Collingwood v West Coast
First Semi Final, 2012
Saturday 15 September, MCG?
7.45pm
?History
Although the West Coast Eagles have been a part of the VFL/AFL for 25 years, they have already developed an engrossing finals rivalry with the 120-year-old Collingwood. Each final has been laced with drama, dating back to the two sides’ first meeting in the Qualifying Final out at Waverley Park in 1990. With seconds remaining, Eagles forward Peter Sumich marked in the forward pocket with the Magpies leading by only a point. Sumich’s kick missed to the near side moments before the siren sounded to signal a draw. It was in the days before extra time, meaning they had to come back and do it all over again seven days later. Collingwood didn’t waste its second chance, opening the match with eight goals to two en route to a 59-point triumph.??Relive February's NAB Cup battle here.
Watch the CTV highlights from our last win over West Coast in round 13.
In the three finals since, the margin has never exceeded 20 points at full time. In fact, in the 2007 Semi Final, there was no margin at full time. The two teams were locked on 72 points apiece after four gruelling quarters, meaning that two five minute halves were tacked on at the end of the match to help produce a result. Collingwood dug deep on the wide expanses of Subiaco Oval, kicking three goals to nil in extra time to sew up a famous 19-point win. Their two remaining September meetings (1994 and 2011) were keenly contested. The Eagles held on by two-points in ’94 despite a desperate final quarter from Gavin Brown and the Pies pulled away late in ’11 to record a 20-point win that was far closer than the scoreline suggests.
?The form
Collingwood enters the match off the back of a topsy-turvy five weeks. Since its thrilling eight-point win over Sydney at ANZ Stadium, the Magpies have found wins hard to come by, dropping three of their past four matches. One of those losses was against the Eagles in round 22, although the circumstances are vastly different. For starters, Saturday’s Semi Final will be played at the MCG where the Eagles haven’t defeated Collingwood since 1995. Further to that, senior ruckman Darren Jolly will renew his battle with West Coast’s Dean Cox and Nic Naitanui after he missed the trip to Perth with soreness.
Watch highlights from Collingwood's epic extra time victory over West Coast in the 2007 Semi Final on CTV in the video above.
On the other hand, West Coast should enter the match with wind in its sales. John Worsfold’s men have won four of their past five outings highlight by a 96-point demolition of North Melbourne in last Sunday’s Elimination Final. The Eagles had winners all over the field, most notably in attack where its multi-pronged forward line put the Roos to the sword. Andrew Embley, Jack Darling and Josh Kennedy each kicked four and Quinten Lynch three. West Coast’s only loss in the past five weeks was recorded against Hawthorn in round 23 when it conceded seven goals to one in the opening quarter but then restricted the Hawks only seven more for the game while kicking nine of its own.
The injuries
There state of the Collingwood list is healthy, all things considered. Aside from the four players recovering from long-term injuries (Luke Ball, Lachlan Keeffe, Marley Williams and Michael Hartley), the Pies are set to enter Saturday night’s match at close to full strength. Tyson Goldsack and Caolan Mooney will have their ankles tested late this week to determine their availability.
View Monday's injury report.
Over in the west, the Eagles will have to make do without defender and leader Beau Waters who has been ruled out for the rest of the year due to a foot injury. Waters is the No. 1 ranked player at West Coast for marks and rebound 50s, and his leadership and courage on the back flanks will be missed. Other key players on the sidelines include Mark LeCras (knee) and Mark Nicoski (hamstring), and underrated onballer Matt Rosa will have his collarbone tested ahead of selection.
Consider this
Before the round 22 loss, Collingwood had won its past seven meetings with West Coast in a run that stretches back to the 2007 Semi Final. The streak was no match for the Eagles’ imposing 10 game winning run against the Pies that spanned September 1994 until May 2000.
The Cloke factor
Much was made of Travis Cloke’s struggle for form during the run to the finals, but he has bitten back with a vengeance in recent weeks. He backed up his five goals against Essendon in round 23 with a bag of six in last week’s Qualifying Final, serving notice that the power forward is a force to be reckoned in September. He struggled against the Eagles in round 22, winning only 11 possessions and failing to contribute on the scoreboard. But the lack of supply was a mitigating factor, and the Eagles’ coaching staff won’t have forgotten Cloke’s match winning five goals against them in round 13.
The super sub
After nearly two full seasons since the rule’s introduction, clubs appear to still be in the process of deciding how to best utilise their substitute. At Collingwood, Alan Didak has been used as the club’s substitute in its past two games and has been involved in a substitution in three of its past four finals. In his 200th game in last year’s Qualifying Final, ironically against this week’s opponent West Coast, Didak gathered 14 possessions before being subbed out of the match for Alex Fasolo. He then began the Preliminary Final as the substitute, just as he did in last week’s Qualifying Final. We will find out if the trend continues on Saturday night.
Silly stat
In 41 matches against West Coast, Collingwood trails its opponent 19-21 in the head-to-head stakes. The Eagles are one of only two clubs (Carlton is the other) that hold a win-loss ratio advantage over Collingwood.
