Notable:
- Luke Ball continues to quietly slip back into his best form. He has now played 10 games since recovering from his knee reconstruction and has gathered 30 possessions in three of them. Against Sydney, he notched 31 touches for the second time this year. It’s the most he has ever won in a single game since joining Collingwood in 2010 and his most since round 13, 2008, back in his St Kilda days. Ball also laid six tackles and make five clearances, making him one of the most important factors in his side’s victory.
- After a minor lull in form, Jamie Elliott is now officially back to his best. He managed only four goals in his five games between rounds 14 and 18 but has fought back to kick three in each of his past two games. It appears that he has benefited from the reduced game time while playing as the substitute against the Giants in round 18 as he has regained the sort of potency that saw him kick five against Carlton in round two.
- Hats off to Brodie Grundy. The No. 35 is starting to attract a cult following among the Collingwood fans following a most impressive start to his league career. He faced his biggest test yet against the Swans but proved that he is up to the task, matching Shane Mumford and Mike Pyke for physicality and strength around the ground. Although the Swans finished up ahead on the stat sheet, Grundy still managed to win 21 hitouts and 13 possessions as well as taking the Magpies inside 50 on four occasions.
- Sam Dwyer has been a breath of fresh air across half forward all season and he still managed to have an impact against Sydney despite starting as the substitute. Once introduced into the game late in the third quarter, Dwyer used his seven possessions at 85.7 per cent efficiency. He also contributed another score assist taking him to second place behind Dane Swan (27) with 26 for the season.
- Marley Williams continues to flourish with each passing week. He has had 20 disposals or more in three of his past four games and against Sydney used the ball with a season-high 95.2 per cent efficiency. He also took the ball out of defensive 50m four times and laid two tackles.
| Player | K | H | D | M | HO | FF | FA | T | G | B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10. Scott Pendlebury | 11 | 24 | 35 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| 17. Dayne Beams | 17 | 15 | 32 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 36. Dane Swan | 13 | 18 | 31 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 12. Luke Ball | 15 | 16 | 31 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| 8. Harry O'Brien | 14 | 9 | 23 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| 22. Steele Sidebottom | 16 | 7 | 23 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| 46. Marley Williams | 13 | 8 | 21 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 24. Josh Thomas | 13 | 8 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 3. Brent Macaffer | 13 | 4 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| 28. Ben Sinclair | 9 | 7 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 19. Jamie Elliott | 11 | 5 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 39. Heath Shaw | 8 | 7 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23. Lachlan Keeffe | 8 | 6 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 35. Brodie Grundy | 3 | 10 | 13 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 5. Nick Maxwell | 6 | 7 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 11. Jarryd Blair | 5 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 20. Ben Reid | 7 | 4 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 21. Quinten Lynch | 7 | 4 | 11 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 32. Travis Cloke | 9 | 2 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| 6. Tyson Goldsack | 4 | 5 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 41. Sam Dwyer | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 16. Nathan Brown | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 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.
