Assistant coach Adrian Fletcher has commended the efforts of the Magpie players after their gutsy comeback against St Kilda on Saturday.
Speaking on CTV's weekly match review show, The Weekend That Was, Fletcher said some fundamental changes were made to the side’s structure after the Magpies fell 21 points behind early in the last quarter on an extremely wet day.
The players were then able to execute the coaches’ plans to perfection to storm home and claim a stirring nine-point victory, Collingwood’s ninth win of the season.
“We readjusted our forward line, we made sure we had crumbing players up there,” Fletcher said at the Lexus Centre on Monday.
“Basically when we were going to get the quick kicks from the stoppages it was going to be at ground level, and we had Didak, Thomas, Leon Davis, and we actually got first use of the ball from the stoppages in the last quarter, and we rounded up their spare player, and we did it really well.”
Fletcher, who is responsible for the midfield group, refused to take too much credit for the way the Magpies were able to get first use at the stoppages during the crucial final quarter. Rather, he paid tribute to the way the players went about it in the difficult conditions.
“I’m happy that we won, the stoppages don’t make you win a game, but basically it makes you get first use of the ball and put the opposition under extreme pressure in our forward line.
“Their defence was under unbelievable pressure because we were getting it in there as quick as we were.
“Basically, on a wet day, overuse can kill you. If you’re going to make mistakes, get it in your own forward line and make mistakes there, then they’ve got 120 metres before they can kick a goal.
“So basically, once we won it from the stoppages, we wanted to get the quick kicks forward, and Travis and then the ground-level players have an advantage.”
Fletcher also singled out the efforts of four Magpies who made significant contributions on the day, the first being young gun Dale Thomas.
“Early, he was fantastic. He picked up Gram, who is an extremely important part of St Kilda’s make up, and he put pressure on him and that pushed Gram up onto a wing.
“Then he got Attard, as a negating sort of player, and he took him to the sword as well.
“So it was not all his marking, it was his tackling, his ground-level pressure, and his ability to kick those goals in the pressure situations was his all-round contribution to the side.”
Also earning praise from Fletcher were Shane O’Bree, Josh Fraser and Sam Iles, so make sure you watch the latest edition of The Weekend That Was by clicking on the link at the top of this article.
Speaking on CTV's weekly match review show, The Weekend That Was, Fletcher said some fundamental changes were made to the side’s structure after the Magpies fell 21 points behind early in the last quarter on an extremely wet day.
The players were then able to execute the coaches’ plans to perfection to storm home and claim a stirring nine-point victory, Collingwood’s ninth win of the season.
“We readjusted our forward line, we made sure we had crumbing players up there,” Fletcher said at the Lexus Centre on Monday.
“Basically when we were going to get the quick kicks from the stoppages it was going to be at ground level, and we had Didak, Thomas, Leon Davis, and we actually got first use of the ball from the stoppages in the last quarter, and we rounded up their spare player, and we did it really well.”
Fletcher, who is responsible for the midfield group, refused to take too much credit for the way the Magpies were able to get first use at the stoppages during the crucial final quarter. Rather, he paid tribute to the way the players went about it in the difficult conditions.
“I’m happy that we won, the stoppages don’t make you win a game, but basically it makes you get first use of the ball and put the opposition under extreme pressure in our forward line.
“Their defence was under unbelievable pressure because we were getting it in there as quick as we were.
“Basically, on a wet day, overuse can kill you. If you’re going to make mistakes, get it in your own forward line and make mistakes there, then they’ve got 120 metres before they can kick a goal.
“So basically, once we won it from the stoppages, we wanted to get the quick kicks forward, and Travis and then the ground-level players have an advantage.”
Fletcher also singled out the efforts of four Magpies who made significant contributions on the day, the first being young gun Dale Thomas.
“Early, he was fantastic. He picked up Gram, who is an extremely important part of St Kilda’s make up, and he put pressure on him and that pushed Gram up onto a wing.
“Then he got Attard, as a negating sort of player, and he took him to the sword as well.
“So it was not all his marking, it was his tackling, his ground-level pressure, and his ability to kick those goals in the pressure situations was his all-round contribution to the side.”
Also earning praise from Fletcher were Shane O’Bree, Josh Fraser and Sam Iles, so make sure you watch the latest edition of The Weekend That Was by clicking on the link at the top of this article.
