Voting for the Magpie Army Player of the Year Award continues as the 2015 AFL season draws to a close.
Collingwood Media looks at some of the better players in Saturday’s 91-point loss to Richmond at the MCG.
Collingwood’s top performers
36. Dane Swan
Statistics: 12 kicks, 16 handballs, 28 disposals, 5 tackles, 2 goals.
Despite the disappointing loss, Swan once again showed strong indications that he will be an extremely valuable commodity for the Magpies beyond 2015. A role in the forwardline may allow Swan to extend his career even further than some may predict. Only four Magpies have kicked more goals than Swan in 2015, with two goals against the Tigers on the weekend means he now has 20 majors for the year. Both goals came in the third quarter as the Magpies tried desperately to cut back Richmond’s lead. Swan led this charge all around the field, in addition to his presence in front of goal. 10 of his 28 disposals came in the third quarter, while he also added two clearances and two inside 50s.
10. Scott Pendlebury
Statistics: 15 kicks, 18 handballs, 33 disposals, 6 inside 50s, 5 clearances.
While Pendlebury has received criticism for his post-match comments that the game “didn’t mean anything”, it is impossible to fault the performance and effort of the Collingwood captain on the field on Saturday afternoon. As he has done so many times in his career, Pendlebury led the Magpies in disposals with an impressive 33-possession game. Similar to Swan, Pendlebury did his best work in the third quarter when the side’s back was against the wall. He had 11 disposals in the third term to go with 11 in the first as the Magpies entered the quarter time break trailing the Tigers by 24 points. While four quick Richmond goals set up this lead, it was the efforts of Pendlebury in the seventeenth minute that resulted to Collingwood’s second goal of the afternoon.
22. Steele Sidebottom
Statistics: 22 kicks, 10 handballs, 32 disposals, 11 marks, 5 inside 50s.
Playing in his 141st game for the Collingwood Football Club, Sidebottom finished with yet another 30-plus possession game. For the second week running the midfielder won disposals at will, finishing with 32 touches. 25 of these touches came in the middle of the ground as the 24-year-old looked to be the crucial link in the chain on a number of forward drives. Ever the reliable user of the ball, he finished with a disposal efficiency of 78.1 per cent and kicked the ball at 77 per cent accuracy. In addition to a solid contribution with his feet, Sidebottom also possessed strong hands against the Tigers. His 11 marks was the second highest total of his career, trailing only a display of 12 grabs against North Melbourne in round five, 2014.
19. Levi Greenwood
Statistics: 13 kicks, 11 handballs, 24 disposals, 10 tackles, 5 inside 50s.
After a season disrupted by injury, Greenwood arguably played his best game as a Magpie against the Tigers on Saturday afternoon. His task was a monumental one – to ensure Richmond’s gun midfielder Trent Cotchin was kept quiet. Greenwood succeeded as he held Cotchin to just 13 possessions, the 25-year-old’s lowest tally since round four last year. However it was the damage going the other way that allowed Nathan Buckley to highlight Greenwood as one of the only Magpies to play a complete, four-quarter performance at the MCG. The ex-Kangaroo kicked Collingwood’s first goal of the day, before finishing with a performance which included a season-high 24 disposals and a career-high 10 tackles.
How the voting system works
Head to fansmvp.afl.com.au/collingwoodfc/ and register your account. Then, assign three votes to the player you deem to be the best Collingwood player for the game, two votes to the second best player and one vote to the third best.
About the Magpie Army Player of the Year Award
The Magpie Army Player of the Year Award is received by the player deemed the most influential of the season by the Collingwood supporters each year.
In 2015, two tickets are on offer to the E.W. Copeland Trophy Dinner in October for those who cast their vote during the season.
The winner, selected at random, will be afforded the opportunity to present the Magpie Army Player of the Year Award to the winning player, plus receive a photograph with the winner following the presentation.
