifically.

"It's all stemmed from trying to get the ball inside 50 more. 18th last year and trying to get the ball with some more territory and that was always the plan at the start. We trained it really hard. Taking more contest and being a little bit more chaotic, but it's a high taxing game plan. We've got a young group that we might just have to evolve a little bit and see if we can manage that energy to get us through the four quarters".

Cameron and Hawkins kicked 9 between them. Did you feel you were missing a big bodied defender?

"We're getting Roughy back in a couple of weeks and Charlie Dean is out. I think our system sort of failed us a little bit at times. Those sort of key defenders that were all on the end of those key forwards kicking those goals, I think our system failed us at times particularly late in the game when we just sort of got a little bit out of whack and we've got some work to do on that".

Chris Scott referenced that a lot of Geelong's senior players got around each other in a huddle to do it for Joel Selwood in his record breaking game as captain. Did you feel that in the last quarter?

"I can't say that specifically. I'm sure if I was wearing a Cats jumper, I would want to make sure to do everything I can to support Joel. I said this during the week, I think Joel has been an outstanding role model for our game. I've had a little bit to do with the family with Joel's brother way back when I played and I have the utmost respect for him and congratulations to him on breaking the record".

Jack Ginnivan had a bit of attention tonight, what do you think of the cheeky digs?

"To be honest I don't really care if he has pink hair as long as he keeps playing his role, putting pressure on and getting under the opposition's skin. I think there's a role for that, and we're within the rules. He's only a young player who's played 6 or 7 games now so he's finding out what best suits him to play at this level. I like what he's bringing to the table right now".

You must have been happy with Reef McInnes. What did you think of his debut?

"Yeah, if you watch the VFL today they had a great victory against a really experienced Cats team, full strength. We had a lot of kids playing VFL and playing good footy. Reef was one this week and there's a couple of more just waiting in the wings for their opportunity".

What was the issue with Steele Sidebottom

22

Steele Sidebottom

Age

33

Ht

184cm

Wt

86kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

27.4

5star

K

14.1

5star

HB

13.3

5star

M

5.5

5star

T

3.7

5star

CL

3.2

5star

D

24.0

5star

K

12.0

5star

HB

12.0

5star

M

4.5

4star

T

4.3

5star

CL

2.3

4star

D

31.6

5star

K

14.4

5star

HB

17.2

5star

M

4.2

4star

T

4.2

5star

CL

6.0

5star

during the week?

"Steele had some gastro early in the week and didn't train on Thursday. He's got some cramps late in the game, but he'll be fine".

Do you know where you're at in the competition? You were 17th last year and now you were close to 3-0?

"Nah, we got no idea [laughs*]. We're just working it out. It's round 3. We've shown in three rounds that our best looks really competitive. We've shown that we've been matched by St Kilda and Geelong tonight and we've been able to respond. We don't know where we're at yet".

Press Conference: Craig McRae

Watch Collingwood's press conference after round three's match against Geelong.

www.collingwoodfc.com.au

 

[SouthernPie]

I do like the refusal of McFly to buy into any controversial topics raised by the footy journalists eg player contracts, Ginnivan's hair colour
I wonder when he talks about the defensive system failing and needing work, he's including the coaching panel and their teaching in that? We'll see I guess the next few times a team gets a run on against us.

 

[Bianconeri]

Disappointing result but very encouraging signs. I felt we fell apart at the stoppages at the end and stopped daring to go forward. Probably not helped but running out of legs and losing a hard running rotation. We were also wasteful early on. It could so easily have been a different result.

I don’t think we stopped daring at all. The problem was our players didn’t slow up and make better decisions. Lost count of how many “daring” forward handballs got cut off. I think this is where lack of the extra key forward hurts us, we don’t have the bail out kick.

 

[Bianconeri]

20 possessions most of which were hurried kicks or handballs. 0 marks or goals.

0 marks is telling but I think FLY tells him to stay behind the ball when it’s in the forwardline so I wouldn’t expect him to kick too many goals.

 

[lethalburns]

I wasn't expecting so much negativity after that performance and our season to date.

The loss was disappointing but from my perspective it's starting to look like we may have under estimated what this team is capable of.

The most exciting thing is that neither Pendlebury or Sidebottom (gastro) were the catalysts for how well we played, it was mostly our younger players.

All of a sudden we are 2-1, we're playing a style of football that is exciting to watch and we still have Roughhead, Dean, McCreery and potentially even Ash Johnson (who put on an absolute clinic) to come in.

I don't think Buckley is a great leader of people but he is a very astute observer of the game. He made the comment at half time that "We haven't seen the best of this team yet", alluding to our youth and inexperience playing this brand of football.

The last thing I am going to say is that the criticism of Henry is a little over the top. We're talking about a 17 19 year old. This was a finals type game and even though he made mistakes he didn't drop his head and his chase in the 3rd quarter showed that he will not stop trying even if he is low on confidence.

Mcrae is the perfect coach for this list with his development background. I don't know if he will take us to a flag but he is going to help these kids grow into their skin in a very healthy way.