Pre-Match: Collingwood V Essenscum - All comments here

Joel · Post by **Joel** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 9:59 am

ANZAC DAY: LEST WE FORGET

Just a note, the game is not on at the normal time of 2.10pm, the game will be starting at 1.15pm. Please check here for more details: http://afl.com.au/default.asp?pg=aflfoc ... eid=144380

Okay guys, I think we have to start concentrating on this match. Who do you think will play? Can we win, and how, or will the Dons be too good?

Form:

Essendon walloped Carlton last week, but having said that, Carlton beat them in three quarters (1, 2 and 4).

Our form is pretty crap, having lost to Freo in the last game by a fair margin.

Likely to miss:

Again, we will probably be without Tarrant and Buckley. Moreover, we may miss Scott Burns, but he did come back on the ground after hurting himself last week.

Who will win?

Personally, based on out current form, I think the Dons will win.

Ev5Magpies · Post by **Ev5Magpies** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 10:22 am

It's not really looking good for us at this stage. Although the newspapers say Taz may be available to play, we shouldn't rely on speculation to get our hopes up.

As we all know, we have too many passengers ATM & we just can't kick enough goals. Rocca (injury or not) needs to be the dominant forward for us & needs to kick 4 as a minimum this week. Sheedy will put Lucas on him. Now he is a dud, but everytime they play us, he plays well for some unbeknown reason. I'm not sure who else we can rely on to kick goals as last year Taz, Pebs, Dids were the main goalkickers + some of the midfielders were kicking 1-2 to chip in.

Didak has to lift & be creative & kick the goals we know he can. Leave him up forward because ATM he is useless onball. Another one who we need 3+ goals out of.

J.Cloke, well not much needs to be said here, he's having a nightmare & it seems to be happening time & time again. What MM needs to do is either drop him to Willi or leave him on the ground so he can possibly find touch to get some confidence back.

Williams & R Shaw, what do we do with them??? They are useless to us, but worldbeaters for Willi! How many chances does one get? One of or possibly both will not play this week, but the same question comes up, who do we bring in?

C Cloke got in the best for Willi on the weekend so he can't be too far away from getting a gig in the big time. What a game to make your debut & show what your made of.

I could go on forever here but we all know who the offenders are b/c of the multiple threads on the board. So all in all, i can't see us getting over the line in this one either, even though Anzac Day clashes, bar last years result, have been close.

Post by **swooper** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 10:25 am

I think Essendon will be licking their lips for this game - probably cant believe their luck. It hurts to say it but I think the Pies will lose big this week, unless some unbelievable turn around occurs on the day because if they play anywhere near like they did against Freo, we will be walloped big time.

Joel · Post by **Joel** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 10:28 am

Post by **swooper** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 10:44 am

Hey Joel, will your avatar change if we win this week!

Joel · Post by **Joel** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 10:57 am

I'm not thinking that far ahead, yet.

Joel · Post by **Joel** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 11:11 am

This is the injury list, according to the Herald Sun.

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/ ... 98,00.html

COLLINGWOOD
Nathan Buckley (back) - 2 weeks
Chris Tarrant (hamstring) - 2 weeks
Tarkyn Lockyer (foot) - 3-4 weeks
Leon Davis (finger) - 2 weeks
Scott Burns (knee) - test
Steve McKee (chest) - available

JLC · Post by **JLC** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 11:24 am

Big big game against one of our arch rivals this week and the team i hate the most along with Brisbane. Surely the player group as a collective whole will lift for this game and show the football public the true Collingwood performances we know they are capable of. They certainly have plenty of ammunition based on what Dean Wallis said earlier in the year, Robert Walls has also stated on a number of times his thoughts and our awful performance last Anzac Day and last but not least getting our season back on track.

Foxy has mentioned on this board and a few others that the midfield is they key and this week will be no different. A big chance for us to get some centre clearances as the Essendon midfield is no where near as good as Fremantles especially given that Jason Johnson wont be playing. Misiti is old and slow, Murphy is a receiver, Pevrill has been getting a lot of ball this year but is not a class player. Obree, Licuria and Woewodin all need to lift and give Burns and Rogan some support.

My main area of concerns are the two bookends. Presti and Wakelin need to be at the top of their game to stop Lloyd (He is still taking dives saw at least one last week). Wakelin did a superb job in rd 22 last year before he went off injured. Lloyd beat Presti last Anzac Day game. Benny Johnson should get Cupido if he plays and he has done the job before. Clement takes Hird if Hird plays forward. If Hirds in midfield then maybe Lonie will get the job given his effort on Pavlich.

Up forward Lucas is the ideal match up for Rocca and that is my main worry. Im not sure where our other goals are going to come from. Fletcher matches up pretty well if Rogan goes forward. Didak is out of form and Lokan is more of a pinch hitter. Williams hasnt shown much since early last year. Hopefully Rocca can play a blinder and lift the other forwards around him. Tazza will be sorely missed.

If we shut down Hird, Lucas and Lloyd then a win is certainly not out of the question as i still believe Essendon have a heavy reliance on a few key players.

jlc

Post by **swooper** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 12:12 pm

Good summary JLC, but unfortunately therein lies the problem - shutting down Hird and Lloyd. We are always supposed to 'lift' for these big games, but how can we forget last years dismal effort? Albeit, I have to say the majority of the ANZAC days clashes are pretty decent games. I am worried about Lloyd, Presti may well struggle I fear. I am hoping for a wet day and some early injuries to the bummers!!

PiesFan · Post by **PiesFan** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 12:41 pm

JLC wrote:
Foxy has mentioned on this board and a few others that the midfield is they key and this week will be no different. A big chance for us to get some centre clearances as the Essendon midfield is no where near as good as Fremantles especially given that Jason Johnson wont be playing.

On paper our midfield looks stronger. But thats IF licuria, woewodin and obree gain some form back. Hopefully Burnsy will be ok this week.

How bout giving McGough a go this week... surely he will be in contention due to his previous record in anzac day matches, though i dont remember how well he did last year. If we can get some clearances going, we may be able to address our current delivery into the forward line. We need to get it in there quick and efficiently.

Our main concern is whether we can kick enough goals. Our defense has been pretty reliable this year. How did we go from the side that kicked the second most amount of points last year, to a side that can barely kick 10 goals a game now? Even without taz, we have the capabilities to kick a winning score.

Dids probably needs to be left forward a bit more because we need some goals. Anthony needs a big game - but lucas does well on him. Hopefully his presence can lift the forwards around him.

In regards to our defense, i have full confidence that we can do a decent job on Lloyd and Hird. Wakes is still in great touch, maybe he'll get the job on Lloyd. Johnno may get the job on solomon if he goes forward, which would force Solomon to be more accountable. I think Lonie on Hird in the midfield is a good challenge for him, he did ok on Pavlich. He needs to be tighter then he was against the dockers.

Lastly they have pretty big ruckmen, hopefully Josh can hold his own in the ruck contests. He'll wipe the floor with them around the ground with his mobility and skill. Guy Richards has done ok so far this year, hopefully that trend continues on Sunday.

Theres no reason to write them off completely. Apart from Hird and Lloyd, most of the bumbers arent in top form either. Cmon pies, even some of ur own supporters are writing you off. 2-3 doesnt look nearly as bad as 1-4. Fight to the death, believe in yourselves!

Culprit · Post by **Culprit** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 12:56 pm

Time for the club to purchase 22 tubes of lubricant as we are going to be bent over this week.

"A weeks a long time in football".

JLC · Post by **JLC** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 1:00 pm

Essendon have only beaten Carlton and just snuck over the line against WCE thanks to a super human effort by Hird and 8 goals from Lloyd.

jlc

sq3 · Post by **sq3** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 2:03 pm

As long as they have been trained lightly this week we will be fine.

When fatigue from overtraining sets in the first thing that suffers is the skill level - and that is what is killing us.

If we can hit targets and keep posession and put the ball out in front of the forwards we will keep posession and have shots for goal.

Bombers are not great and we have a good chance - if they have not been run into the ground at training.

Birdy · Post by **Birdy** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 2:26 pm

I don't think we need to concentrate too much on Hird, he'll sneak in a few arsey kicks here and there anyway but as long as we rough him up a bit he'll stay quiet. Stopping Lloyd is what worries me, he's the number one full forward and he's playing the best I've ever seen him play at the moment. I think Wakes needs to get the job on Lloyd, but I just hope the bastard keeps his elbows to himself.

Joel · Post by **Joel** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 2:33 pm

On Lloyd, he kicked 2.6 (or something like that) last week, so expect him to kick a bag this week.

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