Round 17 - Collingwood vs Box Hill at Victoria Park

[MagpieBat]

Where and When:
10:30am this Saturday at Lulie Street.

Broadcast:
Radio - 3WBC community radio (94.1 FM in Eastern/South-Eastern Melbourne, streamed online at http://srv1.mel.apstream.net/3wbc_relay).

Internet - LiveChat at collingwoodfc.com.au

Team:
B: J. Thomas Paine Ugle
HB: Yagmoor Ceglar Cribbin
C: Mooney Didak McNamara
HF: Smith Witts Buckley
F: K. Pendlebury Wood Hellier
R: Gault Clarke Rounds
Int: Cathcart Riddle Ferraro Sundberg Wallace Williams Stubbs Hine

Where They Sit:
Box Hill: 6th (7 wins, 6 losses, 3 byes, 104.82%)
Collingwood: 11th (3 wins, 10 losses, 3 byes, 74.45%)

Last Time They Met:
Round 5, 2012 at Box Hill City Oval
Box Hill 20.10.130, def
Collingwood 11.9.75

Head to Head (since 2008):
Played: 6
Collingwood: 3
Box Hill: 3

How They Went Last Week:
Collingwood 7.6.48, def by
Geelong 11.18.84

Frankston 9.14.68, def by
Box Hill 12.10.82

Once again, for the second successive week, 'tis a double header on Saturday: the curtain-raiser at Victoria Park, followed by the big rumble at the 'G.

Set your alarm clocks and pack your thermal garments, it's gonna be cold and early out there. Might want to also pack your running shoes and get your transport to the 'G worked out ahead of time - only the better part of 35 minutes between the end of the VFL and the start of the AFL.

All in the name of good television...

Over to you...

[Jezza]

I'm hoping for an improved performance by Collingwood this weekend. Last week they were very ordinary and not enough players stepped up when it mattered. We can't leave it up to too few players, we need a team effort. If we play like we did against Port Melbourne earlier in the year, then we're capable of winning any match. I can't see why we can't pick up the four points this weekend even if Box Hill is 5 spots above us.

I'm thinking of heading to this one, but I get a feeling I'll be sleeping in and then will head straight to the Pies and Hawks match at the MCG, instead of doing the double-header.

[Dave The Man]

I be heading down to Catch the Game before the AFL Game

[jackcass]

Collingwood
B J. Thomas Paine Ugle
HB Yagmoor Ceglar Cribbin
C Mooney Didak McNamara
HF Smith Witts Buckley
F K. Pendlebury Wood Hellier
R Gault Clarke Rounds

Int
Cathcart Riddle Ferraro Sundberg
Wallace Williams Stubbs Hine

Good to see Dids back.

http://www.sportingpulse.com/get_file.cgi?id=1952991

[jackcass]

Box Hill Hawks
B Thompson Boumann Duryea
HB Litherland Pattison Mirra
C Hill Hallahan Savage
HF Bateman Bailey Andrews
F Hodge McCauley Pratt
R Lowden Jones Schneider

Int
Muston Johnson Hughes X. Murphy
Kelly Gilchrist Lock Tobin Summer*

Good to see Hodge finally make a return to footy. BH have similar issues to the Pies trying to squeeze Boumann, Pattison, Bailey, McCauley, and Lowden into their team. Could be the battle of the big blokes.

[Macedonian Marvel #35]

DIDS!

[Jezza]

Great news about Didak returning. Let's hope he plays a blinder this week

[MagpieBat]

DIDAK IS BACK!!!

And while I think that the ressies team doesn't get enough love, I really do hope we don't see Dids at VFL level for too long - we need him back and at his best, ASAP.

BH have similar issues to the Pies trying to squeeze Boumann, Pattison, Bailey, McCauley, and Lowden into their team. Could be the battle of the big blokes.

McCauley got the better of Wood last time we played Box Hill. Bailey, even in his 2nd or so game back, will take care of Wood quite comprehensively. Ceglar against McCauley looks like an interesting battle, though (Ceglar has the potential to be 10 times the ruckman Wood is, but is still very raw.)

Hodge coming back automatically elevates their midfield higher than ours, but he is coming back from a knee. Might be quite rusty and will be managed quite dilligently by the Hawks medical staff.

From the blokes on the pine, Ferraro and Sundberg are automatic inclusions, while Lachy Wallace is another VFL player who deserves a game in the VFL side ahead of AFL list-cloggers such as Buckley. Has ben in great form and is a gun, in my view. We should at least look at him in the rookie draft.

Gault named as starting in the ruck? I think he is a viable 2nd ruck/3rd forward, for debut as soon as next week against GW$, if we want to rest someone.

Once again, though, our desire/need to play an insane number of talls without utilizing the advantage of the 23rd man in the VFL will likely see us brought undone. Wood is Wood, that's never going to change. Gault and Ceglar are promising but still raw. Witts is having a bit of an average patch and needs to be developed carefully in the VFL for quite some time to come.

And Shae Mac... well, I think it's time to call time on the experiment. Great bloke, by all accounts, but is stuck in neutral and has been all season. Should never have been used in defence, plays best on the wing and as chop-out ruck. Would drop him and play Riddle in defence instead.

From among the talls who actually can beat their man, Paine will be forced again to play a lone hand up forward, with maybe only Gault giving him some relief as a marking forward target.

Hope Buckley responds as well as Clarke has when dropped to the twos and doesn't sulk after recieving a gift of a place in the seniors ever since BJ went down. Also hoping for more improvement from Mooney, Josh Thomas and Yagmoor.

They'll likely win, but here's at least hoping for a bit of a fight from our boys...

[Culprit]

Bit more balanced this week but Box Hill are a good team.

Wood needs to run through Bailey at least once in a ruck contest and early. Give away the free kick; just let Bailey know he has an opponent.

Didak to be eased into the game.
Buckley should kill it at this level.
Clarke has to tighten up on the defensive side to his game.

And Ricardo Ferraro will be the 32nd forward and will still pick up possession after possession.

[Fire Up]

we might be able to see the 3 irish guys play in the same team, which could be intresting. also keep in mind 1 of clarke, mooney, bucks will not be playing and will be on stand by for the afl team. but if the 3 of them are playing at vic park they will not be playing afl.

dids will play at least 3/4 of the game as he might be in afl side next week.

just wait till the krak and caff to be in the vfl in the coming weeks and then the team will change alot.

[stui magpie]

10:30 am? In the morning? WTF?

What a ridiculous time for a game of senior football.

[MagpieBat]

^ Technically, yes, it is senior football in the VFL. But it's reserves level for us. But yeah, I agree. Ridiculous time for a game of footy.

At the very least, the AFL could have given us the 2:10pm slot for the Hawthorn game, would at least give our people the extra 30 minutes or so to make it to the 'G from Victoria Park. Idiots.

Double headers seem to work their best when the VFL is played at, say, 2:00pm and the AFL is at 7:40pm on Saturday. Although DTM probably would disagree with me on that. Apparently, there is not a whole lot to do in Melbourne when you have a couple of hours spare...

[MagpieBat]

Final team is in:

B: J.Thomas, Paine, Ugle
HB: Yagmoor, Sundberg, Cribbin
C: Wallace, Didak, McNamara
HF: Smith, Witts, Buckley
F: Stubbs, Wood, Hellier
Foll: Gault, Clarke, Rounds
Int Cathcart, Riddle, Ferraro, Sundberg, Hine

Of the AFL emergencies, Mooney and Savage held over.

Proceedings are underway. Pies to the Yarra Falls End.

Paine goals!

6-0.

2 mins gone...

[John Wren]

tune in to 94.1fm for commentary of the game.

[MagpieBat]

^ On it right now, JW.