Notable:
- Collingwood has now conceded 100 or more points in four of its seven games so far this season. The Magpies have won only one of these four matches (against Carlton in round two when it scored 117 to 100). In comparison, the Pies leaked triple figures only five times in 25 games last year and twice in each of the two Grand Final years prior.
- The first quarter threatened to become Collingwood’s first goalless opening term since round 15, 2010 until Steele Sidebottom threaded its first goal of the night from the boundary line with three minutes remaining. Saturday’s match appeared to have an eerie parallel to the aforementioned match in 2010 which saw the Magpies knock off Port Adelaide in enemy territory courtesy of a seven goal second quarter. Nearly three years on, Collingwood cobbled together a seven goal third term and hit the lead early in the final quarter but was unable to go on with it.
- Saturday night’s loss to Fremantle was Collingwood’s first since round 22, 2008. To give some perspective, 10 of the 22 players that took to the field on Saturday night entered the match without a loss to the Dockers to their name.
- In kicking 7.1 during the third quarter, the Magpies replicated their feat from the corresponding quarter against Fremantle back in round eight, 2010. Unfortunately they weren’t able to seal the deal as the Magpies of 2010 did when they ran out 36-point victors at Subiaco Oval.
- One bright spot for Collingwood was the form of fourth-year Magpie Josh Thomas. In winning 28 possessions, Thomas was his team’s second most prolific player and recorded an even distribution of kicks and handballs (14 of each). He also managed to lay four tackles and easily outstripped his previous career-high of 18 possessions (recorded on debut against North Melbourne in round one). Coach Nathan Buckley sang Thomas’ praises during an interview with Fox Footy’s David King pre-game and it’s clear that the 21-year-old Queenslander is ready to become a regular in Collingwood’s starting midfield.
- Darren Jolly managed to dominate the ruck contests after Fremantle's most experience ruckman Jonathon Griffin left the ground with a knee injury shortly before quarter time. The Magpie veteran ended the night with 33 hitouts opposed mostly to third-gamer Jack Hannath (14 hitouts). Young Hannath still managed to have his say with nine marks and a crucial final quarter goal.
- Sam Dwyer continues to make up for lost time. The 26-year-old only broke into AFL ranks this year but he has made the most of every second so far, gathering a career-high 25 possessions and two goals in Saturday night's loss. He continues to look more settled with each passing week and is likely to remain a key player as the Magpies look to regain their old form in the coming weeks.
- After being tagged out of the game and restricted to only 10 possessions last week, Steele Sidebottom bounced back to his best with a season-high 33 possessions. He clearly enjoyed the wide expanses of Patersons Stadium where he was often able to find space and set up teammates forward of the centre. His 33 disposals is his greatest return since last year's Queen's Birthday win over Melbourne when he collected 36.
- With another eight tackles to his name, Jarryd Blair now has 40 for the season. It was only the sixth time he has had eight or more tackles in the one game. It's no surprise that he leads the club in this department.
Vote for your top three players following Saturday night's loss to help decide who will take home the Magpie Army Player of the Year Award.
| Player | K | H | D | M | HO | FF | FA | T | G | B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22. Steele Sidebottom | 18 | 15 | 33 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 24. Josh Thomas | 14 | 14 | 28 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 36. Dane Swan | 12 | 15 | 27 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| 41. Sam Dwyer | 13 | 12 | 25 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 13. Dale Thomas | 13 | 12 | 25 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10. Scott Pendlebury | 11 | 12 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 39. Heath Shaw | 18 | 5 | 23 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 41. Paul Seedsman | 16 | 3 | 19 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 8. Harry O'Brien | 12 | 5 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 20. Ben Reid | 15 | 2 | 17 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 11. Jarryd Blair | 11 | 5 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 1 |
| 3. Brent Macaffer | 13 | 3 | 16 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 18. Darren Jolly | 8 | 7 | 15 | 7 | 31 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 21. Quinten Lynch | 6 | 7 | 13 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 7. Andrew Krakouer | 8 | 4 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 27. Ben Kennedy | 6 | 5 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 16. Nathan Brown | 6 | 5 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 32. Travis Cloke | 8 | 2 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 5. Nick Maxwell | 6 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 48. Caolan Mooney | 3 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 19. Jamie Elliott | 4 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 9. Martin Clarke | 4 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Key
K: Kicks, H: Handballs, D: Disposals, M: Marks, HO: Hitouts, FF: Free Kicks For, FA: Free Kicks Against, T: Tackles, G: Goals, B: Behinds.
