Nathan Buckley says one bad quarter of football cost Pies in loss to Sydney
COLLINGWOOD coach Nathan Buckley hopes Jeremy Howe will be back next week to boost his side as it tries to cope with the loss of another key defender to injury.
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COLLINGWOOD coach Nathan Buckley hopes Jeremy Howe will be back next week to boost his side as it tries to cope with the loss of another key defender to injury.
Darcy Moore suffered another hamstring injury during Saturday night’s heartbreaking two-point loss to Sydney, the Pies having the four points snatched away having stormed back to take the lead and seemed headed for a famous win.
Moore, who has missed large chunks of 2018 with hamstring issues, left the ground during the second term.
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Buckley blamed a third-quarter lapse, in which Sydney went on a tear to snatch the lead, for his side’s demise.
Moore had been minding matchwinner Lance Franklin, and while the Swans’ superstar booted three first-term goals, Buckley said losing the emerging swingman had affected the Pies.
“It is always nice to have the 22 that you go in with,” the coach said after the match.
“The guy that Darcy was playing on ended having 10 of the 18 shots on goal. I think that was relatively significant … we were able to cover it for the majority of the game beyond Darcy leaving the field, but once again, that third quarter sort of stands out as something that we didn’t get right.”
Buckley said he was unsure of the extent of Moore’s latest blow, which he has sustained to the other hamstring having recently returning from a similar injury.
Buckley said his side “did a lot well” but its inability to play four quarters cost them.
“You can’t afford to do that against good opposition,” Buckley said.
“Third quarter was really poor. The Swans lifted and played really good footy there. We
just fell away from our contest and their defence. We weren’t able to control the game at all for 30 minutes. The other 90 minutes I reckon we did. But you have to play four quarters to win.”
The Pies had a chance to consolidate their place in the top four but Swan Tom McCartin’s freakish snap while lying on the ground — only just dribbling across the goal line — means the Pies slipped to fourth and could fall further on Sunday.
But Buckley said he wasn’t looking at the ladder.
“We wouldn’t be human if we didn’t understand where we sat and what was happening around us, but we haven’t focused on it to this point,” Buckley said.
“So we won’t be focusing on it now. We play Brisbane in seven days’ time. It is a game that we want to play four quarters of footy and get a win in. We’ll pick our best 22. We will prepare as well as we possibly can. We will want to get back on the winner’s list.”
Buckley said Howe could “potentially” return after missing the Swans’ clash after suffering a concussion last week against Richmond.
“We will go through the week and have a look how he is,” he said.
“(We’ll) have a look where (Jordan) De Goey is at and (the) VFL play tomorrow. We’ll have (Josh) Smith, (Alex) Fasolo, (Jarryd) Blair and a handful of other boys that are ready to put their hands up.”
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Originally published as Nathan Buckley says one bad quarter of football cost Pies in loss to Sydney