Still hunting for that four quarter effort

Unfortunately, the narrative from Sunday’s loss to the Blues is that the Pies weren’t able to go with Carlton in the last quarter. In a reversal of momentum from last week, when the Pies were untouchable in the final term, Collingwood weren’t able to match Carlton’s speed out of stoppage and strong contested work.

With a clash against Port Adelaide lined up for this Friday night, it will be important that the team provide a consistent effort against one of the best running sides in the competition.

Ollie Henry has made his mark at the level

In his fifth game, it was fantastic to see Ollie Henry slot his first goal for Collingwood. A rollercoaster of a season for Henry, a three goal performance was a reward for perseverance, hard work and consistent effort.

Henry has been in fine form in the VFL and a call up to the senior side was well deserved. His ability to mark the ball at its highest point and finish off his work with some great set shot kicking was really impressive.

With finals seemingly out of the question now, Pies fans should be excited to see Henry continue to improve throughout the end of the 2021 season.

Next generation standing up

A real positive to take out of Sunday’s match against the Blues was the way in which the next generation of the club stood up.

Notable performances from Trey Ruscoe, Isaac Quaynor and John Noble should fill Pies fans with hope for the future.

Noble has been fantastic in 2021, holding down that rebounding spot along the half-back line and up to the wing. His line breaking skills by foot continue to create scoring chances for Collingwood, a real asset to the side.

Quaynor has been challenged with some tough opponents this season, and no tasks come tougher than Eddie Betts on his day. The young defender was awesome against Betts, keeping him quiet for a majority of the day. He was also able to find the football himself, with 22 disposals and 7 marks at 90% efficiency.

Ruscoe has found his feet in a defensive role for the senior side after spending most of last year and the early parts of this season in the forward line. After being sent back to the VFL, Ruscoe has proven his versatility as a player and utilises his strong football intelligence to get in great positions to find the ball across half back.

Finding targets inside 50

Finding marks inside 50 has been a struggle for the Pies this season, however Collingwood did a fantastic job of hitting targets on Sunday afternoon. With the likes of Jamie Elliott, Brody Mihocek and and Darcy Cameron up forward, the midfielders were able to identify leads in a really positive manner.

In particular, up to half time the Pies had nine inside 50 marks; a notable stat considering the average for the season sits at just 10.6. Despite the Pies finishing the afternoon with just five more marks inside 50 after half time, it is a positive that the team can take from the game in an area that continues to improve.

Checkers up the ground

Brody Mihocek played a great game on Sunday afternoon in a role that allowed him to find a lot more of the ball.

His nine marks for the game were crucial in helping connect the midfield and the forward line and brought other forwards such as Jamie Elliott and Oliver Henry into the game.

Pies fans are all aware of how hard Mihocek works throughout the game, however sometimes his role prevents him from getting involved in the play up the ground. If Mihocek can continue to mark the ball further up the wing, it opens up space behind him and takes out the opposition’s better defenders from sitting deep.