Mick Malthouse has coached West Coast and Collingwood to flags, so who is he picking next Saturday?
COACHING great Mick Malthouse has guided both West Coast and Collingwood to premierships. Ahead of Saturday’s decider, he looks at the key Grand Final battles and picks his premier.
THIS is going to be one interesting Grand Final.
For a start it will be a game of contrasts; in preparation, personnel and game style.
In the lead-up the Pies have played a highly energised, proactive and high-pressure game.
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They have been team-dimensional, quick, and displayed great belief.
The Eagles have played complete four-quarter football with enough belief to keep pushing through any hurdle. They have been humble, and captained brilliantly by Shannon Hurn.
In losing two of their most influential players they have managed to restructure to continue playing the game they want to play.
On Friday night Richmond struggled to contain Mason Cox and Jordan De Goey who kicked seven goals between them, but Cox will have a totally different opponent to David Astbury and Alex Rance in Jeremy McGovern or Tom Barrass.
Neither will give him the space needed to lead onto the ball.
The Pies isolated De Goey to full effect, but against West Coast that will be a different proposition too.
The Eagles, without Brad Sheppard (who may run out of time to prove his fitness), have Will Schofield who wears his opponents like a glove.
Then again if Cox and De Goey are contained, Collingwood have multiple avenues to goal. Will Hoskin-Elliott as a marking option. Jaidyn Stephenson with his pace. And don’t forget Josh Thomas and Brody Mihocek.
At the other end of the ground, where Jack Riewoldt was the only standout for Richmond, West Coast has Josh Kennedy. His form against the Pies in the qualifying final was horrid in the first half, but he was the difference in the second and his form on Saturday was brilliant.
Together with Jack Darling, they will cause problems for Collingwood’s defence.
Combined with Nathan Vardy and Scott Lycett pushing forward for the Eagles, it is a very tall forward structure to combat.
Tyson Goldsack has been brave, but Riewoldt got the better of him Friday night, so how the Pies structure up will be interesting.
Do they make a change and bring in Ben Reid or Darcy Moore? Both have been available for selection for a while, and Moore has been groomed all year for a key back role.
It would be a monumental decision, but one that has to be considered given the form of Kennedy and Darling.
Collingwood would still be undersized in the backline, but it would have the capacity to marry off with the Eagles duo with Reid or Moore in the team.
If West Coast wins enough of the football in the middle it will direct the high ball straight to the key forwards, which becomes the biggest danger for Collingwood.
However, if the Eagles go too tall in the forward line, the Pies will swoop on the ground level ball and run it out of the backline to their advantage.
A haphazard ball going into West Coast’s forward 50m will suit Collingwood to a tee.
Collingwood’s midfield destroyed Richmond, and West Coast did the same to Melbourne.
Steele Sidebottom’s 41 possessions in my eyes are equal to 82, because he doesn’t waste the ball.
With Scott Pendlebury, Adam Treloar, Tom Phillips, Brayden Sier, Taylor Adams and Brodie Grundy, the Pies have the best midfield in the competition by far.
Luke Shuey, Elliot Yeo, Willie Rioli, Jack Redden and Dom Sheed are all capable, but not in the same class as the Pies’ mids.
The Tigers’ lack of a second ruck came back to haunt them on Friday night, but West Coast’s use of Lycett and Vardy should put pressure on Collingwood at every stoppage to at least be competitive.
Games are won and lost in the midfield in the home-and-away season, and the intensity only increases in finals. This will be the Pies’ greatest area of advantage.
Both teams have been outstanding recently in pressure, tackling and the contested ball. Of the two finals played this weekend, Collingwood seemed to have a visible pressure difference to Richmond, whereas Melbourne put up little to no resistance so it was hard to truly judge the Eagles pressure.
It’s a close call, but given that West Coast has beaten Collingwood twice already this season (at home and at the MCG,) right now I am leaning towards a West Coast premiership.
Originally published as Mick Malthouse has coached West Coast and Collingwood to flags, so who is he picking next Saturday?