AFL Daily: Collingwood experiments with new-look attack, rolling footy news for Friday August 9, 2019
Collingwood has three weeks to perfect a new-look attacking setup in time for finals, but statistics show losing key target Mason Cox could be a blessing in disguise.
Damning numbers show the season-ending injury to underperforming Mason Cox could be a blessing in disguise for Collingwood as coach Nathan Buckley prepares to unleash a smaller and more dynamic forward line.
The Magpies have three weeks to perfect a new-look set-up inside 50 before the finals, with Brody Mihocek to spearhead a forward mix of mostly smaller forwards.
He will be flanked by Jamie Elliott, Will Hoskin-Elliott, Travis Varcoe, Josh Thomas and Callum Brown against Melbourne tomorrow, while key pillars Jordan De Goey (hamstring) and Jaidyn Stephenson (suspension) should return for the finals.
Cox, who had been out of form before his eye injury, had been Collingwood’s main forward target this season, attracting 21.4 per cent of the ball going inside 50, but was rated only average for marks inside 50 (1.6 per game) and below average for groundball gets inside 50 (0.6).
It means the Magpies will be less predictable and forced to look for other options, including De Goey and Stephenson who are both rated elite for marks inside 50, while Stephenson is also rated elite for ground ball gets.
Mihocek, Elliott and Hoskin-Elliott are all rated above average for marks inside 50.
“We think we’ve picked a side that we can be pretty adaptable with,” Buckley said.
“The position we were in last year is exactly the same spot on the ladder with more guys unavailable and we were able to look after the last six or seven weeks of the season last year and give ourselves a real shot at it.
“We don’t see ourselves in too dissimilar a situation, really. It’s on us to make the most of the situation, to bring our best to the table.
“We’ll get some guys back, but with feel that whatever team we present is capable of getting the job done.”
The Magpies also need to find a support act for ace ruckman Brodie Grundy.
Midfielder Rupert Wills was used as the second ruckman last week but Buckley will use the final home-and-away rounds to find the best option.
“We want to win this game of football and we want to execute our football but we have a couple of weeks to work out what is going to be best for us to prepare for the rest of our campaign,” Buckley said.
“We have a few different ideas on what that looks like but we’ve got to explore that, we’ve got to chase it. We’re not just going to sit back and think that things are going to fall into place.
“We need to be proactive to find a balance that may even be better than one we’ve had in the past.”
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Originally published as AFL Daily: Collingwood experiments with new-look attack, rolling footy news for Friday August 9, 2019
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