It was a tough afternoon at the SCG as the Swans proved too strong in the end. There's always learnings to take from every game, win or loss, here are a few we thought were important.
Sustained effort required
The Pies were red hot in the first quarter, however in what is becoming a trend the Pies weren’t able to maintain the pressure and effort they showed early for the rest of the match.
A 4-goal first term was exciting and the ball was entering the forward line with speed and depth. However after that, the Pies could only muster 1 more goal for the match. It doesn’t help when inaccuracy in front of goals saw the Pies kick 12 behinds.
Skill errors costly
The ball movement on Saturday afternoon was nothing short of hard to watch. An inability to connect possessions by foot or hand without a miss-kick or a wayward handball makes winning games of footy very difficult.
The Pies went at 67% disposal efficiency for the afternoon.
Once again, Collingwood weren’t able to control the footy when ball was in hand. The Swans were +26 in marks, +33 in uncontested disposals and the Pies had 6 more turnovers than the Swans.
Will Hoskin-Elliott finding his form on the wing
Hoskin-Elliott is starting to build into the season after a slow start. Since moving up to a wing position in the last few matches, the dynamic player has found a lot more of the footy.
He had 23 disposals, 10 marks and kicked a goal in what was an outstanding performance. Look for Will to continue to run along the wing alongside Caleb Poulter for the rest of the season.
Maynard loves a challenge
Maynard has looked somewhat lost during periods of the first part of the season, but Bucks has made a point on giving him a clear role going into the last couple of rounds.
On Saturday Maynard was given the job on Swans superstar Lance Franklin. Despite Buddy kicking two goals on the day, Maynard did a fantastic job denying the forward easy access to the ball.
Maynard was able to use his strength and speed to prevent Buddy from finding the ball on the lead, while also having the defensive awareness to peel of Buddy to help out his other defenders.
With 29 disposals for the afternoon, Maynard also made his impact felt rebounding the ball back towards the Collingwood goals.
Have to be patient with the kids
There were a couple of very inexperienced players on the park for the Pies on Saturday afternoon, but they’re people worth investing in.
Tom Wilson fought hard on his debut, finishing the day with 8 disposals and 4 tackles.
Ollie Henry struggled to make an impact, but his form in the VFL has shown coaches what he’s capable of with a footy coming his way.
Mark Keane showed off why he’s rated highly internally. Proving a strong intercept marking player down back and always cracks in.
Caleb Poulter has been fantastic since coming into the side. His left foot penetrates the oppositions backline and he has a an engine to run all day.
Beau Mccreery will have a length career if he keeps up his constant tackling effort and pressure. Leading the competition for inside 50 tackles, Mccreery has shown he is ready to play at this level.
Tyler Brown has still played under 20 games, his contested work and ability to extract the ball from under the pack has been impressive and with time he will grow into a mature AFL midfielder.
