Post match v Crows all comments here -

[thesleepysupporter]

when you only kick a couple of goals between your key forwards you have no chance of winning a game of football.

at least thomas played a good game and hopefully he can spread some of his positive attitude (he was everywhere tonight) to the rest of the team.

[Cakewalk]

Midfield is still shit , midfield is still real shit.

[Magpie_Dan]

Swanny and Daisy, what games they played

[Marvin the Martian]

Skills and the midfield are major concerns. Our dreadful disposal
will hurt us again and again.
We have too many average players C1, Johno, O'bree and Richards.
Some of these guys need to learn how to kick... its hard to watch.
Early days but with disposal like that you are no chance for the finals.
SOS to Burns.

[Pa Marmo]

In.........absaloutly anyone

OUT..........Ben Johnson

How long is Malthouse going to put up with this undisciplined one dimentional vfl footballer. Cant handball and runs back in to play every single time. Has only one side to his body and does not know how to use it correctly. This bloke must hold the record for out of bounds on the full. I cant believe people actually want to see him in the middle, so what he can break Taz and Roccas hearts even more with another clown who turns it over running at them.


DROP HIM

[Johnson#26]

Magpies overrun by Crows
9:48:22 PM Mon 3 April, 2006
Jason Phelan
Exclusive to collingwoodfc.com.au
http://collingwoodfc.com.au/default.asp ... eid=254658

A gallant Collingwood pressed hard for three quarters before being overrun by Adelaide in the final term to go down 17.9 (111) to 12.5 (77) in the season opener at Telstra Dome on Monday night.

The Pies served it right up to the Crows and the eventual 34-point margin doesn't do their performance justice. The result was in the balance until midway through the last quarter.

[Johnson#26]

I want to know why with so many forward options we saw Wakelin, Richards, Hackwell all up forward at diff times? Also on Wakes, was he on all night? Barely saw him

Hackwell? Why are you on Maxy's back all the time, Eddie?

As for Wakes, he was oof for a while, and was than shifted onto Ian Perrie in the second half.

Shocking coaching tonight, he managed to make our strengths look like shit

How? In what way?

If Burns doesn't get a game next week...

He will, he will. He starred for the Gulls on Saturday against Port Melbourne.

Swan was very good also.

He was the loose man across half back flank all night.

I would rack up 30 posessions in that position.

It was his role, he performed it perfectly. And there were occasions/patches where he did have a man, and he still performed well. Looking very solid at the moment, is Dane Swan. Filled in the hole in defence well.

Awful forward line tonight.

While it was bad on the night, the fact that the forward line did not perform shows that we can still run a class opposition very close without their influence.

Just think: If Tarrant, Rocca and Travis Cloke (add Fraser if you wish) all scored three goals each, we'd have won/run closer. Rocca and Travis only scored one each.

[Johnson#26]

Look we fell apart in the last, but were pretty darn good for 3 quarters. There at least is plenty to work with this year, unlike the last two. Touch wood.

Agree all the way.

Another thing, they would have got 45,000 had this game been on saturday day/night or Sunday arvo.

Again, spot on.

Poor tarrent led all day n just kept gettin ignored

Eevery ball that went his way was near the boundary line.

We atm imo are not a top 8 side.

Agree, but we will be in the mix. Wait until after round four.

Scoreless in the last?

One of the most potent forward lines in the competition?

What is with Telstra dump, no wind, no apparent advantage but 22 goals kicked to the Lockett end and only 7 at the Coventry end?

Strange, eh?

I honestly thought I would see something different this year, but all I saw tonight was round 23 of the 2005 season.

Much, much better, more exciting and free-flowing than we were last year.

Midfield is still shit , midfield is still real shit.

A bit hard. Bucks was BOG, Licuria and O'Bree good in patches and Lockyer busy.

But I didn't see Dids and Davis in the middle, which was disappointing.

[Culprit]

I picked a bad year to give up drinking.


Out played in basic football skills. We have gone backwards. It's only round 1 and no need for panic but we should be concerned.

[jeff corfe]

Thats the problem mate and thats why maybe we havn't improved, our forward line didnt function last night against quality opposition, whats the point in having a forward line that will only fire against an inferior opposition, rocca might go out and kick four monster goals next week against hawthorn, the fact is we needed rocca to stand up last night against quality opposition and kick four monster goals.
Last night was a major dissapointment no ammount of this or that or some fancy stat sheet can hide the dissapointment factor.

[Johnson#26]

Disappointing to lose, no one ever likes it, but there were some positives to arise from the ashes.

Bucks - champion. Barely put a foot wrong aside from his holding the ball (unfair - he handballed it out) on Rielly. Back to his best, and should be close to the Brownlow Votes - did we expect anything less?

Fraser - very very good, particuarly early. Very pleased with his work both in the ruck and around the ground. He will finish top three in the Copeland this season, toughwood.

O'Bree - terrific early then faded. Still important when going, is a clever footballer.

Thomas - nothing wrong here. Very classy, good run and is not afraid to have a run and take them on. Anyone remember his side step on Andrew McLeod? Confidence with a capital C.

Lockyer - liked his game. Cool and composed off half back, had his moments, but was generally very good. Some terrific 1%ers (smothers) a highlight.

Presti - did very well on Hentschel, tied him down very well.

Holland and Licca came into it in the 2nd half and will be better for the run.

Didak was solid, particuarly in the 2nd half.

Ryan Lonie - a massive pat on the back here. Worked hard, tackled when it was his turn and won plenty of the pill - if he is able to play like that every week (and hopefully improve), he will hold down his spot. Very silky footballer.

Davis was quiet, as was Egan (flashy). Davis and Dids should have been positioned more often in the middle.

Didn't mind Richards - he was ok in patches - Maxwell, too, had his moments.

We were very good early, there are good signs. We fought back very well when under the pump in the 3rd term - this team does have more backbone a la 2002/2003.

Not every team wins in round one, either, and we did play arguably the most complete side in the league. Very hard to knock off, and we made a decent fist of it. We have something to look forward to.

More later.

[Joel]

Midfield is still shit , midfield is still real shit.

We desperately need some class in there. We have Buckley, but beyond that we have plenty of toilers. It remains our weak point.

[sq3]

Nuxta - 100% correct, Johnson will be first if the 'favourites' to be axed.

[Damien]

It seems the selectors took a punt on two contrasting styles - ours, a long kick to a big marking forward and theirs, a fast posession game. We clearly lost out on that gamble and couldn't man-up on them when we needed to.

I tell ya what though - If that boring possession style that the Crows played last night is the future of AFL football then I'm gunna start doing all those jobs around the house over the weekends in winter that my missus has been nagging me about for years!

It was friggin' ugly!

[Snoop Dog]

After a good nights sleep.........I think we all agree a 'reasonable effort' first up but a similar perfromance next week would have the faithful pretty concerned.

As I have read some of the feedback it strikes me that in the second and fourth qtrs Adelaide really dominated. Likewise we did in the first and third. What I realised was that it was clear what Neil Craigs strategy was when we got on top.....we all saw it......and it worked. What concerns me is we didnt seem to have a strategy. I would have thought you have one of the better 'loose man' players in Jason Cloke sitting on the pine. He would have been a good option in the second qtr playing there and he would have also assisted Clement in being able to cut Ricciuttos leads off. MM/McKenna did not have a strategy of crowding the space 'Roo' ran into. In addition I was really concerned at the Perrie/Maxwell match up. Perrie is to strong for Maxwell. Maxwell would have been better being on Burton and JC on Perrie if they wanted to go 1:1.

Equally, I thought there was little imagination in the fwd half. I agree with Nath - why didnt he throw Rocca to CHF or Ruck. Why wasnt Tarrant presenting further down the ground. I will be interested to see how MM/Carey react to that thru the week. Buckley to FF was a wasted opportunity.

And most obviously, our midfield. I know I am going to get screamed down here but.............what is Lica's role in the team? He hardly got a touch in the first half and his disposal when he did get in Q2 was woeful. Holland was not a lot better but he did improve as the game went on. I think we are going to have to develop the likes of Davies, Leon, Didak, Egan to be midfielders. BUt the hard reality it begs the question - where else can you play Lica.

Again, a good effort but still a lot of the same questions we asked ourselves last year.