Collingwood’s finals hopes, Buckley’s coaching future on life support after Hawthorn defeat

COLLINGWOOD needs a miracle to make the finals and Nathan Buckley’s coaching future has become even more hazy after Hawthorn humbled the Pies in Scott Pendlebury’s 250th.

Collingwood skipper Scott Pendlebury leads his defeated team off the MCG after his 250th game. Picture: Michael Klein

COLLINGWOOD’S decision just got a lot harder.

Unless the Magpies can pull out a miracle over the next two months and win seven of their last eight games, it looks more likely than ever that Collingwood will miss finals for the fourth-straight year.

Yesterday felt like D-Day, in a way, for the Magpies. The time when you can start thinking about booking September holidays.

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Collingwood skipper Scott Pendlebury leads his defeated team off the MCG after his 250th game. Picture: Michael Klein

Rather than produce a strong response to the smashing from Port Adelaide the week before, Hawthorn were the ones to rise to the occasion with the 24-point win at the MCG.

To this point, Nathan Buckley’s sixth year in charge has not gone according to plan, and without a September berth, a deep-dive analysis will be required to determine whether he is the man to remain in charge.

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Or do you go on the captain’s strong gut feel? Scott Pendlebury is adamant he should stay, but the Pies players missed an opportunity to back up the point in a game it was favourite to win. Now the finals dreams are on life support, and Eddie’s headache has turned into a migraine.

On the opposite side of the fence, this past fortnight has again been Alastair Clarkson at his best. The club which looked dead and buried earlier in the year again looks dangerous again helping keep alive their slim finals hopes.

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Tom Mitchell booted two crucial goals in the final term. Picture: Michael Klein

Magnet Tom Mitchell was outstanding again, racking up 35 possessions and kicking two last-term goals to ice the victory. Some questioned his impact racking up 50 touches against the Pies earlier in the season, but there was little doubt about his role yesterday.

Veterans Shaun Burgoyne, Jarryd Roughead and Luke Hodge were instrumental in this win. But, most pleasing was that so much of this win was about the kids.

While they may not play finals, you can see plenty of green shoots. Rising Star favourite Ryan burton had a career-best 29 possessions and Daniel Howe (eight clearances) and James Sicily (11 marks) continue to improve and Blake Hardwick, Kurt Heatherley and Taylor Duryea also played their parts.

High-fives for Hawthorn captain Jarryd Roughead as he leads his victorious team off the MCG. Picture: Getty Images

Duryea played a clever shut down role on Jeremy Howe, while also kicking two goals, in a tactical masterstroke from Clarkson

You can see the direction at Hawthorn more clearly now, making the decision to give up their top pick in this year’s draft to St Kilda for Jaeger O’Meara more palatable.

But what is Eddie to do about the senior coaching position next year? Without a finals berth, it becomes a more difficult call, now that his team has sunk to 5-9.

And the decision to leave out Ben Reid appeared to hurt them from a defensive perspective yesterday.

The Hawks took 18 marks inside 50m and had 13 goalkickers. That is a shared load.

But Buckley may again rue some bad luck. They lost two important players Tyson Goldsack (face) and Darcy Moore (hamstring) before the last change, leaving them two short in the rotations. Jamie Elliott and Brayden Maynard both hit the post in the last term.

Jeremy Howe gifted the Hawks a goal with a misguided kick-in in the tense final stages.

The Magpies were clearly invested yesterday, but they got pipped in the engine room with a midfield which Champion Data rated the best in the league in the preseason.

Mason Cox booted three goals, but ran out of puff in the second half. Picture: Getty Images

Soaring Jamie Elliott tried hard for the Magpies. Picture: Getty Images

Jordan De Goey was a standout in his new midfield role, playing the best game of his career at Collingwood.

Instead, the Hawks look like they have added another string to their bow in that department. The Hawks have not been strong in the contested possession department in recent years, with Clarkson even questioning the value of the stat at times.

But the view seems to have changed.

What kept Collingwood in the game at stages was some of Hawthorn’s turnovers. That’s how the Pies scored.

Pendles always exuded class, but was below his best in his 250th game. Picture: Getty Images

Unsurprisingly, it was the Collingwood skipper Pendlebury who pulled his team up off the canvas trailing by 24 points in the second term.

The skipper single handily set up two goals to Mason Cox and Tom Phillips in the second term, showing the kind of trademark class that has made him one of the finest players of the past decade.

At that point, we were all wondering why Cox was given the game ahead of Reid but Cox took his chances when he had the ball, nailing all three set shots from within 30m over the first three quarters.

Originally published as Collingwood’s finals hopes, Buckley’s coaching future on life support after Hawthorn defeat