There were plenty of positives to take out of Saturday evening's win over the Kangaroos,.
Here are 5 of the lessons we learned:
Darcy Moore is a defender
The experiment is seemingly over, and Pies fans would be happy to see Darcy Moore owning the footy in the back half on Saturday evening. An astonishing 19 marks and 28 disposals, the 25-year-old was unbelievably good against North Melbourne.
After spending the last month of footy playing as a forward, Moore returned to the backline and reminded the footy world why he was an All-Australian centre half-back in 2020. It would be safe to assume that he will be spending the rest of his 2021 down in defence.
De Goey the barometer
Jordan De Goey had the best game of his season as he managed 6 goals from 9 scoring shots. The North Melbourne back line was unable to deal with De Goey all night, with the dynamic forward proving too much for the likes of Aiden Bonar and Ben McKay.
It was fantastic to see some better ball delivery into the forward line on Saturday afternoon, and De Goey was able to make the most of the football coming to him advantageously.
Tyler Brown worth persisting with
After spending a lot of the season so far in the VFL, Tyler Brown has earned his position in the senior side and his performance on Saturday evening should be enough to maintain his spot going forward.
Brown specialises in his ability around the contest, finding space in a ‘Pendlebury like’ manner. 18 disposals, 9 contested possessions and was impressive all evening.
Backline responds to criticism
After a lot of external criticism, the Collingwood backline responded on Saturday afternoon, with a lot of players finding their way back into form.
Brayden Maynard 32, John Noble 31, Chris Mayne 28, Darcy Moore 28, Isaac Quaynor 23 and Mark Keane 21 all were able to stay on top of their opponents and win the footy.
The backline’s ability to rebound the ball in a way that allowed the midfield to connect more purely with the forwards was essential throughout the match. It’s an aspect of the game that has been missing in the last month of footy so it was promising to see improvement in this area.
Controlling the footy is the key
Able to control the ball for the entire night, the Pies amassed 288 uncontested possessions. With Collingwood’s average uncontested disposals sitting at 211.9 for the 2021 season so far, that’s a significant boost in numbers and it reflected on the scoreboard.
Other statistics that provide insight into how the Pies improved on Saturday afternoon include 427 total disposals, +70 on the season average for 2021.
Criticised all season for poor skill level and inability to hit targets by foot, the Pies responded tonight with 80% disposal efficiency. It’s not surprising that when the boys win the footy and use it well, we walk away with 4 points.
Collingwood 14.10.94
North Melbourne 11.10.74
Goals De Goey 6, Cameron 3, Mihocek 2, Pendlebury 2, Hoskin-Elliott
Best De Goey, Moore, Maynard, Noble, Crisp, Grundy
