Post Match. Pies Sunburnt . All comments.

[Johnno75]

The comeback was not surprising in the last, yes it had a bit to do with grit but they were coming off a 6 day break after playing in Perth so the drop off was expected, yet they still managed to win even after we got in front.

We were garbage during the 2nd/3rd quarters and aside from the KB game that has been our form line for the past 5 games.

We are lucky we are still in the 8 given results around us but aside from the top 2 (probably locked away) a win or a loss can make a big difference. There are too many out of form for my liking and we are starting to run out of time.

Next 5 weeks will determine our season.

[Magpietothemax]

Just watched Fly's presser.
(Will wait for Jezza to make his usual summation...thanks Jezza, you are such a legend So much appreciate your efforts)
As I thought, Fly was suitably disappinted/balanced/resolute.
Bitterly disappointed that we found ourselves yet again at 3/4 time with a large margin to overcome
Frustrated that we play so brilliantly in final quarters to overcome the margin (why didn't we play like that earlier??)
Yet celebrating the capacity and will to win in making such come backs.
I love this guy.
Stays so calm and respectful.
Yet you sense from his demeanour the raging anger that we lost tonight.
He imparts this to our team.
His next challenge is to shift the time frame of our anger: don't leave it to the last quarter. Bring it to the second or third quarter instead.

[Rex]

Like everyone I’m disappointed with the first 3 quarters, but enjoyed the comeback. The coaching team won us a GF and have got us many wins, but I can’t help being frustrated by the way they set up our defensive game starting in our own fwd line. Our loose rolling-zone allows Sun, North and others to easily exit and suddenly the backline is trying to defend open paddocks and drilled deliveries. By comparison own movement from kick-outs is slow with eventual bombs to packs. It takes 30 points down to go man-on-man defence and aggressive ball movement from kick-ins…and then it’s six goals to zip and we’re in front. Same as against North. It’s that style that keeps winning games. Maybe it’s too intense for 4 quarters, but 1 quarter is
clearly I adequate.
Can anyone explain the rationale for our defensive set-up?

[Gerry Cooper]

I'm certainly not blaming any individuals for the loss, but without seeing any player stats, both Sullivan and Harrison seemed to be passengers for most of the game. As others have commented, I hope 'Smokin' Joe Richards starts every week. He is too good a footballer to be sitting on the bench.

Sullivan did a few things here and there and that last minute missed shot was the result of inexperience I think. Both came up from the VFL and have been mostly in good form for a long time in the seniors and I wouldn't be surprised if some fatigue is starting to kick in for them, particularly Harrison who was trying his guts out but was way off the pace from the start. He might be ready for a refresh in the VFL perhaps, since he has been promoted to the seniors for the longest period of all of them.

I think Schultz left a big gap also. We missed his pressure in the forward line and when he moves up to the midfield. His goal kicking was also missed, given he is good for a couple a game at least.

[Jezza]

Fly's presser

Where do you think you lost the game? It was seesawing in the last quarter.

"Yeah, the weight of numbers inside 50 were huge. Their [Gold Coast] contested possession and their ability to get the ball forward was really the cost in the end, particularly in the second and third quarters. We sort of got stuck in our back 50 a bit more than we wanted to, through losing contest. Not so much clearance, but just being outnumbered around the ball".

You hit the lead late and you've been so good in those situations, what was the difference today?

"I just said to the players like we just love that when you put that jumper on, you play right until the end. Anyone that's watched us in the last couple of years knows we're coming, but you've still got to still do all that all the time. We're really proud of that part of our culture or the way we want to play. We want to continue to celebrate that, but we don't want to be in these positions. How many times do you want to put yourself in a position where you'll have to do this miraculous comeback? So they're the things we'll wrestle with. Grow that part of our game, and why we're in this position and also celebrate the other part".

It felt quite frantic late on, do you think it was because of the fatigue or was it the team that could settle and go forward with some method would end up scoring?

"We were hoping the game was going to be like that right from the start. We scouted the Gold Coast and how that game was played. Got huge respect for Dimma. They're a maturing team. I just thought they did so many things they hadn't been doing in previous seasons around doing the right things at the right time. They just looked really well drilled and they imposed that on us tonight".

What do you take from that going forward in terms of avoiding these close games? What do you want to learn from that?

"We've lived in it for the last two and a half years. Some circumstances are a bit different to this one. There's a bit of a pattern in the last couple of games. There's been such a big margin at three quarter time. It's pretty obvious. If you look at the intent in the last quarter and the pressure and those things are really obvious, so why are we not delivering that in the second quarter. You wrestle with this stuff. I know the paint is still wet on this game and I've yet to see any replay(s), but that's the emotion at the minute".

Beau McCreery came off with a leg injury. Can you give us an insight on his injury?

"Beau's got some form of strained calf, so I'm not sure if it's a kick or strain but we'll work through that. You would think he's unlikely".

What did you make of the performances of the returning players, namely De Goey, Pendlebury and Mihocek?

"We've had pieces of our jigsaw puzzle playing in different parts. Have you ever done the jigsaw puzzle? The corners don't go in the middle, so we've been having a few of those going on and so it's good to have some of our corners back. Then other parts of our jigsaw puzzle could just then be what it's normally meant to be. I think Pendles set us up really well. I thought Jordy imposed himself on the game. That last goal was significant and he's a beast of a player and hard to tackle".

Having those "scattered puzzle pieces" as you put it, how challenging it as a coach to put in your best effort when you're dealing with that?

"We've had that for probably a better part of six weeks. We've found ways to kick enough goals. We had another 10 goal kickers today. Funnily enough to get back in the game we've had to move them around again. Howie forward is a bit of work for us, it's worked before and worked again a little bit tonight. Nick [Daicos] to other roles. Again I comeback to sort of let's get ourselves in positions where we don't need to do these things, so be a bit more settled. The flexibility is nice".

You sound quite frustrated. Is it because it's raw or has it been bubbling away for a while and it's repeated again?

"Natural emotions 20 minutes after a game. None of us love to sit here and not get the job done. That's not what we're paid to do. For most of the night, 68 inside 50s is a lot to give up so we're going to struggle to win any game with that amount of ball in the opposition half. There's a natural emotion of 'come on, let's get busy'".

https://www.afl.com.au/video/1160656/fu ... 9655650001

[Jezza]

Just watched Fly's presser.
(Will wait for Jezza to make his usual summation...thanks Jezza, you are such a legend So much appreciate your efforts)

Appreciate the kind words, MTTM

[masoncox]

They had 72 more disposals and 18 more inside 50's.
this is where we lost it.
Also, we had 10 players who had 12 or less disposals.
Nearly half the team with poor stats.
Sullivan, Markov and Harrison had zero impact.
The captian needs a change of scenery.
Put him on the wing or in the ruck.
He is dying back there.

[winpies]

Im not making excuses because we didnt play to our best ability, HOWEVER the ball seemed to spill free to a Suns player 90 % of the time whereby it couldve landed dribbled bounced to our players instead. Even quick kicks forward can land luckily to one of our players but they didnt!!

Yep, agree. I said the same thing to my son during the game. Sometimes it just goes that way.

[qldmagpie67]

I attended the game yesterday and I must say from the warm up right through we seemed to lack energy. The spark just didn’t seem to be there for whatever reason.
There’s a old saying don’t get beaten by what you know
We knew Rowell would tackle anything in a magpie jumper and win his share (and others) of clearances and he did.
Our field kicking is beyond poor. We turn over the ball so much it’s seriously bad.
We didn’t man up at all around the ground. They just marched it into our defensive 50 at will.
We have some real issues with this zone defence we play.
If Nick D and JDG don’t play yesterday we would have lost by 6+ goals simple as that.
Half our goals came from them being over aggressive defensively.
Coming off a bye you would assume we would have had fresh legs. It looked like we come off a short turn around. They run off us at will.
A couple injuries don’t help but in all honesty it wouldn’t have made a difference we looked a beaten side most of the day.
When we hit the front I thought here we go again but the Suns kept coming and coming hard.
I don’t know what circuit breaker we need but something needs to change down back. Moore just seems lost at times. He’s leaving his man too often and not impacting contests when he dies get there. Too often we over committed players to a contest only to lose it all over the ground.
The Suns are a good side learning a new way to play. Mark my words they’ll be there about in coming years. They’ve got weapons all over the ground.
Mac Andrew’s moved like he’s a midfielder he’s something to behold live.

Let’s hope it’s just the bye syndrome because a effort like that next week we will get smashed

[neil]

We didnt do enough to win
A lot of players were poor/injured
Frampton got smashed by King but we know Billy is not a skilled player and King is a gun
Do nothing for three quarters and think you can win it in the last?
We play a zone defence it usually works but the speed it went into their fwd line with the lack of pressure meant no form of defence would work

Also the suns are a good team that just need to learn how to win away

[Pies4shaw]

It's great to go right over the top about the loss, of course. Another way to look at it is that the Suns haven't lost up there for almost a year. Collingwood on paper looked better than Collingwood on the field this week - because a number of top-notch players were playing their first game after long layoffs. They'll be better for the run.

[Clifton Hill-Billy]

Crisp had a shocker never seen him fumble so much. Bobby ditto. Witts killed Cameron. Q was terrible until the 4th quarter when he decided to play. Sullivan, Markov and Harrison are not afl standard.
A loss to the dopers will see us crash and burn......

[Boot]

Last night was a bad loss in that it was a great opportunity to get a break on the rest of the competition for a top 4 spot. Loosing to the Suns at their home ground is not an unusual outcome this year but to hit the lead with 5 mins left in the game was disappointing to loose from there.
Couple of take-aways from last nights game;
1. Pendlebury is playing with a serious restriction to his injured bicep tendon. The missed tackle on the Suns player bursting through the center during the last quarter showed him reluctant to test the arm so he tried a backhand knock instead. That doesn't help and he and Sidebottom lack of speed is catching us out during game. Still he usually has lovely disposal and decision making.

2. Sullivan is not up to AFL level. There is a good reasons why he wasn't drafted until he got to 26. He is clearly a good footballer at the lower level but a depth player at best and if he is in the team there is a problem.
3. Harrison had a bad night. He's a young player with terrific upside and I'd continue to persist with him for now as what we have seen this year indicates he could be a really good player in the near future as he gathers some more experience and develops his craft naturally over the next couple of years.
4. Mason Cox's impact on the team structure and support in the ruck is being missed badly. The idea of playing Bobby Hill as the full forward is novel and worked against Nth Melb and nearly worked again last night, but it's not a sustainable team structure and will not be good for Bobby or Collingwood if we try to persist with it. Kreuger and Mihocek should be able to hold down the key forward roles when Cox comes back to support Cameron in the ruck. If Kreuger can justify maintaining his position when McStay becomes an option then that can only be a good news story.
5. Jack Crisp is always trying to take on the tackler to burst through the pack. Sometimes it comes off and adds to the Collingwood attacking flair, but gee wizz its frustrating when he does get caught and the umpires are a lot less forgiving on holding the ball decisions at the moment.
6. Joe Richards is continuing to surprise me with his form. He and Schultz being available next week should be sufficient coverage for an injured Beau McCreery.
7. The Daicos boys kept us in the game and nearly won it for us. We are so dependant on Nick Daicos now that I'm nervous that it will become a weakness to be so dependent on one player. Hopefully Nick continues to amaze the competition with his skill and impact on the game.
8. As others have committed on, we aren't getting the drive out of Darcy Moore that we need. Frampton is doing a job but is a player with some serious limitations that threaten to be exposed at any time. I too would prefer to see Charlie Dean persisted with as he may have more upside than Frampton. I'm hopeful that with another pre-season Tew Jaith will add some more athleticism to our defense which will replace Murphy's role.
5.

[23 YIPPEE!!!]

This match in a word:
Frustrating

[Pies2016]

It can’t be overstated how well the Suns played. We shouldn’t be overly surprised because they grow an extra leg every time they play back at home.
So the conversation becomes how much of it was about Collingwood allowing them to play so well. No team in the competition plays with more numbers in front of the footy than the Suns and it’s a game plan, when executed perfectly can pick apart any zone defence. Once the Suns got the ball on the outside and moved it so quickly, our defence was left guarding grass while they found extra numbers in their F50. Our mids can’t be expected to win the stoppages every quarter of an entire season, so when they aren’t winning that battle, the expectation then falls on the defence to stand up and win it back but that’s not happening enough in 2024.
Our defence is the problem right now and it’s not just Moore, it’s our entire backline ( Maynard aside ) We managed 90 points up there without Elliot, Shultz and McStay but our defence which has remained intact all season ( Murphy retirement aside) conceded 100 points. Our mids are doing enough to supply a second string forward line with ample opportunities but when the opposition move the ball as quickly as the Suns, our mids couldn’t get back to help out a defence that’s lacking both confidence and cohesion. The fact that two of our three zones are working ok is what’s keeping us competitive. However, until our defence returns to the levels of 2023, we will continue to concede big scores against any opposition that is allowed to move the ball so quickly and precisely.