Points of note:
- 49, 53, 36, 40, 26, 32, 34, 37, 29, 31. Those numbers represent Gary Ablett’s disposals in each of his last 10 games against Collingwood, be it as a Cat or a Sun. Pitted against tagger Brent Macaffer, Ablett was motoring along nicely without threatening to break any records until he landed awkwardly on his left arm in a tackle and left the field. Ablett dislocated his shoulder and was assisted from the field.
- Ben Kennedy was not involved as a substitute on Saturday evening. It doesn’t sound like much, but it was only the seventh time in his 16 game career that he was afforded a full game. In fact, he had not played in more than 35 per cent of a match during his first three games of 2014. He made the most of his 82 per cent game time against the Suns with 18 disposals (at 72.2 per cent efficiency), three tackles and two crucial final quarter goals. What’s more, his pace and ability to burst away from contests shone through. Expect to see more of Kennedy as the year progresses.
- The first half was all about one man: Travis Cloke. The key forward began like a shot out of a canon, earning nine disposals, three marks and three scoring shots in the first term. By the time he kicked the opening goal of the second quarter, Cloke had kicked eight goals in his last three-and-a-bit quarters at Metricon Stadium (he kicked six in the second half of the Magpies practice match against the Suns on 2 March). But a short time afterwards, Cloke appeared to inadvertently poke himself in the eye as he attempted to gather the bouncing ball. He later returned but was unable to exert the influence he had in the first half.
- A special mention must go to Scott Pendlebury. The captain won 25 disposals, the equal second most of any Magpie, and used the ball at 96 per cent efficiency. It was a particularly good effort considering that he won 12 of his disposals in a contest.
- The near sell-out crowd of 24,032 represented the biggest crowd to any match at Metricon Stadium (nee Carrara). The ground has hosted 110 games since opening its doors to the Brisbane Bears in 1987.
Vote for your top three players from Collingwood's five-point loss in the Magpie Army Player of the Year Award.
| Player | K | H | D | M | HO | FF | FA | T | G | B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22. Steele Sidebottom | 16 | 10 | 26 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 10. Scott Pendlebury | 12 | 13 | 25 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 17. Dayne Beams | 11 | 14 | 25 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| 26. Marley Williams | 10 | 9 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 36. Dane Swan | 14 | 5 | 19 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 13. Taylor Adams | 12 | 6 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 7. Ben Kennedy | 13 | 5 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 14. Clinton Young | 12 | 5 | 17 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| 32. Travis Cloke | 11 | 6 | 17 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 23. Lachlan Keeffe | 11 | 6 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40. Paul Seedsman | 8 | 8 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 8. Heritier Lumumba | 9 | 5 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 3. Brent Macaffer | 7 | 7 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 11. Jarryd Blair | 6 | 7 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 15. Jarrod Witts | 7 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 33 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 41. Tom Langdon | 9 | 3 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 24. Josh Thomas | 4 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 45. Jack Frost | 7 | 2 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2. Sam Dwyer | 5 | 4 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34. Alan Toovey | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 6. Tyson Goldsack | 4 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 4. Brodie Grundy | 3 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 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.
Vote for your top three players from Collingwood's five-point loss in the Magpie Army Player of the Year Award.
