It’s time for Jordan De Goey to deliver, writes Matthew Lloyd
JORDAN De Goey is as important to Collingwood as Dustin Martin is to Richmond and Toby Green to the Giants but the exciting Magpie has to make a finals statement, writes MATTHEW LLOYD.
Matthew Lloyd
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LIKE Dustin Martin is to Richmond and Toby Greene is to the Giants, Jordan De Goey is Collingwood’s wow factor and point of difference.
Jordan De Goey can do things that no other Collingwood player can, and Saturday night is the night that he has the opportunity to show the football world just how good he is in a cutthroat semi-final.
De Goey may never be as consistent as Scott Pendlebury or Steele Sidebottom but they will never have his explosive power, physical strength or his marking ability out of the goal square.
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I don’t believe De Goey has scratched the surface yet of what he is fully capable of.
De Goey was blessed with natural talent but not the desire to be the best at everything he did from the moment he first stepped foot into the Collingwood Football Club which was the case with Pendlebury and Sidebottom.
Pendlebury and Sidebottom are rare in that sense and De Goey the norm but the Magpies have been patient with him and they have started reaping the rewards.
De Goey has kicked four or more goals in a match on five occasions this season but has tapered off in recent weeks when the Magpies need him most.
De Goey played his first final last week for a modest return of 11 disposals and two goals.
Dustin Martin and Toby Greene have far more finals experience than De Goey but they both puffed their chests out on the big stage last weekend and made huge statements.
Martin finished with 29 disposals and a goal while Greene finished with 27 disposals and 3.3.
De Goey has only played the 68 games, far less than Martin and Greene but Melbourne’s Sam Weideman was playing just his 18th senior game and he tore the match apart against Geelong, so lack of finals experience should not be a factor.
I watched De Goey play on Queen’s Birthday in front of 83,000 people and it was one of the best individual performances I have seen this season.
De Goey’s statistics to halftime were 21 disposals, 10 inside 50s, 490m gained and eight score involvements.
Simon Goodwin had to send Jack Viney to him as De Goey was just too powerful at the contest and explosive on the spread.
Mason Cox, Jaidyn Stephenson and Will Hoskin-Elliott kicked 13 goals between them that day and they had Jordan De Goey to thank for that.
On that day, De Goey played 86 per cent of game time in the midfield, yet in the last month, De Goey has spent 85 per cent in the forward line and 15 per cent in the midfield.
I don’t believe Nathan Buckley is using him as effectively as he could be.
There needs to be more of a surprise element as to when De Goey pushes forward and he is under-utilised in the midfield for just how good he can be around the stoppages.
Dustin Martin has spent 79 per cent of game time as a midfielder and 21 per cent as a forward this season, yet those numbers can be flipped the other way around with De Goey.
A 50/50 split would be ideal for a player of De Goey’s weapons and attributes and could improve Collingwood significantly.
Dustin Martin has already become one of the all-time great finals performers while Toby Greene would be the first Giant picked come September for the way he not only performs but also the confidence he exudes.
The time has arrived for Jordan De Goey and this is his moment.
Jordan’s De Goey’s last 4 weeks
Disposals: 14.0
Contested Possessions: 5.5
Marks: 4.5
Marks Inside 50: 2.3
Groundball Gets Inside 50: 0.8
Goals: 2.0
Score Involvements: 6.5
Pressure Points: 17.5
De Goey vs Melbourne (1st half)
108 Ranking Points
21 Disposals
10 Contested Possessions
490 Metres Gained
10 Inside 50s
8 Score Involvements
THE BURNING QUESTIONS
Can the GWS win a big game on the hallowed turf of the MCG?
The Giants have won one of their past five games at the MCG since the start of 2016 when they started becoming a force. That win came against Collingwood in Round 2 this season where they led at every change.
Richmond blew them away last year in the preliminary final where they looked overwhelmed at times by the Richmond pressure and crowd noise. They are better equipped this year but will the improvement be significant enough, I don’t think so.
Who has the better midfield?
This is a flip of the coin. Collingwood by a nose because Brodie Grundy has the capacity to dominate Rory Lobb, both at the centre bounce and around the ground. The Giants do score more points from stoppages than any side though and it is where they made a meal of the Swans last weekend. This is where the game will be won and lost.
How can the Collingwood kick a winning score?
The Magpies kicked just 76 points against Fremantle in Round 23 and only 70 against West
Coast in last week’s final. Their scoring has been built on creating forward half turnovers but
the Pies need more out of Mason Cox and Will Hoskin-Elliott who have kicked one goal
between them in the past fortnight.
This is an area that Phil Davis and his fellow defenders can put serious pressure on the Magpies with Brodie Mihocek having become the Pies most in form forward.
Originally published as It’s time for Jordan De Goey to deliver, writes Matthew Lloyd
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