The Result
Collingwood 15.8 (98)
Western Bulldogs 11.11 (77)
Goals - Shaw 2, Goldsack 2, Sinclair 2, Cloke 2, Dawes, Sidebottom, Swan, Reid, Fasolo, O'Brien, Wellingham.
Disposals - Pendlebury 34, Beams 33, Buckley 30, Sidebottom 29, Swan 29
Click here to watch the CTV highlights.
Bucks’ take
“I still think from that performance we've clearly got a lot of improvement in us. But you can only ever beat the opponent you've got in front of you at the time and you can only ever deal with the circumstances that are presented. I thought the players were able to do so and our last quarter effort in particular to get the game on our terms was good.” - Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley.
Hear more from Bucks in his post match press conference.
Over the fence
“We've had a good chat, the leaders and myself and the senior players, and we felt we didn't smash in aggressively enough for long enough. The contested ball count got out of control in the last quarter. They outnumbered us around the ball and we've got to become a club, and we will become a club, that's physical and fights to the end” - Western Bulldogs coach Brendan McCartney.
Read the match report here.
Another medal
Scott Pendlebury had better hope that his mother has a large trophy cabinet back at their family home. He collected the Bob Rose-Charlie Sutton Medal off the back of his 34 disposals (14 kicks, 20 handballs) and nine tackles. It’s his second Rose-Sutton Medal, having received it after Collingwood’s defeat of the Bulldogs in 2010. It goes into a collection that includes a premiership medal, a Copeland Trophy, a Norm Smith Medal, three other Copeland Trophy placings, a Bob Rose Award, two ANZAC Medals, two All-Australian trophies, a pre-season premiership medallion and a TAC Cup premiership medallion. Let’s hope his neck is strong enough to bear the weight.
The good luck charm
The omen-inclined Collingwood fans should have known their team would win on Friday night when Tyson Goldsack opened the side’s account nine minutes in. Those with an eye for trivia would have already noted that he was the man who kicked the Magpies’ first goal of the 2010 Grand Final replay. Friday night was the first time Goldsack kicked multiple goals (two) in the one game, having entered the night with only eight to his name from 74 matches.
View the best photos from Collingwood's 21-point win.
The swingman
Friday night marked the reunion of Ben Reid and Nathan Brown. The pair hadn’t played in the same team since the 2010 Grand Final replay, but they didn’t spend as much time alongside each other as most anticipated. The rapid improvement of Lachlan Keeffe at centre half back meant that Reid, an All-Australian last year and best afield the week prior to his quad injury, started to the match as a key forward. The move was far from a match winner, but it still yielded a goal (Reid’s second in his 49 games since the 2009 season) before Reid eventually switched back into defence where he won 15 disposals.
The medical room
The shoulder injury sustained by Ben Johnson in the second quarter was the only injury reported out of the match. It will be assessed during the week. The 31-year-old was substituted out of the game at half time and was replaced by Kirk Ugle. Ruckman Darren Jolly was named in the selected side but was a late withdrawal with groin soreness. Cameron Wood (10 disposals, 33 hitouts) was his replacement. The last minute hero on ANZAC Day, Jarryd Blair, was left out of the side due to leg soreness.
A quiet night
Dane Swan had only 29 disposals. We say “only” 29 as it follows five weeks of football in which he accumulated 31, 32, 31, 36 and 42 possessions. It’s a compliment to such a player to note that his disposal tally against the Bulldogs was one nearly all players would dream of. In fairness, he was tagged by Liam Picken who is universally acknowledged as one of the best in the game at his craft.
Watch the CTV highlights from Friday night here.
Consider this
Dayne Beams has now had 92 disposals (averaging 30.66 per game) in the three games post-Luke Ball’s season ending injury. Could this be the making of an elite midfielder?
What does it mean?
- Ben Sinclair flashed in and out of the play in the first few rounds but really made his mark against the Bulldogs with two goals, 13 disposals and three tackles. But what caught his eye was the pace he adds to the forward line and his hunger for the contest. His tenacity will continue catch opponents off guard if they aren’t careful.
- The win leaves Collingwood a game outside of the top four, and only two off top spot. But let’s just take a deep breath and remember that the season’s a marathon and not a six round sprint.
- He’s only kicked 31 in his career but Heath Shaw seems to have added some goal kicking prowess to his game in 2012. The backman’s averaging a goal a game in his four outings this year.
VFL
The club’s VFL team had a bye this weekend and will be looking to knock off Port Melbourne for the first time since the 2010 season. It will be a mighty effort to take down the Borough, who went through 2011 undefeated, but in front of its home crowd at Victoria Park on a Saturday afternoon at 2pm, anything is possible.
Looking ahead…
A trip to the Gabba to face the Brisbane Lions is the first of two interstate sojourns in the next three weeks. The Magpies will tackle the Lions (2-4) on Saturday night in their first match at the venue since round 10, 2010.
Collingwood cartoon
View more of Jack Chadwick's cartoons.
