Collingwoodfc.com.au has enlisted David Natoli aka DaVe86 to write this year's match previews. David writes what are arguably, the most popular Magpie previews published on the internet. This is his second season writing for the club website. Please note his views are not of the clubs but of a passionate, knowledgeable member of the Magpie Army.
With three rounds now completed, the 2011 home and away season is beginning to take some shape. It is early days, but the top eight consists of all the same sides as last year except St Kilda who has been replaced by a resurgent Essendon. Collingwood and Geelong have re-established themselves on top of the ladder.
This week’s match preview takes a look at the Collingwood v Richmond clash at the MCG on Friday night. On paper this clash seems a mismatch, with the Magpies undefeated and the Tigers yet to claim their first win. The Magpies will go in as unbackable favourites, and you expect the final scores to resemble this fact as well.
Nonetheless, it is a big opportunity for the Tigers to regain some respect after they were smashed by Hawthorn last week. They were totally beaten around the stoppages, Jack Riewoldt dropped his head and let his emotions take over and their backline was totally exposed for experience. It is not going to get easier for Richmond as it is facing one of the best stoppage sides in the competition with an equally dangerous forward line.
On the other hand, I still feel that Collingwood is somewhat in cruise control. It faced its biggest test to date against Carlton in round three and came through in flying colours. Yet, I felt as if Collingwood was far from its best and Carlton actually played very well. It is testament to how strong the Magpies are that they can still win against good sides even though they are not playing their best footy. However, it is a trend Malthouse will be very eager to stamp out.
It is a long season and Collingwood does not want to peak too soon. Nevertheless, I would like to see Collingwood regain the same level of intensity as it had late last year or it risks becoming complacent
The cold weather is beginning to take over in Melbourne, yet it should not affect the size of the crowd this Friday night. Nearly 50,000 turned up to Richmond’s game last week despite horrid conditions, while Collingwood played in front of nearly 90,000.
The Formline
Starting with Richmond, and last week’s loss to Hawthorn has dinted what has been a promising start to the 2011 season. In round two, the Tigers managed to draw with St.Kilda and probably could’ve won i it were not for a controversial umpiring decision late in the game. They were also gallant the week prior against Carlton when they were leading at three quarter time.
The fixture was a nightmare for Richmond to open the season, having to play four of last year’s finalists in a row (including both of last year’s grand finalists). However, they were showing great signs of improvement until they were smashed by 63 points last week.
Collingwood has won all of its opening three games and is currently carrying an extremely healthy percentage of 190. The challenge for the Magpies this round is not to look ahead to next week’s ANZAC day blockbuster which promises to be one of the best in a long time. Coming off a massive build up to the Carlton game, and with such a big occasion still to come, there is the risk that Collingwood will treat this game with less emphasis and Malthouse has always been cautious in the past of ‘blockbuster fatigue’.
Recent History
Collingwood has won the previous three encounters against Richmond by an average of 73 points. Leon Davis has been a real destroyer in this time, kicking nine goals across these matches.
The last clash between these two sides was in round 17 last year, where the Magpies made a mess of a young Tigers side, running out 82 point winners. Dane Swan polled the three votes with 37 disposals, while Alan Didak polled two votes with 28 disposals and three goals. Leigh Brown polled one vote with 10 marks, 10 hitouts and three goals in a good all-round game. Shane Tuck and Mitch Morton were Richmond’s leading disposal winners with 25 each, whilst Alex Rance was promising with 11 marks. The Tigers were held to only six goals for the entire match.
At the Selection Table
Collingwood is likely to continue to rotate players in and out of their best 22 in the forthcoming weeks. Alan Toovey appeared to injure himself at the end of last week’s match when he was subbed off and may make way, while Leon Davis barely got any game time and is yet to cement his spot. Nick Maxwell looked rusty but will be better for the run.
At VFL level, John McCarthy and Brad Dick really impressed and Brett Macaffer was solid. Lachlan Keeffe also continues to press his claims for selection, as does Cameron Wood.
At Tigerland, the big question will be whether to bring back some experience, or continue to give the kids plenty of exposure. After copping such a thrashing around the stoppages, you would think Shane Tuck would come into calculations. He is a veteran of the club and still a very good player and his experience could prove valuable against Collingwood.
The Tigers also have to work on their backline. Grimes and Astbury are very young and were cleaned up by Franklin and Roughead last week. Without Rance, McGuane and Moore, Damien Hardwick is a bit hamstrung in terms of options, but he does have Thursfield at his disposal. Nason and Webberley could come into contention as well considering they have a bit of senior experience, while Brad Miller could be called upon for his Richmond debut to assist Jack Riewoldt up forward.
Richmond would be underwhelmed by the performances of guys like Edwards and Connors and also Graham who is struggling in the ruck. All will be on the chopping block this week alongside Astbury and Grimes. (although I think the Tigers need both young defenders at this stage)
Player Notes
Collingwood
Jarryd Blair - It’s hard not to start this week’s player notes without a special mention to little Jarryd Blair who kicked five goals last week against Carlton and was ultimately the difference between the two sides. He seems to have gained a bit of pace over the off-season, looks fitter and is hitting packs even harder. His crumbing skills are fantastic and he places himself in the right spots to pick up the spillages from the tall forwards. Most important, he is a good user of the footy and rarely makes mistakes. Amazingly, he leads the Coleman medal race at this stage and seems like a seasoned player already despite only having played 15 games.
Travis Cloke - Along with Dawes, he is equal second in the Coleman medal race with nine goals and continues to be the focal point for Collingwood up forward. His contested marking is clearly the best in the competition right now and it seems like a massive task to see one of Richmond’s young defenders being able to stand body to body with him. Expect Cloke to really dominate on Friday night and utilise his size in marking contests. The same goes for Chris Dawes as well.
Heath Shaw - He is probably the unheralded player on the Magpies list right now. Everyone knows he is a good player, but he is dominating at the moment and his defensive work has been incredible. Heath is one of the few that has carried the same intensity levels into the new season and really led the defence in the absence of Nick Maxwell.
Darren Jolly - Jolly has been a bit quiet so far, and it looks as if he’ll continue to work his way into the season slowly as he did last year. Nonetheless, the Richmond ruck division is struggling at the moment and I expect him to really take advantage of this. He is still working hard around the ground and pushing forward to kick goals. His ruck-work up forward is still very good and he continues to set up so many scoring opportunities from clever taps back into the centre corridor.
Chris Tarrant - I have thought that Tarrant has got better with every game he has played this year and he was good last week standing Waite. It will take him a while to adapt to Collingwood’s defensive structures, but his presence has been enormous considering the absence of Nathan Brown. He’ll stand Jack Riewoldt this week which is clearly his biggest challenge so far this season. Ben Reid will give assistance but Tarrant will have to be very careful of Riewoldt this week who has copped a bit of a bake from the media.
Andrew Krakouer - He was a bit quieter last week against Carlton, yet still managed two goals. This week, Krakouer faces his former side in Richmond and will be very keen to play well. It was Krakouer’s first full game last week without been used as the sub, but he was quiet in the second half. You’d expect him to lift for this game.
Richmond
Jack Riewoldt - As I have said, Riewoldt’s temperament has come into question this week from the media, as well as his coach who has publicly stated that his body language on the field was disappointing against Hawthorn. Personally, I think everyone has been a little harsh on Jack as he copped a concussion the week before and all players struggle the following week from this sort of injury. Nonetheless, Jack has plenty to prove and having a good game against the best side in the competition is the way to get into the good books again. He’ll have a quality opponent to face, along with a defence which is very well programmed to peel off and double team key forwards. It has been a frustrating fortnight for Riewoldt and no doubt he’ll be keen to impress on the big stage this Friday night. If Richmond is any chance, he’ll have to fire.
Trent Cotchin - The former number two draft pick looks set for a really big 2011 despite a slightly poor game last week. This is the fittest he has been at the beginning of any season and he is playing with a lot of heart. Hardwick has been using him a lot up forward and drifting through the middle. His ability to win contested footy is going to be essential this week against Collingwood.
Nathan Foley - Foley has always played well against Collingwood in the past. However, he has had a quiet start to the year following a 2010 season ruined by injury. He looks as if he is on the verge of regaining his best touch, and if he does he will be a vital player for the Tigers as he has the special ability of breaking away from contested situations.
Dustin Martin - I am clearly focussing on the Richmond midfield this week as I feel that the only way Richmond can remain competitive is if they take ascendency through the middle. Although Martin is only a second year player, he has already established himself as a brilliant in and under player and someone who can offer real drive around the stoppages. He’ll likely go head to head against the in-form Luke Ball and the battle will be a real highlight. He was probably one of Richmond’s best last week with 25 disposals and five tackles.
Shaun Grigg - Along with Houli, Grigg was Richmond’s big acquisition in the off-season and has already proven handy after three rounds. He is a hard running midfielder who likes kicking the ball long. His style seems to suit the Richmond game-plan as they probably need a few more guys who can break the lines and penetrate with their kicking. He has impressed me so far this year and seems really intent on having a break-out year.
Brett Deledio - He has had a real up and down year so far. He was pretty bad against Carlton as he was exploited by Carrazzo across half back through lack of accountability. Then he bounced back against St Kilda and took Goddard to the cleaners when Hardwick moved him into the middle. Many called it Deledio’s best game of his career. Then he was well beaten by Shaun Burgoyne last week and had a really bad game in general picking up only 17 disposals. I expect him to bounce back this week and be given the job on Scott Pendlebury. Pendlebury is clearly Collingwood’s most damaging midfielder, and Hardwick will be asking Deledio to play tight and also try to be very attacking when the Tigers have the ball. He is such an important player to Richmond, and the Tigers will be hoping it’s the good Deledio that runs out this week.
The Wrap Up
I am actually expecting Richmond to come out pretty fired up this week. They need a good start because Collingwood will be looking to get out to a nice lead by halftime and then play out the last half on their terms. In recent encounters, the Magpies have had the game finished by quarter time.
Richmond’s only real chance to cause an upset is to dominate in the middle as it is clearly their strongest area. However, it is hard to see them beat such a well oiled and experienced Collingwood machine. If the Magpies break even through the middle, then their forward line is going to be way too strong for the young Richmond defence and at the other end the Collingwood backline has plenty of depth to cover the Richmond forward line. As a guide, Carlton’s midfield broke even with Collingwood last week but they still lost by 28 points. This is because the Magpies have more scoring options and a better defence than most opponents.
Collingwood by 45
By David Natoli
Aka DaVe86
