Collingwood butchers the ball in its 70-point Round 1 loss to Fremantle

AS Pies fans left Etihad Stadium, they might have thought that even if there was a scallywag element at the club last year, at least they could kick the footy.

CULTURE has been the buzzword all summer at Collingwood.

When it came to a major personnel clean-out at the end of last season, rightly or wrongly personalities mattered.

But as Pies fans trudged out of Etihad Stadium last night, they might have thought that even if there was a scallywag element at the club last year, at least they could kick the footy.

That’s what mattered most when the season-opener swang decisively in Fremantle’s favour last night.

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The Magpies’ ball use bordered on horrendous at times in the second quarter when Fremantle stitched this contest up, kicking seven straight goals leading up to the main change.

Officially, the Pies’ efficiency by foot was 44 per cent in the second quarter, taking in crucial botched set shots on goal by Luke Ball and Steele Sidebottom. By three quarter, the Pies had more than double the Dockers’ number of kick clangers.

Yes, Collingwood’s forward structure was at skim milk strength after calf injuries ruled out prized big men Jesse White and Ben Reid.

But coach Nathan Buckley said this week the absence of the big blokes would hardly matter. Rather “it would be how we approach the contest” that would decide things.

To be fair, Fremantle brought its trademark frenzied defensive pressure after quarter time, but the Pies looked equally shaky when they had time and space, as well.

Travis Cloke would have felt one-out all night stationed deep forward, with full-back Luke McPharlin attached to one side of him and Michael Johnson floating in from the other. There were few trademark hit-up leads on the chest.

Fremantle’s pressure was relentless. Picture by Michael Johnson.

Buckley’s new-look Collingwood is missing two of its main ballcarriers in Dale Thomas in Heath Shaw.

How the coaches replace that line-breaking drive from the departed pair, especially on the wings and forward and back flanks, will be pivotal.

By foot, Shaw (76.9 per cent) and Thomas (67.9) were two of the sharpest ball-users at the club.

Collingwood had no problems getting its hands on the ball in the clinches, racking up 21 to 10 clearances at half time, despite the height and might of Fremantle ruckman Aaron Sandilands.

But there was a lack of poise with the footy thereafter, especially on the outside, that cost the Pies.

“There are too many players fumbling the footy and making poor decisions,” Hawthorn champion forward Jason Dunstall said of Collingwood on Triple M.

By late in the third quarter, it was 12 consecutive goals to the visitors, leaving coach Buckley with his head in his hands in the box. Maybe the kicking errors and lack of composure was just Round 1 ring rust, he will hope.

Big men Reid and White may be back in a fortnight against Sydney, by which time the team’s confidence must be restored.

Michael Barlow tackles Heritier Lumumba. Picture by Wayne Ludbey.

They can watch videotape of the first quarter. Collingwood’s defensive pressure was magnificent early, forcing the Dockers to retreat into their back half and cough the ball up themselves.

But the Pies, for all their early possession dominance, did not make it count on the scoreboard as much as they should have.

Collingwood has a particularly tough first third of the AFL draw. Last night was a spluttering start.