Post Match. Pies pipped by Port. All comments, please.

[schuey07]

Port entered the game with the perception of being flat track bullies and left it in the knowledge they're pretenders once again.

We gave it a genuine crack but individual errors and a game plan that continues to be weighted to heavily towards defending cost us an unlikely victory in the end.

I'm worried though that far from being a stepping stone towards improvement this might be our last hurrah for the season and a harsh reality awaits next week against a much better opponent in Geelong.

I think you’re correct. I think the cricket scores will start to come over the next few weeks.

[magpieazza]

I am one of those who are calling for C Browns head but now Im starting to feel sorry for him. Its a ruthless business if you want to stay on top, I know this, but is there anyone here that can mount a case for him to stay on the list provided he gets kick coaching. I honestly dont know myself however we have Taylor Adams who has improved his kicking, so could this be applicable to Callum ? Can he be coached to improve his kicking accuracy and range ?

[didick]

Don’t know what the 1/4 time message is each week.. it puts us into a slumber. Every week. Shut up shop boys, we can hold em out from here?
Every week we look the goods for the first quarter.

Kicking across our defensive arc invariably costs a goal or two a week. Did Noble kick the turf in the last?

Thought we looked much better today but we need to stay confident and attacking. Even the Hawks and Blues played with dash and dare, and kept the ball moving forward the whole game yesterday. Little hesitation and second guessing.

Hopefully some common sense comes to selection this week. It’s been missing. The whipping boys need a whipping.

[masoncox]

I am one of those who are calling for C Browns head but now Im starting to feel sorry for him. Its a ruthless business if you want to stay on top, I know this, but is there anyone here that can mount a case for him to stay on the list provided he gets kick coaching. I honestly dont know myself however we have Taylor Adams who has improved his kicking, so could this be applicable to Callum ? Can he be coached to improve his kicking accuracy and range ?

The question is ...why cant he kick?
is there something physically wrong with him?
Surely he could improve the distance of his kicks.
At one stage he was about 35m from goal and he didn't even make the kick to the goal square.
Never seen a worse kick in terms of distance in my life

[Horatio Fin]

But MBFC, do you really think Bucks would be saying "Don't get me a key forward, I'd rather turn a ruckman into one"????? The only one we've actually sought in earnest was Lynch and that didn't come off for some unknown reason.

Because nobody wants to come and play for Bucks. He's not a very likeable person. Would you want him as your boss?

Sure he was an elite player but I remember him constantly berating his team mates for their errors. That is not someone who is suited to being a leader of others.

When the succession plan was announced I knew there were dark times ahead, I just never envisioned they would go on this long.

Have been over it for a long time now. I actually find myself barracking for the opposition a lot because I just want it to end. Someone ****ing make it stop please! Haven't we suffered enough?

[PyreneesPie]

Maybe they’re not playing Cox because they don’t want to trigger an extension on his contract. They may also not be playing him simply because his VFL form is nothing special either. Should we really expect a player with average form in the VFL to come in and do more in the AFL. When Cameron was in the VFL ( and the practice matches ) he was easily in the best every week. We at least need the same from Cox before he gets another crack. Last week in the VFL, he took 3 marks ( ! ) and kicked 2 goals. It won’t get any easier at another level higher.

You may be right, maybe not. I reckon Mason is a person who requires a challenge to deliver his best - like playing Richmond in a PF or West Coast in an elimination final.
Regardless, his total worth is not only the number of goals he can kick, but how he affects the defensive set up of the opposition and instantly makes them nervous, so that more space and opportunity is given to our other forwards.

[PyreneesPie]

Apologies for the DP

[PyreneesPie]

Because nobody wants to come and play for Bucks. He's not a very likeable person. Would you want him as your boss?

I assume you've personally met him and spent lengthy periods of time in his company to have such an opinion??
You've also been on site at the Holden Centre, to see how he interacts with the players, day in and day out???

[Horatio Fin]

I assume you've personally met him and spent lengthy periods of time in his company to have such an opinion??
You've also been on site at the Holden Centre, to see how he interacts with the players, day in and day out???

I don't need to have.

[Jezza]

The effort was very good. I can't question the endeavour of the players today.

Bringing back experience in the form of Adams and Roughead saw an immediate benefit. I know everyone is for "playing the kids", but we can't understate the benefit of experienced players to lift the team.

Two fundamental issues I saw were:

1. The inability to hit targets going inside forward 50. Alir was mopping everything up when the ball entered inside 50. It was ridiculous how frequent it was.

2. Defensive sideways football has been a constant under Buckley, especially since 2019. We have strong starts and then retreat into this drab style of football. The fact that Buckley thinks the game plan stacks up worries me.

C. Brown and Thomas have to be under pressure with the match committee. Not playing Nathan Murphy was a mistake.

[JC Hartley]

Leads during games are only remembered if they result in victories. On Sunday, Collingwood failed to keep their lead or get their noses in front at the death, as the Magpies were vanquished by Port Adelaide by 1 point in a contest where the Power were not as powerful as I had previously flagged and indicated last weekend. Collingwood got out of the blocks with the first 3 goals and looked unbeatable at stages during the opening term, before the Woods wasted scoring opportunities and numerous forward entries over the following three quarters with atrocious field kicks that did not favour Collingwood's forwards who then refused to lead at the ball and got into an arm wrestle with their direct opponents, or the smaller forwards thought it would be a good idea to compete against taller defenders, which happened quite a lot, and it was not pretty to watch. Too many times on those varying examples of failures, the Magpies allowed the Power to take intercept marks. This has been going on for several weeks and several games, where kicks or handballs are disadvantaging Collingwood from maintaining possession up forward, which is ultimately disallowing scoring shots from being completed. This is a key area of focus for the Magpies going forward if they want to get more wins in 2021.

Collingwood won most of the statistical categories on offer, such as disposals by +75 (418 - 343), kicks were won by +43 (259 - 216), +32 for handballs (159 - 127), while contested possessions were up by +10 (137 - 127), and uncontested possessions had a differential of +76 (282 - 206). Hit-outs had a margin of +31 (42 - 11), + 6 for clearances (35 - 29), of which +3 came from centre clearances (10 - 7), with stoppage clearances up by +3 (25 - 22). Uncontested marks were won by +40 (125 - 85), and Inside 50s had an advantage of +3 ( 51 - 48 ). Port Adelaide displayed their power with tackles won by +7 (56 - 49), Contested Marks were won by +1 (14 - 13), and Marks Inside 50 had a margin of +3 (10 - 7). Intercept possessions (74 each), and Tackles Inside 50 (11 apiece) were the only categories in dispute.

Taylor Adams (29 disposals @ 66%, 222 metres gained, 16 contested possessions, 13 uncontested possessions, 4 intercept possessions, 16 kicks, 13 handballs, 6 marks, 3 tackles, 4 score involvements, 8 clearances, 3 centre clearances, 5 stoppage clearances & 2 Inside 50s) made a fine return to AFL level, by gathering the contested ball reliably and won plenty of clearances. Ball use needs improvement to be extremely influential in the coming weeks before the bye.

Jack Crisp (26 disposals @ 73%, 399 metres gained, 9 contested possessions, 17 uncontested possessions, 7 intercept possessions, 13 kicks, 13 handballs, 7 marks, 7 tackles, 6 score involvements, 4 clearances, 3 stoppage clearances, 7 Inside 50s & 2 Rebound 50s) thrived on having another game in the midfield to provide a dynamic option for the Magpies as a distributor from the midfield which makes the team different and unpredictable. Crisp also folded back behind the play to take marks and create play from stagnant positions, which happened too often.

Brodie Grundy (23 disposals @ 61%, 311 metres gained, 14 contested possessions, 9 uncontested possessions, 33 hit-outs, 14 kicks, 9 handballs, 5 marks, 2 Contested Marks, 5 tackles, 2 Tackles Inside 50, 6 score involvements, 9 clearances, 3 centre clearances, 6 stoppage clearances, 6 Inside 50s, 2 Rebound 50s & 2 goals) demonstrated his strengths throughout the game by dominating ruck contests, tackled ferociously, took regular marks for a change, and impacted the scoreboard early.

Caleb Poulter (22 disposals @ 68%, 456 metres gained, 3 contested possessions, 19 uncontested possessions, 17 kicks, 5 handballs, 12 marks, 5 score involvements, 2 clearances, 2 stoppage clearances, 4 Inside 50s & 1 goal) had his most prolific game of his AFL career, which is still in its infancy. Poulter displayed that he could play on the wing for the next decade with his booming left foot becoming a substantial weapon. Worked extremely hard to take marks that he had not taken in any of his previous matches, and gave Collingwood a fighting chance of victory with his 1st AFL goal late in the game, but the Woods could not find an extra goal to take home the points.

Will Hoskin-Elliott (21 disposals @ 71%, 298 metres gained, 9 contested possessions, 12 uncontested possessions, 5 intercept possessions, 14 kicks, 7 handballs, 7 marks, 4 tackles, 2 clearances, 2 stoppage clearances, 4 Inside 50s & 2 Rebound 50s) continued his resurgence on the wing again, with his link-up work as a marking target on display. Hoskin-Elliott's lack of score involvements meant he had to rely on maintaining possession for him to be truly effective.

Josh Daicos (19 disposals @ 79%, 324 metres gained, 6 contested possessions, 13 uncontested possessions, 4 intercept possessions, 13 kicks, 6 handballs, 4 marks, 4 tackles, 2 score involvements, 3 clearances, 3 stoppage clearances, 2 Inside 50s & 1 goal) started like a house on fire, before drifting out of the game, much like the team itself. I was pleased that Daicos found time and space to kick the ball more compared to recent weeks, so if Daicos is able to generate more kicks that lead to scores and ultimately goals, he'll be able to make greater progress as a more-rounded midfielder, which will help the side get success.

Isaac Quaynor (26 disposals @ 73%, 314 metres gained, 5 contested possessions, 21 uncontested possessions, 7 intercept possessions, 14 kicks, 12 handballs, 5 marks, 5 score involvements, 2 Inside 50s & 5 Rebound 50s) had his best game of the season, with plenty of dash, steady ball use and gave the team opportunities to score regularly.

Chris Mayne (25 disposals @ 96%, 305 metres gained, 24 uncontested possessions, 4 intercept possessions, 21 kicks, 4 handballs, 13 marks, 2 tackles, 2 score involvements & 2 Rebound 50s) put in an excellent effort as the third-key defender with plenty of marks and possessions. All Mayne did though was maintain possession without any fear of consequences.

Darcy Moore (25 disposals @ 88%, 296 metres gained, 6 contested possessions, 19 uncontested possessions, 8 intercept possessions, 20 kicks, 5 handballs, 15 marks, 2 Contested Marks, 2 score involvements, 2 Inside 50s & 4 Rebound 50s) showed his aerial talent with plenty of intercept marks. However, most of his disposals were from the last line of defence, which made it extremely difficult for him to generate scoring power.

John Noble (23 disposals @ 78%, 222 metres gained, 8 contested possessions, 15 uncontested possessions, 8 intercept possessions, 15 kicks, 8 handballs, 6 marks, 2 Inside 50s & 5 Rebound 50s) displayed his ball use effectively again, although it did not help the team score enough goals, as Noble looked to switch the ball or kick short up the line to a free target. I would like Noble to add more aggression to his game by picking out teammates in the corridor when it is there to be taken. He is quite capable of executing those kicks which would then open the whole ground up and allow Collingwood's forwards more time and space to make leads to take marks up forward.

Jordan Roughead (21 disposals @ 81%, 377 metres gained, 7 contested possessions, 14 uncontested possessions, 10 intercept possessions, 16 kicks, 5 handballs, 15 marks, 3 Contested Marks, 4 tackles, 1 goal assist, 3 score involvements, 3 Inside 50s & 6 Rebound 50s) was exceptionally good behind the ball by judging his marks expertly, and was one of the best distributors from defence to use the ball effectively.

Brayden Maynard (20 disposals @ 85%, 501 metres gained, 3 contested possessions, 17 uncontested possessions, 15 kicks, 5 handballs, 8 marks, 3 score involvements, 3 Inside 50s & 4 Rebound 50s) struggled for most of the game, where he could not get near the ball. As the game progressed, he found touch and generated significant rebound that did not amount to much in the aftermath that followed.

Steele Sidebottom (27 disposals @ 70%, 320 metres gained, 8 contested possessions, 19 uncontested possessions, 2 intercept possessions, 17 kicks, 10 handballs, 9 marks, 2 tackles, 3 score involvements & 3 Inside 50s) had one of the most ineffective games of his career, which has been going on for a while this season. As a high-half forward, Sidebottom would push higher up the ground on the wing or in the corridor to take marks, before blatantly turning his back on opportunities to pump the ball forward. The lack of score involvements & forward entries are highly indicative of Sidebottom's mindset. Sidebottom is also fumbling the ball at the wrong time and is no longer gathering the ball as cleanly as he did in previous seasons. Could've won Collingwood the game if he gathered the ball up forward to have a clear shot at goal. That sums up where Steele is currently.

Scott Pendlebury (18 disposals @ 61%, 176 metres gained, 6 contested possessions, 12 uncontested possessions, 3 intercept possessions, 8 kicks, 10 handballs, 4 marks & 3 score involvements) made inexplicably poor skill errors that cost the Magpies any meaningful threat of impacting the scoreboard. Pendlebury struggled to adjust as a forward, as did Sidebottom. The positive is that Collingwood won the clearances without Sidebottom and Pendlebury in the midfield, but neither of them could create or kick enough goals to will the team over the line. When Sidebottom and Pendlebury are no longer attending centre bounces, all of you will know that there is a changing of the guard and times are changing by the week.

Beau McCreery (8 disposals @ 75%, 133 metres gained, 8 uncontested possessions, 6 kicks, 2 handballs, 4 marks, 2 Marks Inside 50, 2 tackles, 2 Tackles Inside 50, 5 score involvements & 3 goals) is making a name for himself as a tackling-pressure forward who makes the most of his limited opportunities. Looked impressive when he impacted the scoreboard, and he will be giving himself every opportunity to be involved in Collingwood's next premiership team in the coming years.

Collingwood's next game will be on May 29 against Geelong at the MCG. Plenty of encouraging signs against the Power, look to continue that against the Cats who have found form at the right time. As I stated earlier, improved kicks to the forward's advantage instead of disadvantage will determine whether Collingwood have the wood over Geelong to wrap up May.

[Cam]

All of the people saying Callum is the 'worst' of anything have the memories of seagulls, I say that respectfully rather than saying 'you can't have only been watching AFL for a short time", which I know ain't true either.

Sure the kid doesn't look up to true AFL standard, and his missed goals hurt, but the hyberbole is a bit much. He cracks in week in week out, and his best is a long way from his worst, which is telling, and separates to good players from the strugglers.

I've seen WAY worse kicks over the journey, and WAY worse players [and so have you if you are honest] so let's just keep A LITTLE perspective and stop the screaming hysterics eh? Drop him by all means, but sheesh.

[Lazza]

Okay so I am reading all the posts and I agree on
Callum Brown should not be in the team. Hate to say that but his kicking for goal is terrible.
Was at the game and the crowd was SCREAMING to move the ball quickly as we were going into attack. But NOOOO!!!

Is that how they played in the first half? [ I missed that]

If I could ask Bucks one question, it would be.

Is that slow play sideways and backwards, is that under YOUR instruction???
Or do the players panic and not have the confidence to take it on and risk making errors?

That is an easy one he would throw the players under the bus.

So you join Nick’s a couple of days ago and immediately start bagging Bucks

[Magpietothemax]

Okay so I am reading all the posts and I agree on
Callum Brown should not be in the team. Hate to say that but his kicking for goal is terrible.
Was at the game and the crowd was SCREAMING to move the ball quickly as we were going into attack. But NOOOO!!!

Is that how they played in the first half? [ I missed that]

If I could ask Bucks one question, it would be.

Is that slow play sideways and backwards, is that under YOUR instruction???
Or do the players panic and not have the confidence to take it on and risk making errors?

That is an easy one he would throw the players under the bus.

So you join Nick’s a couple of days ago and immediately start bagging Bucks

[Magpietothemax]

^JC Hartley: really good analysis of the game, I found your comments today very clarifying. Our inability to keep the ball in our F50 is not merely due to lack of forward pressure, but is also the direct consequence of poor kicking skills into F50. It is an interesting point that our forwards stopped leading because the quality of delivery was generally so poor, and to the disadvantage of our forwards. It is clear from this analysis that the presence of Cox in our F50 would not in any way have benefited the team, since it was not the marking target per se that was the main issue.